Logging Out: The Fight Against Deforestation Intensifies

In the initiative to reform the federal public administration that President Claudia Sheinbaum took over, new powers are given to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) to fight illegal logging.

The presentation of this initiative takes place a little over a year after the review of the T-MEC, an agreement signed on November 30, 2018 between Mexico, the United States and Canada. Chapter 24 of that agreement refers to the environment and prioritizes the fight against illegal wildlife trade and illegal logging, among other challenges.

It was agreed that “the parties would exchange information on issues of mutual interest relating to the fight against the illegal taking and trafficking of wild fauna and flora, including the fight against illegal logging and the associated illegal trade.”

In the presidential initiative received by the Chamber of Deputies, dated October 30, it is expected that Semarnat will be responsible for guaranteeing a circular economy.

“He will have the necessary competence to carry out and reinforce inspections that allow the sanctioning of those who cut trees illegally or hunt, illegal use of water resources and other illegal actions that affect natural resources and the environment.”

“The intention is to regulate, authorize and monitor productive forestry activities, as well as to coordinate programs for the conservation, sustainable use and restoration of forest soils and ecosystems,” he notes.

The challenge is not small; According to federal government figures, in 2020 alone, Mexico lost 127,770 hectares of forest due to hidden logging, deforestation higher than the 2010-2015 period, which was 91,600 hectares.

Between 2018 and 2020, 1,514 forestry complaints were dealt with, of which 1,179 were for illegal cutting of trees, according to statistics from the Federal Attorney’s Office for Environmental Protection.

Last Wednesday, authorities from Mexico and the United States met in Washington to talk about the upcoming review of the T-MEC. “We will work to consolidate North America as a region that protects its workers, supports its producers and is strengthened to be the most competitive bloc in the world,” said Luis Rosendo Gutiérrez, undersecretary of trade Mexico, after the meeting with her American counterpart, Cara Morrow.

At the 2018 signing, it was established that this agreement would be governed by a review mechanism that allows the cancellation of the agreement by any of the three countries 16 years after it came into force.

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