The land area of Mexico is 475 million acres (a little less than one-fourth the size of the United States). The country is organized into 32 states, stretching from Baja Norte and Sur and Sonora in the far west, to Chiapas in the extreme south, and to Yucatan and Quintana Roo in the east (Figure 88).

 

Figure 88
The States of Mexico

Source: www.elmorillo.com/maps/main.html

The greatest extent of forests are located in temperate climates consisting of softwoods (primarily ponderosa pine) and temperate hardwoods (primarily oaks). In total the temperate forests of Mexico cover 63 million acres and occur to the greatest extent on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre mountains from Chihuahua along the New Mexico border, south and eastward through the states of Durango, Jalisco, and Michoacan, and in the southern and eastern states of Oaxaca, Chiapas, and Guerrero (Figure 89). In addition to the temperate softwood and hardwood forests, Mexico also has 60 million acres of tropical and subtropical forests; these forests are totally composed of hardwood species. Tropical and subtropical forests occur in the easternmost states of Chiapas, Quintana Roo, Yucatan, Campeche, Tabasco, and Oaxaca. In total, Mexico's forests comprise 6.5 percent of the forested area of North America (World Forest Institute 1995).

 

Figure 89
Forested Areas of Mexico

(Protected areas and zones of environmental concern indicated by red dots)

 

There is no clearly defined annual allowable cut for the forests of Mexico, due in large part to the ownership and management of these lands (see next section). Similarly, forest growth and harvest rates are known only for some of the nation's forest regions. Unlike the United States, where the area of forest cover is increasing, some 1.5 million acres of forest cover are lost annually in Mexico, with organized crime reportedly involved in massive forest clearing activities (Guzman 2001). About 80 percent of Mexico's forestlands are owned by approximately 8,000 village communities that collectively manage forest and agricultural lands through a collective farm system (World Forest Institute 1995). Brownie (2001) provides historical background on this system of land ownership:

"Since the 1930s, forested areas have been transferred to ejidos, a land tenure arrangement that entitled landless peasants and gave them the legal right to petition for expropriation of private states. . . . This ancient system of land management and ownership dates back to the Aztec civilization."

" . . . The Constitution of 1917 clarified ancient land use customs, and applied them to land tenure . . . Under the Constitution of 1917, the government was required to redistribute land to anyone who made a claim on the land. The reforms enabled indigenous communities to obtain property titles for their lands via presidential decree, and to reclaim usurped land if they could legally show when and how it was taken . . . Land, taken or expropriated from haciendas and state property, was given freely as an endowment to a population nucleus . . . Land could not be sold, rented, or used as collateral for bank loans. Corporations could not own or manage lands nucleus . . ."

Reforms were made in 1992 with the intent of encouraging investment and productivity through a more secure land tenure system. Brownie explains that:

"Under the new system, the redistribution of land through government expropriation was prohibited, and lands could now be rented by ejidos to anyone from farmers to multinationals . . . Corporations and commercial associations could now hold agricultural land. . .

. . . Historically, agricultural and ejido development policies discouraged forest management because agricultural subsidies and land title policies favored the conversion of forested areas to agricultural areas."

Prior to 1992, all industrial roundwood obtained from forest lands owned under the ejido structure (about 80 percent of the industrial roundwood harvest), could be contracted for for at most a year at a time. Because of the uncertainty engendered by this policy, most forest enterprises found it financially risky to invest in the necessary infrastructure. Reforms are intended to reduce uncertainties to investors, and to thereby encourage expanded investment in the forestry and wood products sector (World Forest Institute 1995).

Most recently, under current president Vincente Fox, further reforms resulted in formation of a National Forestry Commission that is helping communities to develop forest plans and providing funds to communities to encourage them to be more "positively inclined" towards managing forest for local income (Brownie 2001). In creating the commission, Fox referred to dwindling forests and water reserves as a crisis and pledged to do whatever is necessary, including use of the military, to protect these resources (Guzman 2001).

The global environmental community has also focused on forest conservation efforts in Mexico, reporting that Mexico is home to 10 percent of all the planet's known species, and that 1100 species of flora and fauna are in danger of extinction due to clearing of new land for agriculture, fires, and uncontrolled hunting (Cervallos 1998).

Not referred to in president Fox's statement was population growth within Mexico, which in itself poses huge environmental challenges. Just since 1950, Mexico's population has grown from 28.5 million to over 100 million today. Thus, the forest area per capita in Mexico has suffered a stunning decline in only 50 years, from an estimated 6 acres to about 1.2 currently. Another 52 percent increase in Mexico's population is predicted by 2050.

Use of wood for industrial purposes in Mexico has historically accounted for no more than a third of the roundwood harvest; most of the remainder is used for heating and cooking. However, both the total roundwood harvest, and volumes of wood used for industrial purposes have been increasing in recent decades. Economic problems markedly slowed the growth in harvest levels from about 1985 to the late 1990s, but viewed over a longer term, harvest levels have risen significantly since the early 1 960s (Table 18). It is interesting to note that about three quarters of the industrial roundwood harvest is in the form of sawlogs and veneer logs.

 

Table 18
Production of Roundwood, Industrial Roundwood, and Sawlogs/Veneer Logs in Mexico,
1961-2000

(000 cubic meters)

 

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