Mexico deforestation, the smart way

Mexico is a country better known for its very fast deforestation pace, one of the highest rates in the world, actually. Over 330,000 hectares of forest are lost every year due to illegal logging and land conversion to more sustainable uses such as agriculture or tourism.

Less known is the fact that Mexico also has one of the best practices in sustainabe forest management in the state of Oaxaca.

Here, in Ixtlàn de Juàrez, the forest is owned by the community and not the state and, hence, the community decides how to manage the environment.

30 years ago, the  Zapotec Indians of Ixtlàn had won the right to care for and manage the forest communally, thus marking an end to federal government concessions.

Since the community was already nature-orientated, handing the forest management to them meant a more protective and thoughtful forest caring.

'There’s no deforestation here because the community has a forestry culture, which means we care about forest conservation and we do it in a controlled way, because the forest is a treasure to us, it’s a source of work,' said Romualdo Pacheco Paz, former president of the highest community organization, the Comisariado.

Out of the 19,000 hectares of forest in Ixtlàn, only 3,400 are exploited following a strict management plan while another 7,000 hectares are under a conservation project.

Decisions regarding forest management are taken by the 'comuneros', land owner, during a general assembly. They're job is to make sure that each tree is cut at the right moment for both the community and the forest.

'The forest has its growing phases, and it reaches its mature phase. We want to exploit it at the right age, when the wood is good quality. We cut it but at the same time we guarantee that a new forest will grow,' explained one member of the comuneros.

For each deforestation action a re-planting movement ensues which respects a precise cycle.

Seeds also represent an important segment in the process, four workers being tasked with picking the best seeds that will ensure a healthy and high quality future woods.

The forest management in Ixtlàn has proved to be such a big success that now the Mexican government intends to pass a law, making community owned forests possible throughout the country.