Forests of Mexico's Indigenous Peoples Are at Risk Susana Gonzalez G. - La Jornada
go to original June 15, 2015

On a global scale, forest ejidos are considered an effective method for facing climate change on a par with taking down poverty, but the governmental over-regulation which exists in Mexico “blocks sustainable development and puts agricultural communities at risk.”

In turn, reported the Mexican Civil Council for Sustainable Forestry (CCMSS), this causes a new wave of migration.

In a report presented in May at a conference in Quintana Roo, the organization accused the federal government - in violation of legal deadlines - of delaying weeks and even months in approving permits for forest use. The conference took place just hours before the World Economic Forum (WEF) began nearby and during which WEF work sessions addressed issues of the environment and sustainability.

A permit for forest use may require completing up to fifty prior steps, stated Sergio Madrid, director of the CCMSS, then he added: “This undermines local economies, sabotaging opportunities for the population. In some cases, the situation is becoming so dramatic that the inhabitants of the ejidos are leaving their lands in a new flow of migration from the countryside to the cities, and to the United States and Canada.”

At the same time, David Kaimowitz, director of sustainable development at the Ford Foundation, warned that “Mexico's success with forest communities helped it become a global leader in the fight against climate change, but the growing bureaucracy and insensitive fiscal policies are putting this [leadership] at risk.”

Read the rest at Mexico Voices

Translated by Tristan Foy

Mexico Voices is a blogging endeavor aimed at raising the awareness of U.S. citizens regarding the destructive impact of the U.S. economic policy and the War on Drugs on Mexico  -  on its people, their economic and physical security and their human rights, on the nation’s dysfunctional justice system, and on the rule of law and Mexico’s fragile democracy. Visit the website at MexicoVoices.blogspot.mx

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