Mexico combats climate change through SFM

At a press conference held during the annual national Forestry Expo (“Expo Forestal”) in Puebla, Mexico on October 5th 2012, ITTO Executive Director Emmanual Ze Meka and the Director General of the National Forestry Agency of Mexico (CONAFOR), Juan Manuel Torres Rojo, highlighted Mexico’s accomplishments towards achieving sustainable forest management (SFM), including its program of Payments for Environmental Services (PES).    
 
Mr. Ze Meka pointed out that according to ITTO’s most recent assessment in its 2011 Status of Tropical Forest Management report, Mexico had increased the area of its tropical forests under SFM seven-fold between 2005 and 2010. Mr. Ze Meka recognized the leading role of Mexico in combating climate change, including through CONAFOR’s scheme of PES, which together with the increased area of forest under SFM has contributed to reducing carbon emissions from deforestation.    
 
Mexico has been a member of ITTO since 2004 and has received over US$2.5 million from the Organization for projects that promote SFM, sustainable forest industries and trade of tropical timber from sustainably managed forests.    
 
Mr. Ze Meka stressed that in Mexico, as in many other tropical countries, the biggest challenge for SFM is making it economically attractive in relation to other land-use options. Mexico’s experiences in promoting SFM and PES contain valuable lessons for other countries in this regard.    
 
A full press release (Spanish only) is available from CONAFOR (www.conafor.gob.mx)


News release