MEXICO

Mexico is one of the worlds five most biodiverse countries. However, Mexico's rapidly growing economy and high population growth rate have taken their toll on the country's forests and many species are endangered. Less than 10% of the original tropical rainforests remain and these are threatened by a combination of slash-and-burn subsistence agriculture ' which has sometimes resulted in uncontrolled and devastating fires ' and fuelwood collection, conflict in the Chiapas region, military exercises, potential oil extraction, and illegal logging.

Illegal logging and poaching are widespread and are estimated to destroy 26,000 ha of forest each year. Criminal syndicates run most of the illegal timber trade and often target supposedly protected national parks where valuable species grow. Local communities attempting to defend their forests find themselves threatened by the illegal loggers, and receive little support from the local authorities. Two illegal loggers were arrested in 2007 for the murder of an anti-logging activist, but only after NGO accusations of foot-dragging.

The government has taken some measures to attempt to cut the illegal use of forest areas, but in some places, such as the Monarch [butterfly] Biosphere Reserve, illegal logging is continuing to grow. At the Reserve, critical for both the environment and tourism, illegal logging increased by 10% in 2007.

The government is encouraging certification as a tool against illegal logging, and tree planting, not only in extensive plantations but through public projects ' one in July 2008 involved local communities planting a total of 8.3 million trees. The government's stated aim was to raise the public's environmental awareness, however, NGOs have insisted that such efforts are meaningless as the government does not do enough to crack down on the criminal gangs responsible for most of the illegal logging.

Mexico is one of 14 countries which will receive funds under the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility, which will reward countries for preserving their forest cover. The countries will receive grants to build their capacity for REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), including establishing emissions reference levels, adopting strategies to reduce deforestation, and designing monitoring systems.

DOCUMENTS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
25/09/2012	Outsourcing Hot Air: The Push for Sub-National REDD Offsets in California’s Carbon Market from Mexico and Beyond The success of REDD+ depends on its ability to deliver real, additional and permanent reductions in deforestation ...	Greenpeace
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01/11/2010	Sustainable Forest Management as a Strategy to Combat Climate Change: Lessons from Mexican Communities This study presents the results of recent studies of community forest management in Mexico in the belief ...	Consejo Civil Mexicano para la Silvicultura Sostenible (CCMSS) & Rights and Resources
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25/05/2006	Status of Tropical Forest Management 2005 Is forest management improving in the tropics? This report sets out to answer that question. It provides ...	ITTO
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09/01/2006	Final Factual Record Tarahumara Submission The report provides considers whether Mexico is failing to effectively enforce its environmental law ...	Commission for Environmental Cooperation of North America
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NEWS

DATE	TITLE	AUTHOR
28/01/2013	California’s carbon market: a potential game-changer in slowing the Amazon’s deforestation California moved into the fast lane on the low-carbon development highway when it launched its carbon ...	Environmental Defense Fund blog, US
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18/11/2012	Mexico to fight deforestation with $15 million loan Mexico will receive $15 million in financial and technical assistance to support climate change mitigation ...	Latino Daily News, US
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29/10/2012	Mexican village fed up with gangs and illegal loggers, sets up own government An indigenous village in Mexico got fed up with gangs and illegal loggers acting with impunity. ...	The World
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17/10/2012	Indigenous peoples bring concerns to impacts of AB 32 San Francisco – Leaders of indigenous forest peoples warned today that California’s proposed ...	indybay.org, California, US
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04/10/2012	Mexico halts illegal logging at butterfly reserve Mexico City – Mexican authorities and peasants have stamped out illegal logging at a Monarch butterfly ...	Latin American Herald Tribune
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25/09/2012	Greenpeace targets forest carbon offsets in California's cap-and-trade California's forest conservation-based carbon offsets in its climate change legislation may not ...	Mongabay.com
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19/09/2012	An inside look at Latin America’s illegal logging – part two This post was co-authored with Eduardo Arenas Hernández Jr. and Ana Domínguez, who work ...	World Resources Institute (WRI) Insights
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18/09/2012	An inside look at Latin America’s illegal logging – part one This post was co-authored with Eduardo Arenas Hernández Jr. and Ana Domínguez, who work ...	World Resources Institute (WRI) Insights
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15/08/2012	Report: Illegal logging in Mexico’s monarch butterfly reserve down to near zero Mexico City - Illegal logging has practically been eliminated in the western Mexico wintering grounds ...	The Washington Post, US
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07/08/2012	Indigenous community fight loggers with AK-47s For years, illegal loggers in rural Mexico have cut down trees without much government resistance. Recently, ...	revmodo.com
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11/07/2012	Mobsters blamed for murder of Indians in western Mexico An attorney advising a beleaguered indigenous community in the western Mexican state of Michoacan said ...	Fox News
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11/07/2012	Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, Peru get big boost in deforestation tracking, biomass measurement Efforts to rapidly and accurately track deforestation and forest degradation in Indonesia, Brazil, Mexico, ...	Mongabay.com
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26/04/2012	Mexico sets global benchmark on tackling deforestation By Barry Gardiner and Ignacio Pichardo Below the global radar, a major victory was secured in ...	Daily Times, Pakistan
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21/04/2012	Mexican Indians free hostages Morelia, Mexico – Fourteen police and two government officials taken prisoner by a group of Indians ...	Latin American Herald Tribune
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20/04/2012	Mexican indigenous community holds 14 police after killings Morelia, Mexico — Inhabitants of an indigenous community in western Mexico detained 14 police officers ...	AFP
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15/03/2012	Number of Monarch butterflies wintering in Mexico drops 28 percent Mexico City - The number of Monarch butterflies wintering in Mexico dropped 28 percent this year, according ...	The Washington Post, US
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30/01/2012	A drought produced environmental disaster in northern Mexico In many cities, Mexicans are responding to the environmental and hunger crises in Chihuahua's Sierra ...	Mexidata.info, Mexico
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07/01/2012	Mexico can’t see the wood for the trees An indigenous community in Mexico wants to drop protected conservation status for its area because it ...	Le Monde Diplomatique
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14/12/2011	The courage of Cheran: organizing against violence Mistrust in government systems of rule has led the town of Cherán in Mexico to create its own ...	Open Democracy
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24/11/2011	Drug gangs could make old land conflict boil over in South Mexico A long-running land conflict in southern Mexico is causing new problems, and the situation is made more ...	InsightCrime, US
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20/10/2011	Greenpeace urges Mexico to spend more on fighting deforestation Mexico City - Greenpeace called on Mexican lawmakers to allocate more funds to combating deforestation, ...	Latin American Herald Tribune
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23/09/2011	World Bank carbon schemes charged with displacing communities in South, allowing pollution in North As the World Bank, the largest source of multilateral financing for forestry projects, prepares for its ...	eGov Monitor
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20/09/2011	Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force to meet in Kalimantan Palangkaraya, Indonesia - Representatives from the Governors’ Climate and Forest Task Force (GCF) ...	CIFOR Forests Blog
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08/09/2011	Mexico reduces annual deforestation 34 percent Mexico's environment secretary says the country has reduced the average annual loss of forests and ...	ABC News
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06/07/2011	Now Mexican drug cartels are shooting villagers for timber As Mexico's powerful drug cartels diversify operations beyond the illegal drug trade, the organized ...	Business Insider
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10/05/2011	REDD rag to indigenous forest dwellers Mexico City - The implementation of a forestry programme against climate change in the southern Mexican ...	IPS News
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07/05/2011	Mexican community takes on armed gangs Tension is palpable on the streets of Cheran, a town in the mountains of Michoacan state, western Mexico, ...	Sky News, Australia
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21/04/2011	Environmentalist murdered in southern Mexico Chilpancingo, Mexico – A Mexican environmentalist who fought illegal logging by drug traffickers ...	Latin American Herald Tribune
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20/04/2011	10 Species have disappeared from southeastern Mexican forests Mexico City – Eight species of snakes, one type of frog and a species of salamander have disappeared ...	Fox News
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25/03/2011	Monarch butterfly makes colorful comeback One year after an alarming 75 percent drop in population, Mexican trees are dripping with butterflies ...	CBS News
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17/01/2011	Mexico's missing mangroves The scenery is almost postcard perfect: a tiny beach nestled in a cove and surrounded by a lively mangrove ...	Al Jazeera
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05/01/2011	Mexico, the leader in community forest management Mexico City - Thanks to its experience with community forestry projects, Mexico can provide tips on how ...	IPS News
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22/12/2010	International court rules against Mexico's army It sides with two peasant ecologists who had long claimed they were illegally detained and tortured by ...	Los Angeles Times
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22/11/2010	Growing a forest, and harvesting jobs Ixtlan de Juarez, Mexico — As an unforgiving midday sun bore down on the pine-forested mountains ...	The New York Times
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18/11/2010	Tropical forests protection pact hailed for protecting climate Sacramento — A plan released today to reduce deforestation in the Acre state in the Brazilian Amazon ...	Environmental Expert
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23/09/2010	Keeping it in the community: Well-organised locals often make the best forest managers, but they need help At a sawmill in the misty hills of Michoacán in central Mexico, loggers sporting damp sombreros ...	The Economist, UK
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17/08/2010	Logging down in Mexican Monarch butterfly reserve Mexico City - The number of Monarch butterflies wintering in western Mexico has plunged despite a dramatic ...	Associated Press
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17/07/2010	Ranchers and drug barons threaten rain forest El Mirador, Guatemala — Great sweeps of Guatemalan rain forest, once the cradle of one of the world’s ...	The New York Times
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15/07/2010	The drug destruction of Mexico Beyond the human carnage of Mexico’s drug conflict, another innocent bystander — the environment ...	Miller-McCune
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24/03/2010	2010 may be a deadly year for monarch butterflies By some estimates, this spring's crop of monarch butterflies flying northward through Texas could ...	Houston and Texas News, US
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21/10/2009	Leaps forward in satellite forest monitoring Efforts to tackle deforestation and develop a robust REDD mechanism have received a double boost this ...	Carbon Positive
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02/07/2009	REDD readiness plans for Panama, Guyana approved but rejected for Indonesia The World Bank's Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) has approved REDD readiness plans (R-Plans) ...	Mongabay.com
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23/06/2009	Mexico acts to preserve natural World Heritage Sites: UNESCO prize winner Mexico City - The Mexican government has taken active steps to protect the natural World Heritage Sites ...	China View
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07/12/2008	Mexico Seizes $1 Million In Illegal Logging Raids In Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary Mexico City, Mexico - Mexican authorities said they made the largest-ever seizure of illegal lumber during ...	Latin American Herald Tribune (Venezuela)
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31/10/2008	Mexico steps up use of certification to combat illegal logging Illegal harvesting of timber has been a significant problem in Mexicos forest sector. In 2005, fifteen ...	ITTO Tropical Timber Market Report (Japan)
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12/09/2008	Conservation: Rise in illegal logging threatens butterflies The traditional wintering site for tens of millions of monarch butterflies in central Mexico is under ...	Guardian (UK)
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24/07/2008	14 countries win REDD funding to protect tropical forests Fourteen countries have been selected by the World Bank to receive funds for conserving their tropical ...	Mongabay.com
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06/07/2008	Mexico plants 8 million trees in latest green project Mexico City - Mexicans went out and planted more than 8 million trees across the country on Saturday ...	Reuters (UK)
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01/04/2008	Habitat Destruction May Wipe Out Monarch Butterfly Migration, Researcher Says Mexico - Intense deforestation in Mexico could ruin one of North Americas most celebrated natural wonders ...	Newswise (USA)
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26/02/2008	Mexico: The ongoing fight of indigenous communities against illegal logging The struggle for environmental defenders in Mexico continues. Activists who seek to protect their local ...	World Rainforest Movement (Uruguay)
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16/02/2008	Latin America: Deforestation still winning Mexico City - Never before have Latin America and the Caribbean fought so hard against deforestation, ...	IPS News Agency
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02/08/2007	Mexican police arrest loggers over activist murder Mexico - Mexican police have arrested two lumberjacks accused of murdering an anti-logging activist, ...	Reuters AlertNet (UK)
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28/06/2007	Environmentalists' 'high-risk' work Mexico - Campesinos face threats and violence for defending their land from illegal logging. ...	Latin America Press (Peru)
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17/06/2007	Wonder of nature under threat from illegal logging One of the world's greatest wildlife spectacles is under threat because environmental projects to ...	The Observer (UK)
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12/06/2007	Mexico: 3 Detained in Logging Raid Mexico City Mexican police and soldiers arrested three men Monday during an operation to fight illegal ...	Houston Chronicle (United States)
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08/06/2007	Mexico murder shows grim face of illegal logging Mexico City, Mexico - The brazen murder of an environmental activist by illegal loggers who are still ...	Reuters (USA)
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07/06/2007	Cedar, rosewood fail to win protection at U.N. talks The Hague, The Netherlands - Bids to curb logging of South and Central American cedar and rosewood trees, ...	Reuters (UK)
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15/04/2007	Operations against illegal logging The Ministry of Environment of Mexico DF in coordination with the Secretariat of Public Security, Environmental ...	ITTO Tropical Timber Market Report (Japan)
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26/02/2007	Mexico: Calderon sends army against illegal logging Mexico's President Felipe Calderon visited a small village outside the Rosario monarch butterly ...	World War 4 Report (USA)
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23/10/2006	World Bank advises better forest governance Washngton D.C., USA - Preserving the world's rapidly shrinking tropical forests and improving the ...	World Bank (USA)
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30/06/2006	Forest official slain by illegal logger Toluca, Mexico - A forest-protection official was shot and killed Thursday while he and his colleagues ...	The Houston Chronicle (USA)
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03/05/2006	Global coalition forms to boost incomes, rights of forest-dwelling communities Conservationists on Thursday launched a global coalition aimed at halving the number of forest-dwelling ...	Associated Press Worldstream
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06/03/2006	Mexico logging threat to butterflies Illegal logging in Mexico's national parks continues to threaten millions of butterflies, despite ...	BBC (UK)
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10/01/2006	NAFTA panel finds Mexico slow to respond to illicit logging on Indian lands Mexico City - Rogue loggers are taking advantage of slow-reacting authorities, mountainous terrain and ...	Associated Press (USA)
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10/01/2006	Panel: Gov´t slow to stop illegal logging Rogue loggers are taking advantage of slow-reacting authorities, mountainous terrain and even language ...	El Univeral Online (Mexico)
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17/11/2005	Nigeria has worst deforestation rate, FAO revises figures Nigeria has the world's highest deforestation rate of primary forests according to revised deforestation ...	Mongabay.com
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13/06/2005	Cheranastico Indian community hijacks 10 buses as part of a protest Mexico - More than 300 members of the Cheranastico Indian community of Paracho, Michoacan, hijacked 10 ...	El Universal (Mexico)
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20/02/2005	Mexico shifts blame for loss of butterflies MEXICO CITY - The population of Monarch butterflies has suffered a drastic decline, but Mexico - where ...	AZ Central (USA)
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09/02/2005	Butterflies get police protection MEXICO CITY -- Federal police officers are guarding the winter habitat of millions of monarch butterflies ...	Casper Star Tribune (USA)
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07/12/2004	Mexico Steps Up Battle Against Illegal Logging MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico is cracking down harder on the illegal loggers who are razing the nation's ...	Reuters (USA)
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01/08/2004	Butterfly cameras Mexican authorities mounted the first of 29 planned video cameras in the Monarch butterfly reserves of ...	San Diego Union Tribune
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26/06/2004	Rights group cites repression MEXICO CITY -- While hailing the recent release of two jailed environmental activists, Amnesty International ...	Casper Star Tribune
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02/06/2004	A haven for butterflies under the axe Land rights and conservation clash over 10,000 year old Mexican forest. ...	International Herald Tribune
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LINKS

TITLE	DESCRIPTION	REPORT
More than Monarchs	More Than Monarchs.org exists to raise awareness about the devastating impact of illegal logging on the environment and local communities in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in central Mexico.	Broken link
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