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Countries Appendix MEXICO (29.0%) Rapid industrialization of Mexico and uncontrolled population growth over the last few decades has left Mexico's environment decimated and less than 10% of its original tropical rainforests standing. Despite President's Zedillo's announcement of the country's first ever national environmental plan in 1996, Mexico's last remaining forests are increasingly threatened. Illegal commercial logging, not halted by the corrupted police, results in damaged forest with lower biodiversity. An even greater threat is the actions of the Mexican military against an indigenous uprising in Chiapas. The military has moved into the Lacandon rainforest after Chase Bank (U.S.)-which has billions invested in Mexico-demanded the Mexican government put down Zapitista rebellion to demonstrate the government's ability to uphold stability necessary for a good investment climate. The military's movement forced thousands of peasants to move into the forest where they will probably cut fuelwood and clear for agriculture. The rebels demands for improved living conditions including rural electrification, improved roads, and peasant land grants will undoubtedly add to the pressures on the Lacandon rainforest. In order for the government to meet these demands, it would have to sacrifice substantial tracts of remaining forest. In addition to military and rebel threats, PEMEX (Mexican National Oil) has announced that the Lacandon rainforest has extensive oil deposits which it feels are worth developing. Not only at risk by these developments are Mexico's last rainforests, but also Mexico's last indigenous peoples. Forest fires set by peasant farmers and plantation owners to clear land for crops burned out of control in 1998. More than 11,000 fires destroyed over 1.5 million acres (600,000 ha) of forest and scrubland and sent chocking smoke as far north as Canada. Several southern U.S. states issued health warnings and the U.S. sent firefighters and helicopters to battle the blazes. These Mexican fires, along with the Florida forest fires, made Americans more aware of the massive fires burning in Indonesia and Brazil. |
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