Official: Mexico Losing Forest Fast
Copyright 2001 Associated Press
December 3, 2001
MEXICO CITY (AP)- A study of satellite images suggests that Mexico is losing forest cover almost twice as fast as previously estimated, the Environment Department reported Monday.
For years, government agencies had estimated that Mexico was losing about 1.5 million acres of forest each year to logging, fires and the expansion of farms and ranches, the government news agency Notimex reported.
But according to a multi-agency study of satellite images taken between 1993 and 2000, forest loss in those years averaged about 2.78 million acres, Environment Secretary Victor Lichtinger told a news conference.
Scientists estimate that Brazil has the world's highest deforestation rate, followed by Mexico and Indonesia.
``The situation is doubly critical ... because the loss of forests isn't just a question of plants, it's a loss of fertility, of water retention, of oxygen creation, it's a loss on many fronts,'' Lichtinger said.
Upon taking office one year ago, President Vicente Fox (news - web sites) pledged to combat deforestation, by cracking down on illegal logging and encouraging reforestation for commercial and other uses.