During the past 20 years, more than half of the state’s vegetation has suffered severe deterioration and significant changes due to human activities such as construction works, agroindustry, livestock and deforestation.
Deforestation is a phenomenon that has gradually manifested and intensified in recent years; the consequence is a remarkable reduction in the surface of green spaces (jungles and rainforests) in the state territory and, therefore, a significant reduction in the number of native animal species as well.
With the goal of producing 110,000 native plants, which would represent an initial area of 176 hectares, the Secretariat of Sustainable Development projects this 2019 to combat deforestation in the Yucatan jungle with the sole objective of achieving environmental sustainability.
In addition, the Secretariat of Sustainable Development seeks to promote the reforestation of public and private spaces with the purpose of generating awareness among the population, and create a social and productive reforestation initiative, thus promoting the creation and reactivation of green areas, that are desperately needed in the cities of Mérida, Valladolid, Tizimin, Tekax and Progreso just to mention a few.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), an annual loss of 155,000 hectares of forest is estimated in our country, due to lack of forest care, which places Mexico among the countries with the highest deforestation levels in the world.
Sayda Melina Rodríguez Gómez, State Secretary of Sustainable Development (Photo: SIPSE)
“However, Yucatan is below the national average, as it has a technical record loss of 3, 800 hectares per year”, said Sayda Melina Rodríguez Gómez, State Secretary of Sustainable Development.
TYT Newsroom with information from yucatan.com.mx