The Mérida City Council, headed by Renán Barrera Concha, received the “Tree Cities of the World 2022” distinction for its commitment to biodiversity, caring for the environment, and expanding green infrastructure in the Municipality.
The Municipal President announced that Mérida received for the fourth time the recognition of the Tree City of the World granted by the Arbor Day Foundation and FAO, along with other cities such as Guadalajara, Toluca, Durango, Irapuato, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Zapopan, Tlalpan City Hall, Villa del Coal, Mayor Miguel Hidalgo, General Terán, Nuevo León, Pachuca de Soto, Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí and San Pedro Garza García.
“Mérida stands out for promoting programs that strengthen our green infrastructure, from tax incentives for those who install solar panels in their businesses or homes, the Forestry Crusades, which last year met the goal of planting more than 15,000 trees throughout the Municipality, to the care of biodiversity, flora, fauna and maintaining a culture of environmental preservation in the Cuxtal ecological reserve,” he said.
For her part, the director of the Sustainable Development Unit (UDS), Alejandra Bolio Rojas, pointed out that the Mérida City Council is clear that a sustainable future will generate better living conditions for the inhabitants, and for this reason, it has public policies focused on to the care of the environment, the promotion of green infrastructure and the protection of flora and fauna.
“They awarded this distinction for the fourth time to Mérida for the effort made by the City Council and the different sectors of society in the year 2022 in terms of reforestation and flora care in the Municipality,” she said.
Through it, she highlighted that Mérida joins a network of 169 cities in the world that recognize the importance of trees to have cities that are resilient to climate change, healthy and sustainable.
She recalled that, to be recognized as a World Tree City, five standards must be implemented to ensure better trees for the well-being of the inhabitants: 1) Assign a person the responsibility of managing the trees. 2) Have regulations that protect trees. 3) Generate useful information to manage your trees and green areas. 4) Assign annual budget for the maintenance and increase of trees. 5) involve society to celebrate trees.
“Being one of the tree cities in the world demonstrates the importance that Mérida places on nature and its trees with a natural environment that has a positive impact on the physical and mental health of people and that globally contributes to mitigating the effects of climate change. ”, he stressed.
Finally, she said that Mérida will continue to make progress each year to improve its tree cover, to improve its practices for the management of its trees and green areas, and to conserve nature in the urban environment.
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