Martha Josefina Rodriguez Casillas, general director of the State's Forestry Commission (Cofom), said that 80% of the nearly 50,000 acres that have been lost to deforestation since 1999 correspond to changes in land use to create avocado orchards.
The state official stated that they were working with avocado producers, industry organizations and the State's Forestry Council, which has a technical committee for the change in land use, in order to reverse this situation.
She also stated that they were working together to have a meeting in order to establish a line of action to address the problem.
Rodriguez Casillas emphasized that all the changes in land use in recent years have been illegal because "there has been no formal authorization for changes in land use for agricultural crops of avocado or of any type, however, we are finding solutions to see what to do with those who have already done this and how to compensate those who have already established their crops."
She stressed that 80 percent of all the forest lost has been lost exclusively for the establishing of this culture, given the demand for this agricultural product.
Finally, she clarified that the data about the loss of soil covered the period between 1999 and 2010, which was when the last measurements were made, and that they had been able to reforest approximately 30,000 hectares of the nearly 50,000 hectares that had been lost.
Source: lajornadamichoacan