Chiapas State Government attended the presentation.
In June 2003, Conservation International presented the Joint Strategy for Conserving Selva Lacandona\’s Biodiversity. More than 300 participants attended the presentation, which was held in México City. Participants included Lacandona Community leaders (the Lacandona Community are the actual owners of the land in Montes Azules and Lacantún Biosphere Reserves), non-governmental organizations, governmental officials, conservationists, academics, and members of the national and international press.
Mr. Pedro Díaz, indigenous representative of the Lacandona Community, spoke of his concerns about the threats that have become so prevalent in the Lacandona region. He spoke of the forest fires that have destroyed large areas of the jungle and the illegal wildlife trafficking. He also highlighted the illegal encroachments and settlements that have been occurring into the Biospheres over the last several years. These encroachments have threatened the Lacandona Community\’s social stability as they have been forced into conflict trying to stop the encroachments. During this forum, the Lacandona Community sent a message to President Vicente Fox asking him to give attention to the environmental problems they are confronting. At the same time, they called for greater economic investment for social development, creation of jobs, and infrastructure for better education in the region.
Mr. Pedro Díaz, representative of the Lacandona Community and resident of Frontera Corozal.
Dr. Rodolfo Dizo, prominent researcher of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México and expert on the Selva Lacandona, spoke of this region\’s incredible importance for México and the world. He emphasized its rich biodiversity, and as an example, mentioned that the there are 4,314 plant species registered in the zone representing 20% of the entire flora in México. Selva Lancandona is the most diverse area of the country. He presented impressive data, for example, up to 140 plant species can be found in one squared meter of the forest. He also pointed out that Selva Lacandona plays an important role in carbon sequestration; it is known that the destruction of forest puts out approximately 53 megatons of carbon into the atmosphere per year.
The strategy presented to society seeks to create an integrated action plan that addresses the social, economic, and production problems related to biodiversity conservation and that threaten the environmental services provided by Selva Lacandona to México and the world.
Some of the participants at the Joint Strategy for Conserving Selva Lacandona\’s Biodiversity presentation.
In addition, over the last year, the Coalition to Rescue Selva Lacandona was formed. ParksWatch along with groups like Naturalia, CEMDA, UGAM, ProNatura, and other non-governmental organizations make up the Coalition. We have been working on the Selva Lacandona, analyzing its problems. The Coalition was invited to participate in this presentation and we expressed our concerns for the area and presented our initiatives, analysis, and work to date that aim to contribute to the region\’s conservation and the harmonious development for the communities living there.
ParksWatch – Mexico: August, 2003