Mexico plants trees, loses forests: Greenpeace

Yahoo News 4 Jun 09;

MEXICO CITY (AFP) – Mexico is failing to stop deforestation, despite planting millions of trees, Greenpeace said here Wednesday, two days before the country hosts the UN World Environment Day.

Mexico is fifth in the world for species diversity, but also fifth in the world for deforestation, the lobby group said.

"We call on the government of (President) Felipe Calderon to be coherent. It's not possible to extol Mexico as an example in defending the environment ... whilst systematically destroying ecosystems with environment policies which do not stop deforestation," a statement said.

Mexico loses around 600,000 hectares (almost 1.5 million acres) of trees and jungle each year, which is equivalent to four times the size of the country's sprawling capital of some 20 million people, the group said.

Environmental policy under Calderon -- who will host World Environment Day on Mexico's Caribbean coast -- has not changed, Greenpeace said.

"Mexico even has one of the highest rates of environmental degradation in the world," it added.

Greenpeace said that bad practice in tourism -- one of Mexico's main sources of foreign income -- had accelerated the destruction of the environment.

Mexico has so far planted 537 million trees and is a "leading partner" in a plan to plant seven billion trees worldwide by the end of 2009, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

The UN-sponsored World Environment Day began 37 years ago and takes place annually on June 5.

This year's event will focus on combating climate change, one of the top priorities of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.