Mexico is a country with major forestry resources. At present, it has 128 million hectares covered with forests, jungles, and other kind of vegetation (SEMARNAT, 2002). At the same time, it suffers from one the highest rates of deforestation. According to FAO, the rate of deforestation reaches 600,000 hectares per year. More optimistic estimates point out that only 400,000 hectares are lost annually (CONAFOR, 2004). Forestry represents an important means of living to many Mexican families. It is responsible for about 82,000 direct jobs and for more than 208,000 in the industrial sector. Industry, directly and indirectly related to forestry represents 7.4% of industrial GDP (INEGI, 2009). The property of forest resources in Mexico is basically social. About 95 million hectares of the 128 total are owned by "ejidos" and communities (Mota, 2006). The majority of them are diversified production units (forestry is combined with other activities like agriculture or mining). But this kind of property means an interlinking between productive activities and governance structure. For example, the mere and complementary authorities are elected in general assemblies. A portfolio of public interventions encompasses the approach that the Mexican government has towards forests and the role assigned to them in economic and environmental terms.
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