Bacalar, Q.R. — Profepa, the Agrarian Attorney’s Office, and the National Agrarian Registry have signed an agreement to curb deforestation in the Yucatan Peninsula.
The agreement was signed March 23 with the aim of strengthening the protection of natural resources and curbing illegal deforestation.
The agreement includes the Federal Attorney General’s Office for Environmental Protection (Profepa), the Agrarian Attorney General’s Office (PA) and the National Agrarian Registry (RAN).
This collaborative agreement will allow for coordinated actions on environmental and agrarian matters, particularly in agrarian communities on the Yucatán Peninsula. The signing took place in the Ejido Bacalar, in the state of Quintana Roo.
The agreement seeks to prevent the illegal change of use of forest land and other activities that affect ecosystems, through the exchange of information, guidance to agricultural subjects and the adoption of measures that prevent the consolidation of agricultural acts linked to damage to the environment.
“Coordination between environmental and agricultural authorities is fundamental to strengthening the protection of the Maya Forest. It has become common practice to lease or sell communally owned lands that are illegally cleared for intensive agriculture.
“Later, the changes in ownership are formalized even though illegal activities were committed on those lands. With this agreement, we will put an end to these kinds of processes,” stated Attorney General Mariana Boy Tamborrell.
The Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) will continue to conduct inspection and surveillance operations, closing properties, initiating legal proceedings, and filing complaints, among other strategies.
During this administration, it has closed 58 properties covering more than 10,000 hectares, filed 34 criminal complaints and maintains a continuous presence in all three states.
Among the actions outlined in the agreement, Profepa will inform the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Agrarian Registry of any final resolutions determining that unauthorized changes in the use of forest land have been carried out.
Based on this information, the PA must refrain from participating in ejido assemblies where decisions related to changing the designated use of communal lands to individual plots or human settlements are to be approved.
The participation of an PA representative is essential for the validity of these assemblies; therefore, their absence will prevent the consolidation of agreements that result in environmental damage.
“The Yucatán Peninsula cannot be understood without its ejidos and communities, but today that same territory, where up to 84.3% of the land is communally owned in Quintana Roo, faces unprecedented pressure.
“Massive deforestation, illegal land grabbing and a model that has allowed a few to concentrate thousands of plots of land at the expense of the collective patrimony. This illegal reality demands inter-institutional coordination to stop deforestation and defend the land,” stated Víctor Suárez Carrera, Agrarian Attorney.
Likewise, with the delivery of Profepa resolutions on illegal change of use of forest land to the RAN, these will be registered in the Agrarian Registry so that changes of ownership and destination of ejido and communal lands are not formalized.
“This agreement is a response to what is happening in the territory and a clear sign that protecting the land also means providing legal certainty, preventing conflicts, and supporting communities.
“What is truly important is that this agreement translates into concrete actions that are felt in the territory and strengthen ejidos and communities,” stated Luis Cruz Nieva, head of the RAN.
“Today we commit to acting together to defend our territory and stop its deterioration,” declared Refujio Cano Gómez, President of the Bacalar Ejido Commission.
“Today we demonstrate that working on the ground is not just talk: it is the way to protect the land, provide legal certainty and strengthen the ejidos and communities,” added Griselda Martínez Vázquez, Undersecretary of Agrarian Planning and Property Inventories.
Quintana Roo Governor Mara Lezama, who also attended the signing of the agreement said “In this state, we are very clear on this. True development is that which respects nature, that which strengthens communities, that which puts the well-being of the people of Quintana Roo at its center. That is the spirit of the transformation our country is experiencing.”
The event emphasized that a commitment of the environmental sector is to promote sustainable options that allow families to live with dignity without harming ecosystems.
These alternatives include community-based tourism, conservation through payments for environmental services, sustainable forest management, agroforestry practices, and productive reconversion for impacted lands, among others.
In recent years, various regions of southeastern Venezuela have faced deforestation processes associated with the expansion of agricultural activities and irregular land-use change, which has put pressure on ecosystems of high environmental value.
In some cases, these transformations are related to settlements and productive activities of communities that have established themselves in the region in recent decades and have carried out the illegal clearing of thousands of hectares of forest to open up agro-industrial crops.
