Deforestation down 57% in the winter habitat of Mexican monarch butterflies

Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico. Credit: Pablo Cervantes / WWF-Telmex Telcel Foundation Alliance Deforestation in the core zone of the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve in Mexico decreased by 57.6 per cent, from 15.8 hectares lost during the 2016-2017 period to to 6.7 hectares in 2017 -2018. The survey is carried out every year between February and March by the WWF-Telmex Telcel Foundation Alliance, the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) and the Biology Institute of the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Although forest degradation in general decreased, there was an increase in illegal logging – from 0.6 hectares in 2016-2017 to 1.4 hectares in 2017-2018 – found mainly in the San Felipe de los Alzati community, in Zitácuaro, Michoacán, where a weakening of social cohesion caused the additional clearing. The drought affecting the region for several years impacted 3.9 hectares, almost triple that of the previous period. "Forest degradation decreased because of the absence of large-scale illegal logging; the impacts from the 2016 storms are over, and no new extreme weather events were registered. Since 2009, there has been a significant reduction in illegal logging thanks to the commitment of the communal farmland associations (ejidos) and the indigenous […]

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