NAFTA Forestry Report

The Texas Center for Policy Studies has released a new report examining how NAFTA has influenced the forestry and forest products industries in the northern Mexico state of Chihuahua. The Forestry Industry in the State of Chihuahua: Economic, Ecological and Social Impacts Post-NAFTA explores how changes in production are affecting the forests, environment and indigenous peoples of the Sierra Tarahumara, an area rich in biodiversity and distinct cultural traditions, but also one plagued by socio-political conflict, much of which centers around the forestry industry.

The report finds that the number of forest harvesting permits, as well as the volume of wood authorized to be harvested have increased steadily in Chihuahua since 1993. The total volume of wood harvested in Chihuahua also grew. However, these figures do not account for the illegal harvesting of wood, a significant problem in Chihuahua. Some national estimates place illegal cutting at about 50% of authorized volumes in Mexico. Since 1996, there have been over 411 citizen complaints against the illegal cutting of pine and oak in the Sierra Tarahumara.

Exports of wood and wood products have also grown since NAFTA, but these are dwarfed by the amount of wood and forest products imported into Chihuahua and Mexico. Mexico maintains a large wood and forest products deficit, which puts pressure on national producers to keep product prices low in order to maintain their competitive position in the Mexican market. Public interest groups fear this price war will cause the forest products industry in Chihuahua to oppose environmental regulations that increase its cost of doing business.

The authors conclude that various NAFTA legal provisions could adversely affect the ability of Mexico to promote more sustainable forestry management in the Sierra Tarahumara if those provisions are interpreted or applied too broadly in NAFTA dispute resolution processes, such as investor-state disputes under Chapter 11 of NAFTA.

The report also examines available information regarding the impact of forestry on the environment of Chihuahua, particularly in the Sierra Tarahumara, since NAFTA. One problem is the lack of sufficient environmental baseline data to which post-NAFTA conditions can be compared. The available data show that logging in the Sierra Tarahumara has increased since 1994 and the severity of environmental impacts are likely increasing as well. PROFEPA has identified two regions of the Sierra as "critical zones" for deforestation, which draws attention to the enforcement of environmental laws and analysis of the causes of deforestation.

The authors, including TCPS and the Comision de Solidaridad y Defensa de los Derechos Humanos, presented the report's findings to a diverse group of public interest organizations, academics and government officials at the North American Symposium on Understanding the Linkages between Trade and Environment held by the North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation (NACEC) in Washington, D.C. in October 2000. The NACEC will publish copies of the report in Spanish and French.

Among the recommendations on how to improve forestry management in the Sierra Tarahumara, the report suggests developing local markets for sustainably harvested timber; swifter and more effective enforcement of existing forestry and environmental laws at the federal, state and municipal levels; and better study of the effects of the forestry and forest products industries on the environment of Chihuahua, including providing public access to information derived form satellite imaging and systems of interpretive geography in order to study the possibilities for sustainable forestry management in the region.

For more information or additional copies of the report, contact:

Mary Kelly
TCPS
44 East Avenue Suite 306
Austin, TX 78701
512.474.0811 phone
512.474.7846 fax
mek@texascenter.org

Click here to view a pdf version of the report.