The state government and organizations implemented a system against deforestation to guarantee some fruit without effects in Michoacán.
This weekend, the Super Bowl will be held, one of the most important sporting events in the United States and worldwide, and in which one of the protagonists, year after year, is the Mexican avocado.
Millions of people in that country have adopted the tradition of watching the National Football League (NFL) final with a large plate of guacamole on their tables, so the demand for Mexican fruit on this date increases by up to 30 percent.
“The importance of this event is that it is already a tradition in the United States that on that day, around 120 thousand tons of avocado are consumed, or guacamole is made. The Super Bowl is like the high season for avocado sales,” Michoacán’s Secretary of the Environment, Alejandro Méndez, told MILENIO, acknowledging that there has also been a dark side that threatens the environment in his state.
Most of the avocados that arrive in that country come from Michoacán, a place that has managed to take advantage of the boom with an export level of 1,300,000 tons per year, which represents 20 percent of the state’s GDP.
Economic boom… with environmental effects
Along with the economic benefits, the huge sales were beginning to be a problem for the environment, as well as a threat to protected areas such as the monarch butterfly biosphere.
To reverse this damage, an almost infallible satellite surveillance system was established.
“What this system does is compare satellite photos and automatically detect where there were changes in land use, where there is a before and after. We don’t even have a garden going away, it’s a system that has already been fine-tuned,” he explained.
The system detects the orchards that have been deforested and automatically generates a complaint to the authorities, but it also marks those producers and alerts the avocado packers and distributors not to buy the product.
Environmental organizations such as Guardian Forestal, which maintains contact with its peers in the United States, have been involved in the creation and management of the system.
From the other side of the border, these NGOs have sought out avocado wholesalers and retailers, reaching agreements that, beyond legal disputes, hit directly at the finances of those who have attacked the forests or invaded the Monarch Butterfly biosphere reserve.
“What we are looking for is managed through a commercial measure and with the participation of industry and customers in the United States, because in the end, they are the ones who ask for certification. It’s a way of putting a shield on it, so that if you do something wrong, it won’t make any sense, no one is going to buy you. You have to take your fruit to the black market. Any avocado producer needs to export it and generate income. With that, we cut the incentive and shield the monarch butterfly area,” explained Heriberto Padilla, director of Forest Guardian.
Source: Milenio
