Mexico Launches Forestry Plan Amid Deforestation Risks

Mexico’s federal environmental sector launched the National Forestry Program (PNF) 2026-2030, a policy framework designed to guide forest conservation, restoration and sustainable use strategies. The country continues to face deforestation pressures linked to agriculture, livestock expansion and ecosystem degradation. The program will coordinate actions across 13 ministries and 14 federal agencies through five objectives, 21 strategies and 146 action lines focused on productivity, conservation, restoration and institutional strengthening.

The PNF derives from Mexico’s National Development Plan and the Environment and Natural Resources Sector Program. Authorities said the initiative was developed through consultations with forest communities, Indigenous groups, academics, civil society, local governments and federal agencies.

The program seeks to increase sustainable forest productivity, strengthen conservation of forest ecosystems and environmental services, restore degraded forest areas and combat deforestation while improving governance, financing access, technological development and monitoring systems. Authorities said implementation will incorporate gender and ethnic diversity perspectives as part of a broader inclusive development strategy.

Mexico lost approximately 3.3Mha of forest between 2000 and 2025, equivalent to 5% of the country’s forest area, according to the FAO’s Forest Resources Assessment (FRA) 2025 report. The data showed that losses were unevenly distributed: primary forests with natural regeneration, which declined by 2.9Mha, while planted forests increased by 78,000 ha.

Despite continued forest loss, deforestation rates have slowed. Mexico’s annual forest area change rate fell from -0.35% between 1990 and 2000 to an estimated -0.19% during 2015-2025, indicating that conservation and restoration efforts are beginning to produce measurable results.

At a global scale, the forestry sector remains under pressure from global deforestation trends. According to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), forests contain up to 80% of the planet’s terrestrial biodiversity, yet more than 400Mha were lost globally between 1990 and 2020, particularly in tropical regions across the Americas, Africa and Asia.

The FSC reported that agricultural and livestock expansion accounts for 88% of global deforestation, alongside urban development and ecosystem degradation. These factors contribute to biodiversity loss, resource depletion, poverty and migration in rural regions.