Introduction
The Lacandon Jungle, located in southeastern Mexico, faces an unprecedented crime against nature. This destruction, which has ravaged four-fifths of the jungle—including more than a third of the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve—has not only failed to bring economic development or solve centuries-old poverty issues but has instead exacerbated them. The traditional, archaic, and ecologically harmful farming practices have multiplied, leading to a high environmental cost.
The Roza-Tumba-Quema Practice
A devastating indigenous practice, roza-tumba-quema, has spread across the region for subsistence farming, primarily of corn. Trees and shrubs are cut down with machetes or chainsaws, left to dry as fuel, and burned during dry seasons to clear land for corn cultivation. This method yields a meager one ton of corn per hectare annually, perpetuating extreme poverty. The land is repeatedly burned during each agricultural cycle, further impoverishing the soil. Eventually, these parcels become infertile and are abandoned, only to be destroyed again by clearing new sections of the jungle.
Contrary to popular belief, the soils in the Lacandon Jungle are generally shallow and nutrient-poor, especially on slopes of hills and colinas, which dominate the region. Nutrients circulate within vegetation through an efficient ecological process, rather than being stored in the soil.
Environmental Consequences
The burning of the jungle results in the loss of most nutrients and the release of stored carbon into the atmosphere as CO2, a green effect invernadero gas. Valuable timber species like caoba and cedro are consumed without benefit, vanishing in smoke during dry seasons. Sustainable forest management initiatives among indigenous communities have failed due to irregular and illegal human settlements, lack of legal property rights, cultural barriers, and the absence of relevant local governance institutions.
The same deforestation process is applied for establishing extensive livestock pastures. Only low-productivity pastures support less than one cow per hectare, with the bare rock left exposed and the landscape dotted with charred remains of giant trees. To prevent regrowth of tropical rainforest vegetation, parcels and pastures are burned repeatedly during dry seasons to eliminate “weeds,” ultimately destroying the soil’s regenerative capacity.
Impact on Biodiversity and Local Communities
This destructive cycle leads to the disappearance of habitats for thousands of plant and animal species, condemning them to extinction. It perpetuates a vicious cycle of poverty, ignorance, illegality, social crime, institutional collapse, and ecological devastation.
Protected Natural Areas partially resist this destruction, showcasing their effectiveness as conservation instruments despite adverse conditions. However, the disastrous “Sembrando Vida” subsidy program has triggered an unprecedented surge in deforestation amidst extraordinary population growth.
Population Growth and Deforestation
The Selva Lacandona region has experienced a remarkably high Tasa Global de Fecundidad (TGF) of 3.5 to 4.5 children per woman, while the national TGF has decreased to 1.6 children per woman in 2023. As these children grow, they demand more land, which is taken from supposed fallow lands, acahuales, secondary forests, or directly from the remaining primary tropical rainforest.
Ecological and Socioeconomic Consequences
The extermination of the Lacandon Jungle has resulted in massive accumulated CO2 emissions equivalent to Mexico’s annual total. The indifferent or impotent government turns a blind eye to this ecological catastrophe.
Key Questions and Answers
- What is the main issue in the Lacandon Jungle? The primary concern is the devastating deforestation driven by traditional, ecologically harmful farming practices and illegal land settlements.
- How does the roza-tumba-quema practice affect the environment? This method leads to nutrient loss, carbon release into the atmosphere, and soil degradation, perpetuating poverty and threatening biodiversity.
- What are the consequences of population growth in the region? Increased demand for land results in further deforestation, exacerbating ecological damage and social issues.
- How effective are Protected Natural Areas in the Lacandon Jungle? Despite adverse conditions, these areas demonstrate their value as conservation instruments, though they are under constant threat from deforestation.
- What role does government policy play in this situation? The government’s indifference or impotence allows the ecological crisis to persist, with no meaningful intervention to address deforestation or its consequences.
