| | |  Editorials | Environmental | July 2008 
President Felipe Calderón Urges All Mexicans to Plant the Highest Possible Number of Trees This Saturday
 Presidencia de la República
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| | The President told farm workers at the Ejido de Tapaxco that as part of his government's commitment to sustainable development, it has established the goal of planting five million trees in a single day. | | |
El Oro, Mexico State - On the second day of his tour of Mexico State, President Felipe Calderón urged the population to take part in a National Reforestation Day to reverse the damage to forests and thereby contribute to the preservation of the environment.
The President told farm workers at the Ejido de Tapaxco that as part of his government's commitment to sustainable development, it has established the goal of planting five million trees in a single day.
"It is time to stop the crime we are committing against nature, before nature takes revenge on us. This Saturday, several Mexicans have decided to get up very early to plant the greatest possible number of trees in a single day," he explained.
In the Mexico state municipality of El Oro, the President also handed over 5,000 agrarian certificates, providing legal guarantees for over 2,000 farm workers and their families in this locality.
He pointed out that holding these certificates will enable people in the countryside to obtain access to the programs offered by both Federal Government and Mexico State to undertake new productive projects.
In this respect, he said, “Ownership provides guarantees for individuals and families. It is a pillar of stability for the family economy. Owning the plot of land on which you live or work is a crucial aspect of living better.”
As part of the actions to benefit those with least, the President reported that the food component of the Oportunidades Program will increase by 240 pesos a month from $390 to $630, to provide assistance for purchasing food.
He went on to say that from now onwards, Diconsa shops will provide fertilizer for farm workers at the lowest possible price, which they will only have to pay for once they have obtained profits from their harvests.
Private Sector Participation Crucial to Looking After Environment to Achieve Sustainability
Presidencia de la República
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Mexico City - “The present generation must radically alter the way it relates to the environment to prevent climate change and the deterioration of biodiversity from reaching a point where damage is irreversible,” declared Under-Secretary of Environmental Planning and Policy of Semarnat, Fernando Tudela.
He stated that environmental sustainability is a task that requires concentrating the efforts of all social sectors, which is why it is important for Federal Government to join the states, municipalities and civil society organizations, cooperations and businessmen to undertake actions that will achieve the change Mexico requires.
During his participation at the event hosted by Coca Cola, On the Way to Sustainability, the Fernando Tudela explained that large firms have already realized that it is not enough to comply with environmental standards in their internal processes but to "spread sustainability," in other words, so that their actions will influence society, other firms, cycles, chains and complete productive processes, in other words, "act as agents of change."
He highlighted the contribution of the industrial sector in terms of the sustainable, rational use of resources, as well as water management and treatment, energy saving, the recycling and use of materials and the use of clean technologies to reduce Greenhouse Effect Gases (GEI), measures which he classified as “corporate, socio-environmental responsibility.”
In this respect, the Advisor to the Secretariat of the Environment and Natural Resources Arturo Rodríguez Avitia pointed out that Semarnat is working with Private Enterprise in the Environmental Leadership Program for Competitivity, which seeks to create competitive value and encourage better environmental performance through the good use of raw materials and energy.
He reported that this Program is based on a pilot program developed by Semarnat and the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CCA) in which 146 firms participated with extremely positive results.
A propos of this, he cited savings of $132 million pesos a year derived from the better use of raw materials, as well as the creation of significant environmental benefits such as the reduction of carbon dioxide emissions into the air and the reduction of pollutants discharged into the water.
The Environmental Leadership Program for Competitiveness, he explained, is attempting to secure the participation of over 10,00 firms by the end of the current administration, whose savings for the country are estimated at approximately $1.5 billion dollars annual, with extremely significant environmental benefits regarding water and energy and the reduction of gases released into the atmosphere.
Lastly, President of Coca Cola in Mexico, James Quincy and WWF director in Mexico, Omar Vidal, expressed their support of Federal Government and their willingness to take part in the Reforest a Tree and Be Part of History Day, scheduled for July 5 throughout the country, the goal of which it so to plan at least 5 million trees in a single day.
Source: Head Office of Media and Communications. Information Department Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources, (SEMARNAT). |
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