Mexico Reports Lower Per Capita Possession of Water
 Xinhua
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June 05, 2010
Mexico's per capita possession of water is less than a quarter of the figure 60 years ago, Mexico's National Statistics Agency (Inegi) reported Friday, ahead of the World Environment Day which falls on Saturday.
The average Mexican citizen had access to around 18,100 cubic meters of potable water in 1950, and the figure has now fallen to just over 4,000 cubic meters, Inegi said.
And an average of 235,000 hectares of the nation's land are destroyed by forest fires each year.
However, the government's reforesting efforts are bearing fruit, with around 240,500 hectares of land reforested during 2000, compared with 14,500 in 1993, Inegi said.
The figure has dropped from its peak to reach 183,000 hectares in the most recently-published statistics for 2006.
Inegi also reported progress in air quality for most cities, with double digit percentage declines for carbon monoxide in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Monterrey and Toluca, and smaller declines in the same cities for concentrations of particulates and nitrogen dioxide.
The government of Mexican President Felipe Calderon has ordered all regions, including Mexico City, to draw up plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as part of a unilateral commitment by the nation, to cut the emissions by 50 million tons a day by the end of Calderon's presidency.
Calderon's commitment to green issues has been recognized by the United Nations, which awarded Mexico the honor of hosting the 2010 UN Climate Change Conference in November. |
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