México—Addressing Challenges to Reforestation

México's incredibly diverse forests are designated by federal regulations as “multipurpose” and managed for the benefit and economic welfare of the local communities. In addition to traditional wood products, the forests provide grazing lands, nonwood forest products, fuelwood, and ecosystem services. Unfortunately, growing populations and the structure of the community forest enterprises are placing increasing stress on forest resources. Furthermore, illegal harvesting, selective logging, routine burning for forage production, and unsuccessful reforestation efforts have depleted forest resources in many regions. Few local communities possess adequate forest nurseries to properly reforest degraded areas. The recent recommitment to nursery production and reforestation by Comisión Nacional Forestal (CONAFOR) should lead to improved stand establishment and growth, especially as forest communities understand the critical link between reforestation and sustained forest productivity. CONAFOR, a federal agency responsible for reforestation programs, has restructured nursery production, reduced the total number of nurseries, and contracted with newly established, private nurseries that now produce 38 million seedlings/year (about 20% of all seedlings produced). The number of community nurseries has shrunk with this greater reliance on private and military (SEDENA) nurseries, which tend to be larger and more sophisticated and use containerized seedlings rather than polybag systems. The objective of this article is to discuss factors leading to these changes and the challenges facing the reforestation program.