Under the slogan “Planting trees, cultivating water,” Governor Mauricio Vila Dosal and the Mayor of Mérida, Alejandro Ruz Castro, initiated the 11th Forest Crusade of this year, which includes the planting of 8,500 trees in the municipality to reach the goal of 150,000 set by the current municipal administration for 2021-2024.
At the “Henry Martin” South Sports Complex, the Governor and the Merida Mayor planted a 1.80-meter-tall jicarito tree, accompanied by students from the Community Interaction High School Academic Unit (UABIC), representatives of civil society, members of the Advisory Council for Sustainability in the Municipality of Mérida 2021-2024, and public officials.
Governor Mauricio Vila recalled that during his administration, more than 1 million trees have been planted, and the goal is to close with 1.2 million trees planted across the 106 municipalities of Yucatán.
“Only in Mérida, we have managed to plant 600,000 trees between the City Council and the State Government in the last 6 years. So, what we ask of the people of Mérida, and citizens in general, is that if we want the environment to improve so much, we have to take action, which is to plant, but also to water, maintain, and take care of what we are obtaining,” he added.
As part of the efforts to continue reforesting Yucatán, Vila Dosal emphasized that with the support of state government schools, 175,000 trees have been planted through the “one child, one tree” program; in addition, with the network of sustainable universities, the planting of 3,600 trees has been achieved.
In the presence of the head of the Sustainable Development Secretariat (SDS), Diana Pérez Jauma, the Governor commented that as part of the international commitment signed at the United Nations Conference on Biological Diversity (COP15), all states can decree 30 percent of their territory as a protected natural area.
In this regard, the gorvernor said the decree is ready so that we can increase the Dzilam de Bravo reserve and the JIBIOPUUC project in Tekax, so that Yucatán can fulfill that commitment and have 30% of its territory as a protected natural area.
“That is a commitment that everyone is signing for 2030, but here in Yucatán, we will fulfill it in 2024. Now, just like when one plants trees, it’s not just about decreeing it and that’s it. We have to create, and we have created, a very important legal framework with the Climate Change Law, and we are already creating programs that allow us to have funds to care for and preserve these protected natural areas,” he mentioned.
In his message, Ruz Castro recalled that the current administration has planted 138,309 trees out of the 150,000 contemplated as the final goal to increase urban greenery, reduce the effects of climate change, and offer a greener environment for future generations.
