• AT RISK: Conservation of Mexico’s 182 protected areas is at risk given the López Obrador Administration’s decree cutting 75% operational expenses across the government. The cuts threaten to reduce the small force of 1,000 park rangers guarding 222 million acres.
• BASICS: “We have money to manage very basic things this year. There are significant cuts to operational expenses which include computer services, printers and even cleaning”, said Roberto Aviña, the head of CONANP, the agency managing Mexico’s national parks.
• BUDGET: Total budget for CONANP in 2020 is equivalent to US $29.3 million. It is unclear the amount appropriated to operational expenses. Mexico’s protected areas include wonders as Yucatán’s Calakmul reserve and the desert islands of the Sea of Cortez.
• PARALYSIS: “These reductions will force CONANP to close dozens of field offices, affecting its capacity to continue working with local communities, as well as basic activities such as monitoring and protection”, said the World Wildlife Fund’s Mexico unit in a press release.
