National Agreement for Forests, Jungles, and Mangroves to halt deforestation

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) and the National Forestry Commission (Conafor) published the National Agreement for Forests, Jungles, and Mangroves, a general instrument that establishes mandatory guidelines for its administrative units in order to curb deforestation and the degradation of forest ecosystems. The document appears in the Official Gazette of the Federation on Tuesday, September 15, 2026, in edition number 251/2026, pages 8 to 13, and was signed in Zapopan, Jalisco, on September 4, 2026.

The agreement is signed by Alicia Isabel Adriana Bárcena Ibarra, Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, and Sergio Humberto Graf Montero, Director General of the National Forestry Commission, based on articles 4, 25, and 27 of the Constitution, the Organic Law of the Federal Public Administration, the Planning Law, and the General Law for Sustainable Forestry Development. Its objective is to contribute to guaranteeing the human right to a healthy environment and sustainable development.

A critical diagnosis of the forestry sector

The instrument starts from an adverse balance. Mexico has 138.7 million hectares of forest wealth, equivalent to 71% of the national territory, but between 2019 and 2024, a total loss of 1,067,988 hectares of forests, jungles, and other wooded forest ecosystems was recorded, an average of 177,998 hectares per year, primarily attributed to land-use change for agricultural and livestock activities.

Forest fires reached historic levels in 2024, with more than 1.6 million hectares affected, reflecting extreme events associated with climate change and inadequate fire-use practices. 11.9 million people live in forest areas across 103,605 localities, 30% of whom are indigenous or Afro-Mexican, and a large part of the vegetation is located within 16,953 ejidos, towns, and indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities.

Ten action guidelines

The first article of the agreement establishes ten guidelines that must be applied by the units of Semarnat and Conafor:

• Conserve, restore, and reforest forests and jungles.
• Guarantee the conservation and restoration of mangroves as strategic ecosystems.
• Promote sustainable production free of deforestation, with the participation of the agricultural and livestock sectors.
• Drive forestry development and strengthen community forestry.
• Support women-led forestry companies.
• Collaborate among the public, private, and social sectors to foster sustainable forestry value chains.
• Drive the financing of payment for environmental services programs.
• Strengthen the Fire Management Program and prevent fires of agricultural origin.
• Drive the commercialization of legally sourced forestry products against illegal logging.
• Simplify and modernize forestry procedures for ejidos, communities, and small landowners.

Coordination and monitoring

The agreement provides that Semarnat and Conafor promote coordination and concertation agreements with federal entities, municipalities, and territorial demarcations of Mexico City, as well as with forestry communities, indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples, women, youth, and the academic, professional, industrial, agricultural, and livestock sectors. Conafor shall monitor the implementation and report to Semarnat on a semi-annual basis.

The instrument enters into force the day after its publication and does not imply additional resources: expenditures will be covered by the approved budget of the spending executors. With this, the federal Government seeks to align forestry policy with the commitments of the Paris Agreement, the National Strategy for the Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (ENAREDD+), and the goal of zero net deforestation.

Source: Official Gazette of the Federation, edition 251/2026, September 15, 2026, Executive Branch, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, pp. 8-13 (National Agreement for Forests, Jungles, and Mangroves).