President Zedillo Decrees the New Monarch Butterfly Reserve by Monica Missrie, World Wildlife Fund/Mexico November 11, 2000 Yesterday, November 10 at the Presidential residence of Los Pinos, President Zedillo officially announced the new decree that expands the current Monarch Butterfly Reserve to 56,259 hectares. The ceremony began with a speech by Julia Carabias, Secretary of the Environment, Natural Resources and Fisheries Ministry (SEMARNAP) who explained the monarch butterfly migratory phenomenon and the importance of conserving the Mexican forests which are critical to the species' survival during the winter. She expressed that the 1986 decree that first established the reserve has proven insufficient and has provided little benefits for local inhabitants who face a dilemma they describe as: "either we conserve the butterflies or we feed our children". Ms. Carabias then thanked Dr. Lincoln Brower for his years of research along with WWF for helping SEMARNAP develop an innovative proposal that will establish a fund to compensate landowners, thus protecting the butterflies and benefiting the local people. She mentioned William Reilly's help in obtaining a five million dollar donation from the Packard Foundation to be administered by the Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (FMCN). Ms. Carabias stated that the federal government added one million dollars to the fund and that the governments of Michoacan and the State of Mexico will contribute as well. Also, 3 million dollars from the federal government will be used to support sustainable activities. She finished by presenting the Management Plan for the Reserve to President Zedillo. Kathryn Fuller, President of WWF US followed Ms. Carabias thanking President Zedillo for his support to conservation during his administration and the Secretary for her leadership. She also thanked UNAM, Dr. Brower and the WWF team for their contribution in helping this innovative scheme become a reality. Ms. Fuller said the new decree represents a unique opportunity to protect the monarch butterfly. "It was 25 years ago when the world discovered the overwintering phenomenon, and we now know that the forests that protect this incredible creature have been greatly degraded. More than half of the conserved forest has been lost in these 25 years and if this continues we could lose almost the entire forest and with it Mexico's natural patrimony". The decision by the Mexican government and the support by the local communities represents a historic opportunity that will help us recover what we have lost. After Ms. Fuller, Victor Tinoco, governor of Michoacan gave a very brief speech thanking the Secretary for helping raise awareness to conservation issues. He mentioned that conserving the monarch butterfly ecosystem will contribute to sustainable economic development and thanked the federal government for allowing state governments to be involved. The governor of the State of Mexico, Arturo Montiel, was the next speaker. He began by stressing the importance of biodiversity and how it represents a patrimony for humankind. He emphasized the collaboration during the process of creating the new reserveand thanked Zedillo for fostering federalism, which allows state governments to participate in conservation. He thanked Secretary Carabias and said that restoring ecological equilibrium is a challenge all sectors of society (NGOs, local and federal governments, etc.) have to face, working towards common objectives. Governor Montiel stated that rational use of natural resources involves local people who depend on the reserves for their livelihood and need sustainable economic alternatives. Finally, President Zedillo thanked all the speakers and announced the new decree to protect the monarch butterfly. He said that a Land Use Plan has been drafted with the help of both the governments of the State of Mexico and Michoacan and SEMARNAP. He said that during his administration natural protected areas have been increased and that the GEF (Global Environment Facility) has committed more than 60 million dollars to support and strengthen conservation in these areas. He also announced management plans for the Gulf of California Islands and Espiritú Santo in Baja California, in Octote, Chiapas, Primavera in Jalisco and Ria Celestun in Yucatán. He also mentioned that thanks to the Federal Wildlife Protection law, Mexico has been able to draft plans to protect endangered species (Secretary Carabias handed him copies of plans to protect crocodiles, marine turtles and pinnipeds). The President thanked conservation organizations, and especially WWF for all their help and support during his administration. He stated that the Monarch Butterfly Reserve is an example of how economic and social development can go hand in hand emphasizing that it was all possible thanks to joint efforts from all sectors of society (NGOs, local and state governments, local people, etc). He also manifested his confidence that the US and Canada will also protect the butterfly's migratory route in their territories. President Zedillo said that 3 more decrees establishing protected areas will be published (Cacaxtla in Sinaloa, Tacona Volcano in Chiapas and Ciénega de Lerma in the State of Mexico). This will result in a total of thirty new natural protected areas in Mexico established during his administration. Copyright 2000 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Please send all questions, comments, and suggestions to our feedback form