Sectoral aptitude for forest development: considerations in the general organization of the Mexican territory
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Abstract
Through the analysis of public policies on territorial organization by Mexican forestry authorities, interviews with the officials sector’s and the technical participation of regional experts, the most relevant environmental attributes that determine forestry aptitude has been identified. Degraded forest regions and areas, the degradation of soils, and the situation of most marginalized areas were considered, given the high significance that indigenous communities accord to the possession of forest lands. Based on a hierarchical analysis process, a multiple-criteria evaluation was conducted, weighing the values of each variable. Ten qualitative categories of forestry aptitude per biophysical environmental unit were obtained. Also, by means of cartographic expression, the favorable categories of forestry aptitude to a greater or medium degree in each of the 145 units considered in this study were identified. The national panorama reflects the need for an integrated environmental policy, which corresponds to the realities of forestry sectoral aptitude and territorial occupation by other sectors, sometimes with antagonistic activities, to dictate sectoral public policies that promote efforts in the protection and in the promotion of national forest heritage.