After the dry season, the start of the rainy season is the optimal time to start reforestation in the state.
Therefore, as part of the Jalisco with Forests program, the Governor of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro Ramírez, started this Saturday with these actions at the Ciénega Prieta property in the municipality of Zapopan, within the Flora and Fauna Protection Area.
With a symbolic tree planting by the president, officials, ejidatarios, business representatives, and civil organizations in this site, the reforestation of two hectares with a thousand Pinus oocarpa and Quercus resinosa plants began, in coordination with more than 50 forest brigade members of the Secretariat of Environment and Territorial Development (SEMADET,) and the Decentralized Public Organization Bosque La Primavera.
“We are in the Bosque de la Primavera to start reforestation work after the dry season is over and after very hard months where we had to face a large number of fires. We were able to prevent more hectares from being burned. We were up to the enormous challenge we had this year," said the president.
With these actions, in addition to promoting the regeneration of our forests, water erosion and disasters are also prevented. The infiltration of water and the recharge of aquifers are also favored with the restoration of soils. All reforestation needs to be carried out with trained personnel to ensure plants survive and planting is done properly.
The Governor indicated that 30 hectares will be reforested this year with an in-depth analysis process where the capacity of the forest to recover on its own will be seen. It will study which areas cannot be recovered (quickly) to define the species that are going to be planted so that this exercise is done properly.
Since June, the soil conservation and restoration actions began in the La Primavera Forest, through which it seeks to prevent landslides within the areas most affected after the forest fires of the dry season. It will also seek to conserve affected areas, as well as minimizing soil degradation.
“The first thing we did was the restoration work. We carried out a thousand soil conservation works in all the burned areas with Civil Protection from Zapopan, Tlajomulco, and of the state, and combatants at this stage began the soil protection work. The restoration has several phases; ecological restoration such as what would be done in the spring and in protected areas, and productive restoration with forest producers,” mentioned Sergio Graf, Secretary of the Environment.
From July to September, reforestations will be carried out in the Protected Natural Areas of La Primavera Forest, Nevado de Colima National Park, Nevado de Colima Mesophilic Forest State Park, Sierra de Quila, Cerro Viejo-Chupinaya-Los Sabinos, Sierra Cóndiro-Canales and Cerro San Miguel-Chiquihuitillo, where more than 34,000 plants will be destined and 40,000 seeded clay balls were made for disbursement.
It should be noted that before any reforestation, soil conservation actions are required to ensure the restoration and protection of forests and jungles in the long term. Such actions include the installation of well-established stone barriers, gabion dams, cordoning off of materials, and care of gullies.
“It is an effort in which we are going to join the will of the citizens, the civil society organizations, our University of Guadalajara, the ejidos, and the private initiative. We are all committed, it is important that it be understood that the effort we have to make in order to meet our objectives in terms of environmental protection, we have to do hand-in-hand with everyone,” said Alfaro Ramírez.