The Avocado Producers and Exporting Packers Association of Mexico (APEAM) and the Michoacán government have set an action plan in motion to prevent illegal deforestation, in the wake of critical international press coverage on the sector's environmental impact.

Mexican National Institute for Forestry, Farming and Fisheries Research researcher Mario Tapia Vargas recently told AP that in response to high prices for the fruit, farmers had been thinning out forest canopy to plant young avocado trees. 

"Even where they aren't visibly cutting down forest, there are avocados growing underneath (the pine boughs), and sooner or later they'll cut down the pines completely," Tapia Vargas was quoted as saying.

This is even more relevant considering these forests are an important wintering ground for the Monarch butterfly, while Greenpeace Mexico has also been critical of deforestation's and increased agriculture's impact on water supplies for the region, as well as the effects of pesticide residues.

In a release, APEAM said while the sector had expanded significantly to meet growing demand, the organization had been a supporter of environmental initiatives and had led an extensive reforestation program planting more than 500,000 pine trees throughout the state in recent years.

"The reforestation program continues to expand with 280,000 trees planned for 2017 and 320,000 for 2018 with trees already being grown in the nursery," APEAM said.

"To protect against illegal deforestation, APEAM has called on government authorities to enforce the law on this issue."

Last week, this culminated in a deal with the government to set agricultural and environmental limits to future expansion of the avocado area, as determined by academic institutions such as Michoacán State University and the National School of Agriculture Chapingo, among other respected organizations.

"A formal environmental board will also be established to study the impact of avocado production on the region and provide recommended action to further protect the natural environment," APEAM said.

"The environmental board will also establish certification guidelines to recognize avocados that are produced under the highest environmental standards. APEAM will continue to provide updates on the progress of this initiative."

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