Mexico experienced extensive wildfire damage in 2024, with over 1.6 million hectares affected, according to a Mongabay report citing data from the National Forestry Commission (Conafor).
The report, based on findings from the University of Maryland’s GLAD Laboratory and Global Forest Watch at the World Resources Institute (WRI), stated that 93,091 hectares of primary forest were affected in 2024, nearly double the area recorded in 2023.
This increase placed Mexico among the top 10 countries with the greatest loss of primary forest.
The report also found that fires were responsible for 60 percent of all vegetation loss in Mexico in 2024, with more than 8,000 wildfires recorded across the country.
Conafor attributed nearly 30 percent of fires to unknown causes.
An additional 23.4 percent were considered intentional, while others were linked to agricultural and livestock activities.
Only 1.34 percent were attributed to natural causes.
Conafor stated that 66 percent of the forest areas impacted in 2024 were in ecosystems adapted to fire, meaning the damage did not necessarily equate to deforestation.
WRI Mexico Forest Manager José Iván Zuñiga said: “What burns doesn’t necessarily mean forest loss, much less deforestation. These ecosystems will be subjected to fire at some point.
“These ecosystems will be subjected to fire at some point.”
Zuñiga added: “The effects of climate change do put these ecosystems at greater risk by drying out the soil and the lower parts of trees.”
The report noted that many of the affected areas include temperate forests such as pines and oaks, which rely on fire for regeneration.
According to Conafor, 58 percent of the forest hectares affected by fires in 2024 were classed as having “minimal impact,” mainly burning leaf litter.
Conafor added that 95 percent of fires from 2019 to 2024 were superficial and occurred in fire-adapted ecosystems.
Zuñiga said the north-central region of Mexico, where many temperate forests are located, experienced more severe drought over the past seven years, increasing fire vulnerability.
He also pointed to global examples in Chile, Canada, the United States, Portugal, Greece, Bolivia and Brazil, where wildfires reached new areas, indicating a shift in fire behavior worldwide.
Zuñiga added: “Fire patterns and forest conditions in Mexico are changing, as they are in the rest of the world.”
Enrique Jardel, an ecology and fire management specialist, also spoke to Mongabay, stating: “Many fires in some places have been caused by changes in land use for cash crops, whether avocados or other crops. And the expansion of livestock farming continues.”
Jardel said these activities are altering forested landscapes across Mexico.
According to Mongabay’s report, environmental authorities estimate that nearly 4.7 million hectares have been deforested in Mexico between 2001 and 2023.
Rainforests accounted for 45 percent of this deforestation.
The WRI report identified Campeche and Quintana Roo as two states with the highest levels of primary forest loss in 2024.
Zuñiga warned: “There are very clear pockets of deforestation in the country.
“In the peninsula, in particular, it’s a land-use change that shouldn’t exist because it’s forest.
“The law states that land-use changes in forests are only exceptional.”
He added that longstanding livestock activities continue without support for forestry-based economies.
Zuñiga said: “The authorities should discourage land-use changes and encourage the forestry economy. There are no programs that incentivize forestry use.”
Zuñiga highlighted government programs working with forest communities to support forest-based livelihoods.
One example is the Sustainable Forest Development Support Program, which pays landowners for environmental services including timber harvesting and tourism.
Zuñiga said: “In Campeche and some states where there has been significant deforestation due to livestock farming, an environmental compensation program is being explored.
“This aims to restore pastures and increase the number of trees on their lands as part of their productive activities.”
He also cited silvopastoral systems as a model to help forest communities transition to sustainable management.
Another example is the AMBIO cooperative in Chiapas, which leads projects to manage land use and restore forest areas after fire.
Zuñiga added: “They know the history of fires in their region, they make maps, they know what’s going to happen, they monitor that a fire doesn’t become too large, and then they take measures for restoration. That should be the case throughout the country.”
Mexico recorded 93,091 hectares of primary forest loss in 2024.
This was nearly twice the amount recorded in 2023.
The data was published by Global Forest Watch and the World Resources Institute.
The National Forestry Commission reported 8,000 fires across Mexico in 2024.
These fires impacted over 1.6 million hectares.
The commission said 29.8 percent of fires had unknown causes.
It said 23.4 percent were intentional and 17.83 percent were linked to agriculture.
Only 1.34 percent were due to natural causes.
WRI Mexico said most affected forests are adapted to fire.
Conafor stated 66 percent of the burned area was in such ecosystems.
Experts said climate change and drought increased risk.
WRI Mexico said many fires were low impact and part of natural cycles.
Mongabay said Campeche and Quintana Roo had the most deforestation.
Nearly 4.7 million hectares were deforested between 2001 and 2023.
Rainforests accounted for 45 percent of this loss.
Experts called for forestry-based economic incentives.
