But, one APAMO recommendation which everyone agrees on is that the short term logging licenses have to stop. These are an invitation to reckless and unsustainable extraction and Habet commented on it:
Orlando Habet, Minister of Sustainable Development
“And that is the reason why the government’s policies, since we got into office in November of 2020, was to reduce the number of yearly logging licenses. And we have been doing that 50 to 20% every year this year, I believe, about 4 or 5 licenses are issued, two of those being for the Maya communities who have their communal lands. And so apart from that is, I think, 2 or 3 other licenses, this being one. When we got into office, there were 41, 42 licenses being issued so we have really narrowed it down. But apart from that, the licenses are issued legally from the 1st of October to the 30th of June. We have been issuing licenses, as I mentioned, cutting 15- 20% per year, and we are issuing them late February, March, and in this case in the middle of May. So that then we will have two or two and a half months to do their logging. So we have drastically reduced the amount of logging.”
JO-
“So what you’re saying is the short term licenses shouldn’t be given.”
