Andrea Becerril
La Jornada Newspaper
Saturday, November 29, 2025, p. 11
In the Senate, the opinion is ready to be voted on next Wednesday to empower the National Guard (GN) to monitor protected natural areas that face constant threats due to illegal activities such as clandestine logging, wildlife trafficking, poaching, changes in land use and the degradation or contamination of ecosystems.
The document, prepared by the National Guard Commission, chaired by Senator Juanita Guerra, highlights that Mexico is one of the countries with the greatest biological diversity on the planet, since it has forests, jungles, deserts and unique ecosystems that require constant surveillance to guarantee their conservation.
The intervention of the National Guard in terrestrial protected natural areas is essential to guarantee the effective conservation of the country’s natural heritage, “since these areas are home to a great diversity of species and strategic resources,” he points out.
It is also highlighted that this federal public security corporation is “the ideal institution to be in charge of the protection of protected natural areas, due to its deployment throughout the national territory.
Article 9 of the National Guard Law includes among its powers and obligations the safeguarding of national parks, but it is necessary that this be extended to protected natural areas, “as an effective way to preserve biodiversity, ensure the health of ecosystems and guarantee the sustainable use of natural resources.
Currently, there are 192 exclusively terrestrial protected natural areas, nine marine and 31 with a terrestrial-marine surface, which would remain under the protection of the National Guard.
