A Climate Breakthrough in Mexico

A San Francisco Climate Week presentation exploring a pioneering initiative to curb avocado-driven deforestation in Mexico.

Avocados grown for export to the United States (U.S.) have fueled widespread deforestation in western Mexico, contributing to water scarcity and violence that have taken a devastating toll on local communities. Until recently, U.S. importers and retailers of avocados have done little to ensure the sustainability of their supply chains.

Yet over the past year, a cross-border campaign spearheaded by Climate Rights International and the Mexican NGO Guardián Forestal has achieved what few would have previously thought possible: government officials, environmentalists, Indigenous communities, and the private sector have joined forces to launch an ambitious satellite-based certification and conservation program, with striking results. A majority of packinghouses—responsible for 95 percent of Mexican avocados sold in the U.S.—have stopped sourcing avocados from orchards on recently cleared land, prompting a significant drop in forest loss. Avocado growers have begun financing community projects aimed at restoring degraded lands. And corporate pressure has played a key role, as US-based supermarkets have weighed in to press for deforestation-free supply chains.

This success with the U.S.-Mexico avocado trade offers a promising model for efforts around the globe to reduce commodity-driven deforestation and catalyze community conservation. Join us for a presentation exploring how these rapid gains were achieved, the challenges that remain, and the plans underway to expand the program’s scope and ambition.

Speakers:

Daniel Wilkinson, Senior Policy Advisor, Climate Rights International

Heriberto Padilla, Director, Guardián Forestal

Moderator:

Brad Adams, Executive Director, Climate Rights International

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