In addition, NAFTA impacts on Maxico resource. The weakening of environmental
standards by NAFTA has also caused the increased use of chemical intensive
production methods in Mexico’s large commercial farms. These methods include the use
of harmful pesticides and fertilizers that pollute land and water resources. Specifically,
they contribute to high soil salinity, ground-level ozone, lake and river acidification, and
the disruption of natural forest processes.
The change in land ownership and the more export oriented farming system in Mexico have also led to a dramatic loss of forests and the unique biodiversity they sustain. Peasantfarmers who were driven off their lands were forced to clear forestland for farming andfuel. Since the implementation of NAFTA the annual rate of deforestation in Mexico has
risen to 1.1 million hectares – practically doubling the prior rate of 600 thousand hectares.
15 This places Mexico second behind Brazil in the rate of deforestation