The Golden Triangle of Opium, which was infamous for its opium and cannabis farms has been renamed the Golden Triangle of Sustainable Forestry.
It’s been years in the making, but the residents of four settlements in the steep, forested northern region of the state of Durango have finally come to the conclusion that they want to secure a more prosperous future for themselves.
It is estimated that the state of Durango produces 70 million cubic feet of timber annually, making it one of Mexico’s major timber producers. Because their hills are densely wooded with diverse types of conifers, the four communities of the Tamazula district have been using their hills as a forestry industry since the 1970s, referring to themselves as “The Foresters of Northern Tamazula.”
Four communities in Mexico’s state of Durango (within the ‘Golden Triangle’, an area known for the Sinaloa Cartel, opium and marijuana production) embarked on sustainable forestry to reduce dependence on illegal crop production.@rodsantin for @mongabay https://t.co/W6Y4Kj84Em
— Latoya (@LatoyaAbulu) March 29, 2022
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A study by The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations highlights Durango as “one of the most important Mexican states with regards forest production and the conservation of natural resources,” and the more these resources can be developed, the greater the incentives become to move away from Tamazula’s narcotrafficker past. At the moment, the foresters of the mountains there make around U.S. minimum wage.
Reporting on this budding industry is Claire Storey at Mongabay, who spoke with a forestry engineer for UCDFI Topia, a community forest management organization, named Carlos Zapata Pérez.
“When we initially began providing them with technical assistance, we saw the situation [the strong presence of crops destined for drug production] and made a real effort to convince them to move away from growing narcotics,” Zapata told Mongabay. “We told them their forest was an important resource because it could offer them many benefits, eco-systemic services, for example.”
In the beginning, God created Heaven and the Earth and the Lord gave man dominion over plants and animals. The main problem with many people today is they allow plants to have dominion over them. Whether it be drugs or even money(made out of trees) humans must always have dominion over nature.
The residents of the Durango district were under the control of narcotics and it brought death and despair to their community however when they decided to take back control over the forest and use it for good, they were now exercising over the nature God had blessed them with.
Does anything have dominion over you? If anything does just ask Jesus to set you free from all things that are controlling you. Whom the Son sets free shall be free indeed!