The Mexican government signed an agreement with the non-governmental group TRAFFIC on Tuesday to exchange information about illegal seizures of flora and fauna species in Mexico.
The agreement with the wildlife trade monitoring network also called for the Mexican government to provide information on the routes used to transport such organic materials.
The agreement was signed on the sideline of the 16th meeting of the Trilateral Committee for Wildlife and Ecosystem Conservation Management in the city of Oaxaca, south Mexico. Representatives of Canada, the United States and Mexico also attended the meeting.
Among the list of 20,000 animals, vegetation and insects that TRAFFIC considers to be threatened by illegal trafficking worldwide, 2,500 of the organisms have their origins in Mexico. This amounts to 12 percent of the species most subject to buying, selling and transporting in the black market and threatens the survival of various ecosystems.
The Mexican species that are listed among the most threatened by illegal trafficking are the cactus, orchids, reptiles, maguey plants, ferns, amphibians and fish.