One of the main activities in the countryside north of La Paz, México, is the production of Mezquite and Ironwood coal to fill the never ending need for the product in the touristic towns like Cabo San Lucas, La Paz and Loreto.

For decades, the production didn't have a limit. Once the trees started to be realy scarce, the government set permits that landlords must obtain before producing coal, but there is not enough control over it.

The Mezquites and Ironwoods are some of the biggest trees in this semidesertic area, and at their shade many other plants (some endemic), grow and reproduce, so this activity is definetly altering this fragile natural environment, but on the other side it is one of the few activities that people from the area can work at if they don't want to migrate to the city.The coal is picked up at the ranches where it is made and distributed and sold in the city at about 300% more than what the producers earn..