REDD countries

With an estimated 10-12 % of the Earth’s species and only 1.5 % of its total land area, Mexico is among the five most biologically “mega-diverse” countries in the world (CBD, 2013). An estimated ten million indigenous peoples comprising a variety of ethnic and linguistic groups also make Mexico extremely culturally diverse (GONZALEZ, 2011; OHCR, 2011).

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) report that Mexico has 64.8 million hectares of forest, covering 33 % of its total land area, and that deforestation has decreased by 55% over the last decade (FAO, 2010). Despite this overall trend, rates of forest loss vary widely with some areas continuing to experience high rates of deforestation and forest degradation (CONAFOR, 2010a). Deforestation is often related to the conversion of forests to more lucrative land uses, such as agriculture and livestock activities (FIP, 2011).  Other important regional drivers include tourism, mining and urban expansion (SEMARNAT-INE 2009). The degradation of primary forests is a significant cause of emissions and is largely due to the high rate of extraction in order to supply households and local industry (FIP, 2011).

Mexico is a federal republic consisting of 31 states and a Federal District. Each state has its own constitution led by a governor. Within these states over 2,000 municipalities, headed by a mayor or municipal president, are also legally recognised (LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 2008). After Brazil, Mexico is the second largest economy in Latin America (WORLD BANK, 2012). 

The Government of Mexico acknowledges the serious threat climate change poses (SEMARNAT, 2009) and recognises the important role of forest conservation in contributing to climate change mitigation and otherwise. A number of policy instruments have been developed to promote sustainable forest management, reduce deforestation and restore forest ecosystems (CONAFOR, 2010a). Included in these are a number of Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) schemes, including the ProÁrbol programme, initiated by the government in 2007 to promote actions for the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of the nation’s forests. Between 2003 and 2011 CONAFOR implemented a total of 5,085 projects covering an area of over 3 million hectares under the PES programme (SEMARNAT, n.d.). PES success has been cited as an important factor for the World Bank’s selection of Mexico as a Forest Carbon Partnership Facility REDD participant.

In its efforts to tackle climate change, Mexico has developed a series of national strategies and programmes (GLOBE INTERNATIONAL, 2013) such as the Special Programme on Climate Change 2009-2012 (Programa Especial de Cambio Climático, PECC), which categorises priority actions across sectors and specifically incorporates REDD+ (SEMARNAT, 2009). From 2008 until the third quarter of 2012, the PECC had achieved a total reduction in emissions of 129 MtCO2e (SEMARNAT, 2012).

In April 2012, a series of reforms to the Environmental Law and the General Law for Sustainable Forest Development were passed to facilitate the implementation of REDD+ (GLOBE INTERNATIONAL, 2013). Whilst, more broadly, the enactment of the General Law on Climate Change (GLCC) in June 2012, sets the country on a path towards a low carbon economy and commits Mexico to a 30% emissions reductions target below ‘Business As Usual’ levels, by 2020 (GLOBE INTERNATIONAL, 2013), and a 50% reduction by 2050 in relation to the year 2000 (SEMARNAT, 2012). More specifically to REDD+, the GLCC establishes a Climate Change Fund, to be comprised of a number of sources, including certified emissions reductions, and to be used for different adaptation and mitigation actions, including REDD+.

Mexico has ratified the UNFCCC (1993) and the Kyoto Protocol (2000), and has submitted five National Communications to the UNFCCC; the only non-Annex 1 Party to have done so. Mexico’s Vision for REDD+(Visión de México sobre REDD+: Hacia una Estrategia Nacional) was presented at the 16^th session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP16) in Cancun and includes goals for zero net emissions related to land use change and important reductions in degradation rates by 2020 (CONAFOR, 2010b). The National REDD+ Strategy (Estrategia Nacional REDD+, ENAREDD+) is under development. Stipulated to be launched at the end of 2012 following a stakeholder consultation process, this has not been the case (as of March 2013) and a change in government at the end of 2012 is likely to have caused some deceleration.

At the state level, in accordance with the General Law for Sustainable Forest Development, states are responsible for designing, developing and implementing forestry policies and programmes in line with national objectives. There are many important initiatives under way, including the development of State Level Action Programmes on Climate Change (Programas Estatales de Acción ante el Cambio Climático, PEACC). REDD+ planning and implementation in Mexico is taking place at the national level, with sub-national and local projects nesting into the national approach. Mexico is devoting significant national resources as well as multilateral and bilateral funding to the implementation of activities related to the development of its National REDD+ strategy (Estrategia Nacional REDD; ENAREDD+).

Mexico is a member of the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) and is a UN-REDD partner country, where it is also a Policy Board observer. Under the FCPF, its Readiness Plan Idea Note (R-PIN) was accepted in 2008 and its Readiness Preparation Proposal (R-PP) was evaluated by the FCPF Participants Committee and Technical Assessment Panel in 2010, authorising a grant of US$3.6 million for readiness preparation. However, the World Bank and Mexico are yet to sign on this (as of March 2013). Mexico has also been selected as a pilot country by the Forest Investment Program (FIP).  It has finalised its country programming process and has had its FIP investment plans endorsed.  As of the end of 2012, it is the only FIP country to have had projects approved under its country programme (CIF, 2012), however it remains to be seen whether Mexico will accept these funds.

Sub-nationally, priority areas for “early actions” (acciones tempranas) are located in the states of Oaxaca, Jalisco, Chiapas and in the Yucatan Peninsula (in the States of Yucatan, Campeche, and Quintana Roo). These early action activities are not full REDD+ demonstration projects but aim to assess various environmental, social and cultural conditions under which institutional arrangements, governance structures, monitoring and financial mechanisms can be tested.

At the state level, many initiatives are underway with state government support. Whilst at the local level a number of local activities are already being implemented by non-governmental organisations, with some forest carbon projects already engaged in the voluntary carbon market.