Original title:
Visión de Mexico sobre REDD+: Hacia una Estrategia Nacional
Mexico's Vision on REDD+ was presented during the 16th Session of the Conference of the
Parties (COP16) to the United Nations Framework Convention on climate Change (UNFCCC).
It represented a first step towards the development of a National REDD+ Strategy in Mexico. The document lays the ground for an operating mechanism
and proposes the following five strategic lines for proceeding with REDD+ implementation: 1) Institutional arrangements
and public policy (e.g., aligning policies within the agriculture and forestry
sectors); 2) Financial mechanisms, reference levels and MRV; 3) Capacity
building and communication; 4) Social participation; and, 5) Transparency.
Furthermore, the document includes "early actions" (Acciones Tempranas ). These are REDD+ activities that are being considered to provide learning experiences to inform future development of the national REDD+ strategy. Mexico’s
Vision on REDD+ is based on sustainable forest management to maintain and
increase carbon stocks, while obtaining additional social, economic and
environmental benefits.
Main Fields
Target:
Mexico's REDD+ goals for 2020 are: 1) Zero emissions related to forest land use change, and increased carbon reservoirs; 2) A significant reduction in the national forest degradation rate; and, 3) The maintenance of biodiversity and the strengthening of the social capital of rural communities by promoting sustainable rural development.
Related Institutions
Breakdown by elements
Management and coordination:
In 2009, the Inter-Ministerial Climate Change Commission (CICC) created a REDD+ Working Group (GT-REDD+)
which is responsible for REDD+. The coordination between the CICC
and the Inter-Ministerial Rural Sustainable Development Commission (CIDRS) is considered key in promoting rural sustainable development. This
coordination aims to promote alignment with other sectors that also impact
forest territories, including infrastructure, energy, land tenure, social,
tourism and civil protection activities. Similarly, states and municipalities
will be responsible for promoting and developing REDD+ mechanisms since they
can be influential in tackling the drivers of deforestation. Sub-national activities
will have to be coordinated with the national level in order to promote
synergies. It is worth noting that community, civil society and academic organisations also play an active role in REDD+ activities.
Stakeholder engagement and participation:
The Technical Advisory Committee for REDD+ (CTC-REDD+) is comprised of representatives from social
organisations, forest owners, academia, government agencies, financing institutions and non-governmental organisations. It acts as an advisor to the REDD+ Working Group (GT-REDD) and
collaborated in the development of the Vision. The importance of participation of indigenous and rural communities in the design and implementation of REDD+ is
recognised in the development of the national strategy. The Vision process and the subsequent development of the National REDD+ Strategy (ENAREDD+) have aimed to be participatory and inclusive, and have taken an approach in consideration of: 1) equity; 2) citizen
participation; 3) transparency and legality; 4) coordination between actors; 5)
equitable benefit sharing; 6) certainty in land ownership; and, 7) free, prior
and informed consent.
Rights and Tenure:
All future actions
associated with the Vision and ENAREDD+ aim to have no effect on the current land tenure
regime as established in the Mexican Constitution and by all international
treaties whereby Mexico acts as a signatory. The Mexican Federal Government is committed
to guaranteeing land ownership rights. Past experiences from programmes like the Community
Forestry Programme (Programa de Desarrollo Forestal Comunitario , PROCYMAF) and the
Indigenous and Community Biodiversity Conservation Programme (Programa de
Conservación Comunitario de la Biodiversidad , COINBIO) that have contributed to
strengthening the local regulation of common resources, as well as regulations
within the same communities, can assist in this matter.
Compliance (incentives and enforcement):
The Federal Government will play a promoting and
regulatory role in REDD+ implementation. One of Mexico's challenges will centre on strengthening
enforcement institutions, including the Federal Environmental Protection Agency
(PROFEPA), which will have to work in coordination with local and state
governments. Furthermore, it will need to secure more financial resources in
order to operate in a more efficient manner.
Reference levels:
The reference level will use a combination of
historical data, as well as estimates on future emissions and increases without
the implementation of a REDD+ framework. In order to do so, carbon densities
and emissions will be calculated by gathering and revising historical data on vegetative
cover and land use, as well as through remote sensing methodologies. A
consensus on the definition of forest will also be required. Reference levels
will be complied at a national level, but could be created alongside sub-national
levels.
Safeguards:
The Vision mentions the importance of addressing deforestation
drivers and forest degradation, while promoting social and environmental
co-benefits that enhance biodiversity conservation and ensure the maintenance or improvement
of ecosystem services. Sustainable forest management (SFM) will also provide
ecological, economic and social co-benefits. The National REDD+ Strategy also aims to address safeguards.
MRV:
The MRV methodology will be developed in accordance with
international consensus on MRV. Mexico will use its National Forest and Soils
Inventory (INFyS) as an instrument for a robust MRV system. The most recent
INFyS was carried out between 2004 and 2007, during which time approximately 25,000
permanent plots were established in a systematic manner. These plots were
established with varying distances according to the predominant land cover.
Starting in 2008 all plots will be re-sampled in 5-year intervals. Furthermore,
collaboration has existed between government agencies for the incorporation
of terrestrial monitoring systems and INFyS. Mexico has worked closely with
various countries as it relates to MRV. It has worked with Canada on carbon
accounting, with Germany on radar technologies and with the United States and
Finland on strengthening INFyS. Norway is currently financing and providing technical
support for accelerating the implementation of Mexico's MRV system. Mexico
considers that MRV systems and protocols should be national, yet flexible
enough to incorporate subnational activities. A national MRV system will
contribute to properly account for leakage. Finally, the development of a cost-effective,
hybrid management mechanism (between academia, civil society, the private
sector and the government) is being evaluated which would be transparent and
dependable.
