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Mexico map

Mexico is a federal republic in the southern half of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Mexico is the sixth largest country in the Americas by total area and the 13th largest independent nation in the world. Mexico is one of the 17 megadiverse countries of the world, with over 200,000 different species and home of 10–12% of the world's biodiversity. Mexico is also considered the second country in the world in ecosystems and fourth in overall species. In 2002, Mexico had the second fastest rate of deforestation in the world, second only to Brazil. In Mexico, 170,000 km2 are considered "Protected Natural Areas." These include 34 biosphere reserves (unaltered ecosystems), 67 national parks, 4 natural monuments (protected in perpetuity for their aesthetic, scientific or historical value), 26 areas of protected flora and fauna, 4 areas for natural resource protection (conservation of soil, hydrological basins and forests) and 17 sanctuaries (zones rich in diverse species). (Wikipedia)

Quick Facts

Land use

Total land area
194,395,000 hectares
Area of forest
34.0% of land area
Area of agriculture
54.9% of land area
Area of permanent cropland
1.4% of land area

People

Population
127.0 million
Population growth
1.3% annually
Rural population
21.0%

Economics and development

GDP from agriculture
3.5%
GDP per person
9009.30 USD

Climate change and biodiversity

CO2 emissions
3.90 metric tonnes per person
Threatened animal and plant species
1,152
Bonn Challenge Commitments
National Commitment
Goal year
2020
Date committed
Area committed
8,468,284 hectares
Potential economic benefit
2,669 million USD
Potential climate benefit
0.81 GtCO2 sequestered
Main forest types
Tropical/subtropical coniferous forests
Tropical/subtropical moist broadleaf forest
Highlighted benefits
Environmental
Water

In 2014, Mexico's SAGARPA pledged 7.468284 million hectares, and CONAFOR another 1 million hectares, for a total of 8.468284 million hectares by 2020. Embedded in this figure are subnational pledges as well: 0.4 million hectares from Campeche, 0.3 million hectares from Quintana Roo and 0.25 million hectares from Yucatán, all of whom pledged at the 2015 Global Landscapes Forum on the sidelines of COP21 in Paris; and 0.17 million hectares from Chiapas, who pledged at the UNFCCC COP23 in Bonn in 2017. In addition to this, each State has pledged separately toward the 2030 Bonn Challenge goal.

Campeche (State)
Goal year
2030
Date committed
Area committed
350,000 hectares
Potential economic benefit
110 million USD
Potential climate benefit
0.03 GtCO2 sequestered

The State of Campeche has pledged a total of 0.75 million hectares: 0.4 million hectares by 2020 and 0.35 million hectares by 2030. The 0.4 million hectares are part of Mexico's national pledge.

Quintana Roo (State)
Goal year
2030
Date committed
Area committed
400,000 hectares
Potential economic benefit
126 million USD
Potential climate benefit
0.04 GtCO2 sequestered

The State of Quintana Roo has pledged a total of 0.7 million hectares: 0.3 million hectares by 2020 and 0.4 million hectares by 2030. The 0.3 million hectares are part of Mexico's national pledge.

Yucatan (State)
Goal year
2030
Date committed
Area committed
300,000 hectares
Potential economic benefit
94 million USD
Potential climate benefit
0.03 GtCO2 sequestered

The State of Yucatán has pledged a total of 0.55 million hectares: 0.25 million hectares by 2020 and 0.3 million hectares by 2030. The 0.25 million hectares are part of Mexico's national pledge.

Chiapas (State)
Goal year
2030
Date committed
Area committed
180,000 hectares
Potential economic benefit
56 million USD
Potential climate benefit
0.02 GtCO2 sequestered

The Chiapas Bonn Challenge commitment comprises 0.17 million hectares by 2020 (contributing to Mexico's existing national 8.5-million-hectare pledge) and 0.18 million hectares by 2030 as a new stand-alone commitment. The State has already implemented 119,339 hectares of its 2020 target.

National Restoration Targets
Total restoration target
10,475,077 hectares
Readiness Preparation Proposal (R-PP) – FCPF
Readiness Preparation Proposal: Mexico (2010)
  • REDD Strategy Options: Increase areas under forest management, development of other added value activities, such as payment for environmental services (PES), NTFP, certified forest products (p. 28). 
    • Mitigation Measure: 
      • Actions to restore at least 12 million hectares of degraded forest back to productivity. 
      • Implement actions that avoid DD and maintain or increase the carbon stock through conservation and sustainable management of forests. 
REDD+ Strategy
Estrategia Nacional Para REDD+ (ENAREDD+) (in Spanish) (2014)
  • References the following milestone for REDD+ 2020 includes the following objective: "The national rate of forest degradation compared to the reference level has been significantly reduced" (p. 36)
National Forest and/or Climate Strategy and/or Low Carbon Development Strategy
Restoration target
10,375,077 hectares
Revisión del Programa Estratégico Forestal 2025 (PEF 2025) y del Programa Nacional Forestal 2001- 2006 (PNF 2001-2006), en el marco del proyecto UTF/MEX/072 (in Spanish) (2009)
  • Sustainable Forest Development Objectives 2001-2025
    • Several million ha of degraded areas are restored through reforestation and reconversion of marginal agricultural areas (p. 47)
Programa Nacional Forestal 2014-2018 (in Spanish) (2014)
  • Goal 2: Promote the conservation and restoration of forest ecosystems
    • Goal is in line with Objective 4 from PROMARNAT (Programa Sectorial de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales): Retrieve the functionality of watersheds and landscapes through conservation, restoration and sustainable use of natural heritage, by incorporating woodlands to sustainable forest management schemes, integration of best forestry practices and biodiversity conservation that enhance productivity and conservation of natural capital.
    • Indicator 4: From 2013-2018 forest area incorporated into PES will increase
      • Base line (2013): 0%  
      • Goal (2018): 10.2%
    • Indicator 5: percentage of forest cover area rehabilitated or restored (from the 18.3 million ha identified as priority for forest restoration processes)
      • 2018 goal: 5.45% of 18.3 million ha is rehabilitated or restored
Programa Especial de Cambio Climatico 2014 - 2018 (in Spanish) (2014)
  • Goals
Programa Especial de Cambio Climatico 2009 - 2012 (in Spanish) (2009)
  • Goals: totaling 7,969,130 ha
    • 3,000,000 ha under SFM (p. 43)
    • 2,300,000 ha - establish community forestry systems (p. 58)
    • Restoration & Reforestation: 2,669,130 ha
      • 170,000 ha commercial forest plantations (p. 43)
      • 125,000 ha reconversion of corn forest production (p. 41)
      • 1,117,000 ha reforestation (p. 43)
      • 418,130 ha reforestation with restoration of soils (p. 43)
      • 170,000 ha forest ecosystem restoration (environmental compensation program) (p. 43)
      • 42,000 ha ecosystem restoration in protected areas (p. 60)
      • 10,000 ha restore/reforest mangrove (p. 62)
      • 2,000 ha restore/reforest coastal dunes (p. 62)
      • 40,000 ha restore highly vulnerable banks (p. 62)
      • 575,000 ha reforestation with soil restoration (p. 62)
Estrategia Nacional de Cambio Climatico (in Spanish) (2013)
  • Multiple references to restoration and reforestation but there are no actual FLR targets
Emission Reduction Program Idea Note (ER-PIN) – FCPF
Emission Reductions Program Idea Note: Mexico (2013)
  • Section 5: activities and interventions planned under the proposed ER program
    • Jallisco Coastal Basin: community forestry including recovery of degraded areas and agroforestry (p. 31)
    • Lacandon Jungle, Chiapas: reforestation with commercially viable pioneer species (regeneration of jungles), restoration of rivers and arroyos including ‘reforestation of contiguous areas (p. 31)
    • Yucatan Peninsula: promotion of forest regeneration in managed tropical zones (p. 33)
  • Financing plan: National Contribution section includes financing for activities including community forestry and reforestation. The following finance is from 4 different States in Mexico (Jalisco, Yucatan, Campeche, Quintana Roo).
    • 2012: $38.8 million (annex 10, p. 2)
    • 2013: $30.9 million 
Forest Investment Program (FIP)
Investment Plan of Mexico (2011)
  • Project 1: Capacity building for sustainable forest landscapes management
    • Objective: includes program implementation in priority forest landscapes that leads to SFM that enhances forest carbon stocks (p. 3)
    • Budget: $15.66 million
  • Project 2: Mitigation resilience and sustainable profitability in forest landscapes
    • Promotes investments in SFM that includes landscape restoration (p. 3)
    • Promotes investment in rural productive mosaics including agroforestry, A/R, and silvopastoral systems (p. 40)
    • Budget: $26.34 million
Global Environment Facility (GEF) projects
Restoration target
100,000 hectares
4149: Mitigating Climate Change through SFM and Capacity Building in the Southern States of Mexico (Campeche, Chiapas, and Oaxaca)
  • Component 2: 100,000 ha reforestation in project areas (p. 1)
  • Finance: $18.525 M
  • Start: July 2011   Project Closing: June 2016
4792: Conservation of coastal watershed to achieve multiple global environmental benefits in the context of changing environments (60 month duration with PIF approval in 2012)
  • Expected outcome (5.2): restoration and enhancement of carbon stocks in forests (p. 1)
  • Financing for 5.2: $112,796,874
5751: Maintaining and Increasing Carbon Stocks in Agro-silvopastoral Systems in Rural Communities of the Selva El Ocote Bioshpere Reserve as a Climate Change Mitigation Strategy (Chiapas)
  • Description: to maintain and increase carbon stocks through adopting sustainable management practices
  • No details (PIF) yet available online
FLR Assessments

YUCATAN PENINSULA ASSESSMENT 

Mexico defined a formal objective for restoration at the sub-national level for the Yucatán peninsula. The focus has been in improving both the net economic return of land use, increasing landscape productivity through economically-viable mixed agro-forestry models, and its functionality through improved biodiversity habitat fragmentation, carbon sequestration, and soil conservation.

The opportunity for restoration was identified within the landscape which is currently under a certain level of degradation (between medium and very high) considering 3 different functions:

  1. Provisioning function to productive land use (livestock, agriculture, forestry)
  2. Habitat function for biodiversity
  3. Carbon sequestration

Take a look at the opportunity map for the Yucatan Peninsula:

Yucatan Peninsula opportunity map

 Within these degraded areas, landscape restoration potential was identified only where the net economic return of implementing restoration models and its carbon mitigation/sequestration potential were both higher than those of current land use in that specific area, and applying environmental safeguards criteria defined during the ROAM assessment which identified different sets of potential transitions. For the States of Campeche and Yucatan, the potential is higher than the areas pledged for restoration under the Bonn Challenge, while for the State of Quintana Roo the pledge resulted higher than the areas that are economically viable for restoration, implying that the difference could be implemented only under a filantropic scheme. However, it must be noticed that only the production of commodities and the ecosystem service of carbon sequestration are taking into account, underestimating the value of improved flow of other ecosystem services related to restoration.

Table 1Table 2

[1] 0.95 million ha to 2020 and 2 million ha to 2030 for the Yucatán peninsula (states of Campeche, Yucatan, Quintana Roo) contributing to the 8.5 million pledge at the national level fro 2020.

Map 2Map 3Map 4

From the 3,350,900 ha of economically-viable restoration potential a subset of areas with the highest economic value of restoration was selected in each State up to the extent of their respective Bonn Challenge pledge (with a lower value for Quintana Roo), generating the priority map for restoration meeting the Bonn Challenge subnational targets (100% for Campeche and Yucatan, 72% for Quintana Roo). 

Take a look at the priority map generated for Yucatan:

Map 5

 

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