With the approach of 2020 – the cut-off date for the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and its Aichi Targets – the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity of the United Nations began the process of developing a Global Framework for Biodiversity Post-2020, as another step towards completing the 2050 Vision of “Living in Harmony with Nature”.

As part of this process, the Mexican government, through the Chancellery, the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), and the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO), held the “First Workshop in the process of identifying Mexico’s potential contributions to the Zero Draft of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework” to analyze and identify the country’s potential contributions to the negotiation process within this new framework, which will be adopted next October by the Fifteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 15) of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Around 180 specialists from state and federal governments, academia, youth, the private sector, civil society, indigenous populations, and local communities participated in this workshop on the 29th and 30th of October, which sought a better understanding of the alarming situation and biodiversity trends, as well as the identification of the challenges and opportunities for building new global targets in conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of biodiversity for the period 2021-2030.

During the workshop, GIZ facilitated the table “Searching for Sustainability on all Fronts,” where the main results from the Mainstreaming Biodiversity into the Mexican Agricultural Sector (IKI-IBA) were presented, and participants discussed the importance of including the productive sectors as allies in the strategies for sustainable use of biodiversity. Likewise, the Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN) was in charge of the table “Mobilization of Resources,” where it presented the results of the work produced in coordination with the Mexican government between 2015 and 2018 for the Global Biodiversity Framework; in particular for “Mobilization of Resources” Aichi Target 20. What’s more, advances in the implementation of financing solutions for biodiversity were presented, as well as the support opportunities that BIOFIN can provide for the process post-2020.

Palm oil has been a controversial crop in the world due to its establishment through bad practices carried out especially in Southeast Asia, which has triggered multiple socio-environmental problems. In Mexico it is a relatively young crop, with 96 thousand hectares of plantations mostly under 25 years, however, it generates an important economic spill in municipalities with high marginalization, providing 25 thousand direct jobs and 77 thousand indirect jobs in four States of the southeast of Mexico. 75% of the national production of palm oil fruits is in the hands of small producers in Tabasco, Chiapas, Campeche and southern Veracruz. For these producers it is imperative to achieve sustainable production, as required by the current market, and that allows them to conserve the ecosystem services on which their way of life depends.

The IKI IBA Project in 2018 and 2019 accompanied the process of national interpretation of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil RSPO Principles and Criteria, which seek to promote the certification of environmental and social sustainability of Mexican palm oil. In addition, a collaboration with the Mexican Federation of Palm Oil was initiated (Femexpalma) to develop a training plan under the approach of sustainability certification schemes, which promotes the valuation of ecosystem services and biodiversity in the sector, and that mainly provides small producers with the tools they need for the implementation of sustainable practices.

On November 28, a workshop to detect training needs in the sector was held in Villahermosa, Tabasco, with key actors that included producers, directors of mining companies, academics and sustainability directors, where the current status of competencies in the oil palm system was discussed, the problems faced by the sector to achieve RSPO certification were identified and a map of actors that should be involved with the training plan was developed.

Land degradation and desertification present great challenges for human development worldwide. It is crucial to ensure the continued provision of ecosystem services related to soil conservation, such as moderation of extreme events, prevention of erosion and maintenance of fertility to meet the needs of the growing number of inhabitants of the planet. Land degradation nowadays costs more than 10% of the annual global GDP in lost ecosystem services, such as the prevention of runoff from harmful nutrients to streams or the reduction of flood effects (IPBES 2018). This is why the Project IKI IBA, in association with the Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) Initiative, agreed to carry out joint actions to boost the training of key actors in the methodology of economic valuation of the impact of land degradation, so that this information contributes with inputs to the planning and decision-making instruments in Mexico.

Between October 28 and November 7, training was conducted on the ELD methodology for the economic valuation of soil degradation, in the cities of Oaxaca and CDMX: one for professional experts, resource managers and decision makers, and another aimed at experts with strong competencies in environmental economics. During these activities, the best options were discussed and potential partners were detected for a study of economic valuation of land degradation, highlighting the state of Oaxaca as the site with the greatest amount of base information for the Mixteca region.

Based on the results of these workshops, a collaboration proposal will be made with the government of the state of Oaxaca, so that the recommendations obtained from a potential economic valuation study of the Mixteca soils can be incorporated in the best way to the decision of management of the territory.

The ELD initiative, which is funded by BMZ, is an international collaboration that performs a global assessment of land degradation from an economic perspective. The IKI IBA Project will continue to collaborate with this initiative to achieve its objectives.