On April 10, the government of Jalisco, represented by the Ministry of the Environment and Territorial Development (SEMADET) and the state’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (SADER), made an agreement with the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Mexico and the French Development Agency (AFD) to create the Working Group for preparation of the State Strategy for the Mainstreaming of Biodiversity into the Agricultural Sector. Through this Strategy, Jalisco will have a tool that will help it to harmonize public policies for the conservation and sustainable use of the state’s biodiversity.
Photo: Shutterstock. A sustainable agricultural sector protects forests and biodiversity.
The Working Group will be responsible for carrying out a diagnosis of the legal and regulatory framework, as well as creating planning instruments for the state’s agricultural and forestry sectors. The instruments will aim to recognize the opportunities for integrating the sustainable use of biodiversity in each sector. In addition, key actors will be identified to participate in a series of workshops throughout the year. In these workshops, the strategy’s lines of action and indicators will be structured in a participatory manner. The initiatives supporting the Jalisco government in this task include GIZ Mexico’s Mainstreaming Biodiversity into the Mexican Agricultural Sector (IKI-IBA) Project, which is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), and AFD’s Biocultural Landscape Project.
Photo: IKI IBA project. The Working Group was set up to design the Biodiversity Mainstreaming Strategy in the agricultural and forestry sectors of Jalisco state.
Photo: IKI IBA project. The event was attended by Sergio Graf Montero, head of SEMADET for Jalisco state.
As part of an effort to provide solid technical recommendations to support a robust and cost-effective Emissions Trading System (ETS) in Mexico, the “Preparation of an Emissions Trading System in Mexico” (SiCEM) project explored the use of Blockchain technology for an ETS Transaction Registry and other climate applications.
In light of the upcoming pilot phase of the Mexican ETS set to begin in 2020, GIZ’s SiCEM project has been conducting a series of activities, including the development of technical studies, to inform decision making around the design of the Mexican ETS.
The backbone of an ETS is its Registry, an online platform where ownership of emission allowances and offsets is precisely recorded, and all transactions take place under a set of market rules defined by the Authority. Regulated entities demonstrate compliance through the Registry: they upload their verified emissions inventory and surrender the allowances to match these emissions. ETS Registries are traditionally developed as centralized databases. Such arrangement supports the government’s ability to fulfill its role as the Authority. With the emergence of disruptive, decentralized and trust-building Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) such as Blockchain, Mexico is exploring an innovative way of ensuring transparency and environmental integrity. This study reveals the pros and cons of this alternative.
A Blockchain is an immutable digital database that gradually builds up with blocks of data that cryptographically link together. Unlike conventional databases managed by a single authority, a Blockchain is managed by a network of distributed participants, each represented by a computer server. Servers authenticate record transactions according to a set of pre-defined rules, and a transaction is accepted and recorded only if consensus is reached among the network majority. This automatic, transparent and distributed decision making is trustworthy and eliminates the need for intermediaries (e.g., a central authority approving or denying certain transactions), thus facilitating the direct exchange between, for example, buyers and sellers of a commodity.
How can this be applied to the ETS Registry? Verified greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, emissions allowances or offset credits can be tokenized – that is, issued as a cryptographic unit that represents a “right” to emit (emissions allowance or offset credit) or an “obligation” (verified emissions). Through smart contracts – another Blockchain feature – every ETS rule would be automatically enforced and tokens could be transacted among participants. Compliance would be achieved when “obligation” tokens are equivalent to “right” tokens in a certain wallet (user account). Using different layers, the system can be employed to perform other functions such as banking, borrowing or even allowance auctioning.
GIZ SiCEM, 2019. Key features of Distributed Ledger Technology.
For a merely domestic (i.e., Mexican) ETS, a Blockchain-based Registry wouldn’t offer exceptional advantages over a conventional centralized database; oversight by the central regulator provides enough trustworthiness and immutability of the data records. However, in a world where emissions units will increasingly leave domestic territory and be transacted across jurisdictions and systems with different authorities (e.g., linking of ETS, transfer of internationally transferred mitigation outcomes [ITMOs] under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, offset exchange with international aviation’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation [CORSIA]), a trustworthy, immutable and decentralized Blockchain-based system would support increased interoperability and avoid double-counting of emissions reductions or allowances. Alternatively, hybrid approaches could be envisaged to incorporate the best from both a decentralized Blockchain and a centralized system.
Additionally, Blockchain could support other areas of the ETS compliance cycle, such as by lowering administrative transaction costs for smaller entities, increasing the scope of the ETS. Beyond the ETS application, the study explores its potential for improving emissions and financing Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) frameworks. It discusses the possibility for the tokenization of climate outcomes and the direct linking of finance flows to verified emission reductions.
The upcoming pilot phase provides an opportunity to test the Mexican ETS Registry infrastructure, be it Blockchain based or one built on conventional centralized database technology. Additional studies covering a variety of technical issues will be published on the “IKI-Alliance Mexico” blog in the coming months.
Click on the image below to download the publication:
Coral reefs are increasingly vulnerable to stress factors, such as poor water quality, toxic substances from sunscreens, the massive arrival of sargassum, climate change, etc.
Unfortunately, in June 2018, white syndrome was detected for the first time in several coral species of the Mexican Caribbean. As explained by Dr. Lorenzo Alvarez Filip:
“The damage caused in six months by white syndrome equals the coral mortality over the last 40 years in the Mexican Caribbean.”
On March 8, about 70 key stakeholders defined strategic actions to implement in the short-, medium- and long-term aimed at improving tourism practices, the integrated management of the coastal zone, and water and fisheries management.
Coral reefs are an important economic source for tourism. In Cozumel alone, diving generates an estimated $4.662 million pesos of direct benefit each year. In addition, coral reefs protect against hurricanes and help with the formation of beaches.
Finally, the head of CONANP’s regional office for the Yucatán Peninsula and Mexican Caribbean, Cristopher González Baca, closed the event with the following reflection:
“We need to make alliances and act together to recover the health of the reefs and the economic and social benefits that they produce for the region.”
The ADAPTUR project provides technical assistance to the tourism sector for adopting Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) solutions in Mexican territory and for its investment decisions. The project is implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH together with the Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR) and Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), and receives technical support from the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) and the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC).
How Guanajuato’s Water and Wastewater Utilities are tackling Climate Change through Efficiency Optimization and Renewable Energy Production
In San Francisco del Rincón, two utility companies, SITRATA (Servicio de Tratamiento y Deposición de Aguas Residuales) and SAPAF (Sistema de Agua Potable y Alcantarillado de San Francisco), are collaborating on projects to improve their services and lower their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. SITRATA manages wastewater, while SAPAF is responsible for drinking water and sewage. With guidance from the WaCCliM project, both utilities have undertaken a strategizing and implementation process similar to that proposed in the “WaCCliM Roadmap to a Low- Carbon Urban Water Utility”.
As a result, SAPAF have increased wastewater treatment coverage from 48% to 81% and improved the energy efficiency of their pumping stations. The magnitude of the increase in treatment coverage was by far the biggest achievement in GHG reduction.
The Roadmap to a Low-Carbon Urban Water Utility presents utility managers with an approach to address their most pressing challenges, while reducing carbon emissions through measures that either have a return on investment through energy or water savings, or that correspond to planned investments as part of the asset management plan to maintain or improve their services. Utilities adopting this approach are contributing to a carbon-neutral future, by instigating a change of mind-set, not only in urban water management but also by inspiring all other urban services through sharing the risks and the urgency to act to avoid aggravated impacts of climate change, of which water utilities are among the first victims: water scarcity, flooding and deteriorated water quality.
Water and Wastewater Companies for Climate Mitigation in Mexico
In Mexico, water and wastewater utilities have a difficult task meeting users’ demands. Low tariffs, high water consumption, and an intricate legal framework have led to unsustainable water abstraction, high-energy costs, high water loss, and inadequate wastewater treatment, which contribute to high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. GHG emissions are driving contribution to global GHGs. Approximately 3 -5 % of Mexico’s national GHG emissions can be attributed to the water sector.
Carbon reduction measures can be put into motion through working with utilities in emerging economies, where emissions are the highest due to a large portion of untreated or poorly treated sewage, as well as poorly managed sewage sludge.
This document provides a detailed explanation on the theoretical background of the second version of the web-based “Energy performance and Carbon Emissions Assessment and Monitoring” (ECAM v2.2) tool. The main assumptions and the key considerations that form the basis of the tool are explained. An overview of variables, performance indicators and related equations, as well as benchmark values and references are given. Additionally, the manual helps users with evaluating
different scenarios for specific system configurations.
This manual offers an overview of ECAM 2.0, the Energy Performance and Carbon Emissions Assessment and Monitoring tool, to guide first-time users through the basic elements of the tool and get started with the assessment.
ECAM, a tool to transition towards carbon neutrality in the water sector
The Energy Performance and Carbon Emissions Assessment and Monitoring (ECAM) tool is a free web-based tool that is designed for assessing the carbon emissions that utilities can control within the urban water cycle and prepare these utilities for future reporting needs on climate mitigation.
Mexico was seen as a leader during the Paris COP21 negotiations. It has committed ambitiously to reducing 22% of its greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to baseline scenario, with the potential to raise the target up to 40%, and 50% by 2050 compared to the year 2000. It is a signatory to the Paris Pact on Water and Adaptation to Climate Change. In Mexico, water utilities have a difficult task meeting user’s demands. Low tariffs, high water consumption, and a complicated legal framework have led to unsustainable water abstraction, high energy costs, high water loss, and inadequate wastewater treatment, which contribute to very high GHG emissions. Climate change will only exacerbate current conditions.
The WaCCliM project is working with the National Water Commission (CONAGUA), the State Water Commission of Guanajuato (CEAG), and the National Water Association of Mexico (ANEAS). The WaCCliM pilot utilities of San Francisco del Rincón, SAPAF and SITRATA, are already pioneering the way towards sustainable, low-carbon, urban water management. SAPAF provides water supply services, while SITRATA operates a wastewater treatment plant shared between two municipalities, San Francisco del Rincón and La Purísima. The raw water comes from groundwater wells and requires only disinfection. The drainage network does not require any pumping. The wastewater treatment plant is based on an activated sludge system.
Three states in Mexico: Yucatán, Jalisco, and Baja California. The first, a tourist hotspot in an ancient Mayan peninsula, which separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Caribbean Sea. The second is one of the most important states in Mexico, due to its natural resources, history and culture, and birth-place of the national liquor, tequila. The third shares a large, busy, and notorious border crossing with California, the wealthiest state in the United States, influential climate leader, and co-founder of the Under2 Coalition.
Together, they contribute to approximately 14% of Mexico’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (USD $170 billion) and represent 10% of its population (13.5 million people). All three states are signatories to the Under2 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and are committed to keeping global temperature rises to well below 2°C. They are also part of a new initiative led by The Climate Group, under our Transparency workstream.
The Climate Footprint Project, or Proyecto de Huella Climática in Spanish, provides direct support and training to seven state and regional governments across four countries – Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa – to improve their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions tracking and reduction efforts. Regional GHG inventories provide the level of detail needed to allow local policymakers to understand their emission sources and trends to enhance the design of their emissions reduction strategies. The project is being delivered in coordination with the following consortium partners: Ricardo Energy and Environment, ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability, Greenhouse Gas Management Institute and CDP.
Two-day workshops were organised, bringing together between 25 and 40 key stakeholders in each state involved in these processes, including representatives from relevant sectoral departments (for example, Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU), Energy, Waste), and also in the case of Jalisco, secretariats that are not often included in discussions on climate change mitigation (such as, Culture), industry, academia, and municipalities.
A simple ice-breaking exercise at the start of each workshop asking how many years participants have been working in climate change, and how many in MRV, revealed varying levels of knowledge and experience, often at the lower spectrum of 0-3 years. Anticipating this, the first day of the workshop covered capacity building sessions on MRV of emissions and mitigation actions, to ensure all participants were on the same page.
The second day honed in on the key MRV challenges, gaps, risks and opportunities identified in each state through desk research and interviews with key stakeholders prior to the missions, and made suggestions for tailored capacity building support that could be provided. Draft technical assistance roadmaps, for the coming year, were presented and discussed with the participants. These are currently being finalised and further validated by the respective state governments, in preparation for the technical assistance phase of the project that will begin in May 2019.
Overall, the project has got off to a promising start in Mexico. There was a high level of engagement and commitment from participants; and positive feedback and political buy-in from the state governments, as highlighted in the following news bulletins from Yucatán and Baja California (and forthcoming from Jalisco).
Photo: Valeria Correa. Working Group in Baja California, discussion about information sources for inventories.
WHAT’S NEXT
While each state is at a different stage in its MRV development and has differing levels of resources, the technical assistance that Ricardo and Carbon Trust Mexico will provide through theoretical training and practical support will enable each state, depending on their priorities, to:
increase their ability to regularly compile a state level GHG inventory in a consistent manner;
develop a quality state level GHG inventory;
and increase their ability to track mitigation progress.
Robust, regular, and high quality GHG inventories will not only support state governments to make more informed decisions on policies for cutting emissions, it will also help them to demonstrate their contribution to national government targets – another key objective of this project.
Photo: Valeria Correa. Group Photo. Workshop participants in Mérida, Yucatán.
MEXICO AND BEYOND
Mexico is a national endorser of the Under2 Coalition. Furthermore, an impressive 15 out of Mexico’s 31 states are members of the Under2 Coalition, in addition to the federal entity, Mexico City. There is much scope, and also interest from the participants of the stocktaking missions, to share lessons and best practice among other Under2 Coalition members within the country, and those states that are yet to join the coalition, to scale up the impact of the project.
There is also great potential through the peer learning phase that The Climate Group will later lead on, to share lessons beyond the Mexican borders – firstly with fellow project country, Brazil; and internationally, among states and regions in the Under2 Coalition facing similar challenges and needs in their MRV systems.
The Climate Footprint Project is funded by a generous grant from the German government, as part of their International Climate Initiative (IKI), which encourages its large portfolio of global climate and biodiversity projects to explore synergies. The Climate Group and our consortium partners look forward to learning from these projects, and contributing to the knowledge exchange around tracking emissions and raising ambition, as the tagline of this project promises to imprint on its journey over the next two years.
Objective
The Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance and the Vertically Integrated Climate Policies (VICLIM) global project – both implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH – contribute to the development and implementation of climate policy at the subnational level and its alignment with the commitments of Mexico’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), helping to identify the relationship between the NDC and key sectors such as energy and tourism and how this plays out at the local and/or regional level.
Relevance
The Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources’ (SEMARNAT) mandate is to shape national climate change policy, aligning it with the policies and activities developed at the subnational levels to ensure congruence and promote the goals established at the federal level.
Through the National System on Climate Change (SINACC), Articles 8 and 9 of the General Law on Climate Change (LGCC) call for the country’s states and municipalities to join the national climate change effort.
On this front, GIZ has supported SEMARNAT’s General Directorate of Climate Change Policies (DGPCC) to strengthen the role of states, and recently of municipalities, in the fulfillment of Mexico’s climate objectives under the NDC.
This collaboration has focused on capacity development and the exchange of experiences about climate change mitigation and adaptation, the generation of robust planning instruments for climate policies and monitoring systems, climate financing and the creation of financial instruments. Additionally, GIZ has facilitated intersectoral dialogue at the local-regional level to implement pilot actions shared by all local sectors (public, private and civil).
States that have collaborated with the GIZ climate change cluster
Impacts
The collaboration between SEMARNAT and GIZ with a focus on climate change at the subnational level has supported the following:
Learning about the current state of the legal and institutional framework, as well as about the instruments for managing climate change at the state level and their alignment with the NDC.
Promoting the development of national experts, including 400 public officials, responsible for implementing and developing climate policies in 31 Mexican states.
Encouragement for updating state climate change laws aligned with federal regulations and international climate commitments, by way of advisory services to the states of Sonora and Morelos; and the development of general guidelines that serve as precedents for other states.
Greater transparency about the progress of subnational climate policies through the development and implementation of monitoring systems for state climate change plans, such as those of Veracruz and Jalisco; increased transparency about the generation of gender indicators; and about fulfilling the local reporting requirements for the National Emissions Registry in Mexico City and specific measures such as solar heaters in Aguascalientes and rainwater collection systems in Guanajuato, which will amount to a reported reduction of more than 2.8 million tCO2eq.
Guidance for states and municipalities in accessing, obtaining and generating climate funds and financial vehicles. The goal is to implement adaptation and mitigation measures through practical guides, and to design operating rules and processes for calls for proposals for the environmental funds of Jalisco and Sonora states. Through these efforts, more than 300 million pesos will be mobilized for environmental purposes.
Generation of dialogue that has allowed for the exchange of experiences between municipalities of Jalisco state and the National Climate Initiative (NKI) of Germany to adopt financing schemes for climate change mitigation measures.
Creation of the first guide supporting the development of municipal climate action plans aligned with state climate change policies and the NDC.
Development of two webinars and two videos as communication tools that encourage the exchange of knowledge and experiences in Mexico at the national, regional and international levels, and that promote climate action with a focus on sustainable local development.
Strengthening of the climate change capacities and the mainstreaming of biodiversity in agro-food production in SAGARPA offices, and of extension agents and producers at the local level in the following states: Jalisco, Michoacán, Yucatán, Coahuila and Puebla.
Next steps
Continue collaborating on the development of instruments that facilitate the implementation of measures, scaling and vertical integration, monitoring and alignment with national contributions.
Encourage the use of eco-technologies that reduce the vulnerability of public buildings and houses in all states.
Identify areas of convergence between climate change and energy policies, and their instruments at the local level, so that opportunities to leverage their co-benefits and strengthen their alignment can be identified.
The gender perspective in climate change policies
The project on mainstreaming the gender perspective in climate change policies is implemented by Gender CC – Women for Climate Justice and based on the premise that it is essential to incorporate gender in urban planning to improve the resilience of cities to climate change impacts.
Based in Berlin, GenderCC is a global network of civil organizations, experts and activists working for gender equality and climate justice. GenderCC began working on the project in 2015 with organizations from India, South Africa and Indonesia, with Mexico joining last year. Overall, it operates in 12 cities across the four countries.
The objective is to contribute to the promotion of strategies with a gender perspective – intersectoral and long-term at the local level – for the transition to a low-carbon development model.
The project seeks to strengthen the capacity of citizens to involve themselves in the design/implementation of climate change policies through capacity building related to completing bureaucratic procedures and developing public policy recommendations with a gender perspective. This is expected to help build viable alternatives for gender equality, as well as to improve the sustainability, effectiveness, and social, economic and environmental co-benefits of mitigation and adaptation policies.
In Mexico, Mexico City and Tlaxcala were chosen as pilot cities since the Equidad organization has experience working in both places. The two cities were selected due to their distinct environmental, institutional, political and socioeconomic contexts.
The steps Mexico City has taken towards gender equality are well recognized, as it finds itself at the forefront nationally. Equidad has helped Mexico City strengthen its processes for policy advocacy. In comparison, although the city of Tlaxcala does not have the same civil society advocacy capacity, it has pursued various efforts to incorporate a gender perspective into its institutions, regulatory framework, public plans and programs, particularly in the climate change field.
In these entities, we began the work under the premise that sustainable development is not possible without gender equality. Conversely, gender equality is also a key driver of sustainable development.
Within the framework of capacity building at the subnational level, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, through the FELICITY global program, offered the Introduction to Capacity WORKS Workshop to representatives of counterparts of the three levels of the Mexican government.
Laura Choriego, a certified Capacity WORKS instructor, facilitated the workshop at the Quinta Colorada in Mexico City from March 11 to 13, 2019. During the three days, participants learned about the operating principles of the Capacity WORKS management model and, through different exercises, reflected on key objectives and experiences related to FELICITY’s low-carbon infrastructure projects.
Photo: GIZ. Laura Choriego facilitating the Introduction to Capacity WORKS workshop.
Workshop attendees included 27 participants (63% women and 37% men) from the following agencies: at the federal level, the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), the Ministry of Energy (SENER) and the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP); from the Government of Mexico City (GCDMX), the Ministry of the Environment (SEDEMA), the Ministry of Economic Development of Mexico City (SEDECO), the Ministry of Administration and Finance (SAF) and the General Coordination of International Affairs of the Government of Mexico City (CGAI) ; representatives from the Naucalpan de Juárez City Council also attended.
Photo: GIZ. The Introduction to Capacity WORKS workshop group
Capacity WORKS is a management model designed for cooperation systems composed of state actors, civil society and the private sector with a common social impact goal. The model was developed in 2006 by GIZ (formerly GTZ) and, after a two-year pilot phase in 2009 and 2010, it was introduced into the company as a management model for sustainable development.
FELICITY is an initiative implemented by GIZ, with the support of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), that provides technical assistance in the development of low-carbon infrastructure projects in cities.
Photo: GIZ. Representatives of the counterpart of Mexico City participating in the workshop’s learning exercises.
With these tools from GIZ and FELICITY, national representatives strengthen their ability to prepare bankable projects that trigger low-carbon infrastructure in Mexico.
Livestock farming is one of the most important productive activities in Mexico. However, traditional livestock production has caused deforestation and loss of biodiversity, worsening the effects of climate change. In this context, the project Biodiversity and Sustainable Agrosilvopastoralist Livestock Landscapes, known as BioPaSOS, promotes the use of agrosilvopastoral practices that support biodiversity conservation through the development of climate-smart livestock (CSL).
The BioPaSOS project is implemented by CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) in conjunction with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in three intervention areas in the states of Jalisco, Campeche and Chiapas. In Jalisco, its actions are focused on the municipalities of Zapotitlán de Vadillo, Tuxcacuesco, Tonaya, Toliman, El Limón, Autlán de Navarro, Cuautitlán de García Barragán, Villa Purificación, La Huerta and Tomatlán; in Campeche, in the municipalities of Calakmul, Escárcega and Champotón; and in Chiapas, in the municipalities of Villaflores, Villa Corzo, Arriaga, Cintalapa, Jiquipilas, Arriaga and Tonalá—all of which form part of the Sepultura Biosphere Reserve (REBISE-CONANP).
Photo: BioPaSOS, CATIE. Héctor Carrillo, farmer from the Ricardo Flores Magón ejido in Chiapas, who participates in the Farmer Field Schools
BioPaSOS works in partnership with different local actors, mainly livestock producers. To date, it has strengthened the capacities of more than 1000 livestock producers and technicians through Farmer Field Schools (FFSs): 19 in Jalisco, 23 in Campeche and 30 in Chiapas. The implementation of the FFSs has supported the execution of participatory appraisals of production systems, which help identify the limitations of productive systems from the perspective of farmers. Additionally, important alliances have been created with livestock producers to establish demonstration modules that function as training and replication centers.
Photo: BioPaSOS, CATIE. Farmer Field School Workshop in Jalisco
Through its intervention areas, BioPaSOS promotes a research agenda with academic and research centers that helps identify knowledge gaps and supports decision making. As part of this agenda, it coordinates bachelor- and master-level research.
Photo: BioPaSOS, CATIE. Livestock producers from Campeche participating in the Farmer Field School.
Capacity building for community biodiversity monitoring in mangrove swamps of the Lagoon System of Alvarado (SLA), Veracruz, aims to provide communities with tools to learn about and document their natural capital, the current state of conservation and the impact of their actions.
Community biodiversity monitoring is increasingly recognized in Mexico as a primary method to monitor the health of ecosystems and the services they offer (FMCN, et al., 2018). In this context, Pronatura Veracruz A.C. strengthens the capacities of the communities and ejidos of the mangroves of the Lagoon System of Alvarado so that they can be the guardians of their natural capital and generate information that supports decisions about local management.
As part of the project “Restoring the Landscape of Mangrove Forests: An Opportunity for Social Development in the RAMSAR Alvarado Lagoon System Site,” from February 19 to 21, 2019, the workshop “Introduction to Community Biodiversity Monitoring” was held in Tlacotalpan, Veracruz. The workshop aimed to discuss the role of community participation and the importance of monitoring – through indicators and/or of key species – in assessing the impacts of mangrove forest harvesting and restoration activities (timber, coal, honey and others).
Photo: Pronatura region Veracruz. Practice of habitat monitoring in mangrove swamps of the Alvarado Lagoon System
Ten community leaders participated from Alvarado, Acula and Tlacotalpan, the municipalities with the greatest influence on the project; they are ejido members with UMA (Management Units for the Conservation of Wildlife) permits, which allow for the legal harvesting of mangrove wood, and actively participate in mangrove restoration and hydrological rehabilitation.
During the workshop, emphasis was placed on monitoring key species (those whose role is fundamental to the ecosystem). For this reason, theoretical and practical training was given on monitoring and management techniques for crocodiles (Crocodylus moreletii). The state of health of crocodile populations reflects the success of ecological restoration actions, including the recovery of water flow, the food chain and nutrients; when managed sustainably, crocodiles also provide a source of income for local communities.
Photo: Pronatura region Veracruz. Practice with key species Crocodylus moreletii in mangroves of the Alvarado Lagoon System.
As a result of the workshop, the “Community Biodiversity Monitors of the Alvarado Lagoon System” brigade was formed, creating an alliance of ejidos and communities to monitor indicators and/or key species in mangroves under restoration and conservation, and where the harvesting of legal timber takes place.
Photo: Pronatura region Veracruz. Expert presentation on monitoring of the UJAT.
This project is implemented by Pronatura Veracruz within the framework of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), in partnership with the Veracruz Environmental Fund and specialists in the monitoring of crocodiles from the Juárez Autonomous University of Tabasco (UJAT).
This article belongs to Pronatura Veracruz A.C. Its content is the sole responsibility of the autor.
Within the framework of capacity building at the subnational level, the FELICITY global program collaborated with the Sustainable Infrastructure Foundation (SIF) to hold workshops on the SOURCE digital collaborative platform for the Mexico City (CDMX) Government and the municipality of Naucalpan of Juárez.
Photo: GIZ. During the workshop’s welcoming remarks for the project in Mexico City
Sixty-six participants took part in the three workshops, 44 percent of whom were women and 56 percent men. The first “training of trainers” workshop was geared towards representatives of different international cooperation agencies such as the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI), the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group and the World Resources Institute (WRI). The workshops in CDMX and the municipality of Naucalpan de Juárez were attended by representatives from federal agencies such as the Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), the Ministry of the Environment (SEDEMA), the National Commission for the Efficient Use of Energy (CONUEE), the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP), the Ministry of Energy (SENER), the National Bank for Public Works and Services (BANOBRAS) and representatives of the municipal government of Naucalpan.
The workshops were held from February 5 to 7, 2019; during the three days, participating institutions learned more about the purpose of the FELICITY global program in Mexico and the opportunities it creates for the preparation and structuring of investment-grade low-carbon infrastructure projects.
Photo: GIZ. Roger Peniche presenting the energy management of urban waste project in Naucalpan
GIZ adviser Itzel Alcérreca also discussed the projects supported by FELICITY.
In addition, Cedric Van Riel of SIF gave a virtual presentation about the digital platform, discussing the application of a case study on the platform; he explored the platform’s tools and features in detail and explained how participants can use it to collaboratively develop their projects.
Photo: GIZ. Itzel Alcérreca during her presentation on the FELICITY Global Program in Mexico City.
To conclude the workshop, participants completed an evaluation of the training, the results of which were satisfactory.
FELICITY is an initiative implemented by GIZ, with the support of the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Germany’s Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), that provides technical assistance in the development of low-carbon infrastructure projects in cities.
SOURCE is a project development platform designed to help projects, from their conception, establish contact with possible funding sources; it is financed and led by Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) in response to the G20 to address the global infrastructure gap. It is currently used in 44 countries, with approximately 200 projects under development and more than 1700 users.
Photo: GIZ. The project workshop group in Naucalpan.
For more information, consult the GIZ-FELICITY and SIF-SOURCE websites. These actions promote the development of projects and financing for low-carbon implementation that contributes to international climate commitments.
Subsidies to electricity in Mexico disproportionately benefit richer households, are an impediment to the development of energy efficiency and renewable energy, and represent a considerable fiscal burden to the federal government. Several options exist to transition to a more equitable and sustainable model.
Subsidies to electricity in Mexico, mainly given out through tariffs set below the supply cost of electricity, in 2016 amounted to 130 billion Mexican pesos (USD 6.8 billion). Although subsidies can be a useful policy instrument to support low-income households’ electricity access, extensive research has highlighted the various issues linked with such subsidies, including:
• high regressivity: they disproportionately benefit richer households who consume more energy, in comparison with poorer households
• substantial cost of opportunity: money spent on electricity subsidies in Mexico represent 1.6 times the budget of Prospera, the country’s flagship social program. Such resources could be spent towards other development goals and social policies
• environmental impact: by reducing the price of electricity, subsidies encourage its overconsumption, and disincentivize the implementation of energy efficiency measures and renewable electricity. In the agricultural sector, subsidies also promote higher water consumption, which has been linked with the overexploitation of Mexican aquifers
Photo: BMWi. High Voltage Transmission Line.
Mexico has made international commitments to reduce so-called inefficient subsidies, as highlighted by the Germany-Mexico peer-review of fossil fuel subsidies, which took place in 2017 under the G20. Several ideas of reforms have been proposed by Mexican experts in the recent years. One consists in lowering the threshold of the “DAC” (the higher electricity tariff applied to large consumers), so that it includes a higher number of households. Other suggested reforms aim at replacing the tariff subsidies by a financial support to households for the installation of solar PV systems or the implementation of energy efficiency measures. Another proposed reform seeks to remove the subsidies and reinvest it in a universal healthcare system.
Photo: SENER. Wind Farm in Mexico.
It is against this background that the “Enhancing the Coherence of Climate and Energy Policies in Mexico” project (CONECC) and the German-Mexican Energy Partnership, of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), recently published a study entitled “Improving and Refocusing Electricity Subsidies – Options for optimization in Mexico”.
Through various interviews with national and international experts, the study, undertaken in collaboration with the International Institute for Sustainable Development, evaluated these reform options against various criteria, including economic, social, political and sustainability impacts. It found that a modification of the DAC tariff so that it considers the income level, combined with financial support to households for renewable energy and energy efficiency, could effectively reduce the regressivity and fiscal cost of subsidies, while contributing to the achievement of Mexico’s climate change targets. The analysis of five international case studies of subsidy reform also helped emphasize the importance of a well-designed communication strategy and of adapted compensation measures for the most vulnerable households.
CONECC and the German-Mexican Energy Partnership hope that this study will shed light on the potential for a more equitable, efficient and sustainable subsidy system in Mexico. GIZ is committed to provide support to the Mexican government and continue exploring pathways to improve the current model.
CONECC and the German-Mexican Energy Partnership. Front page of the publication.
