Tag: Adaptación basada en Ecosistemas

Tourism can be a sustainable activity that boosts economic reactivation, while at the same time protecting natural capital, by reducing the vulnerability of destinations to climate change. Since 2017, Guanajuato has been working closely with the project “Ecosystem-based adaptation for the tourism sector in Mexico” (ADAPTUR) of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on a first phase in San Miguel de Allende. It is one of the 3 pilot sites and where 5 of the 7 ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) measures targeted by the project were implemented. In this site, the measures focused on soil recovery and water provision, implemented with the support of the municipal government and civil society associations.

From left to right: María Isabel Ortiz Mantilla Head of the Ministry of Environment and Territorial Planning (SMAOT), Juan José Álvarez Brunel Head of the Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR GTO) and Ana Lorena Gudiño Valdez Director of the ADAPTUR project © SECTUR GTO

For the second phase of the project, the focus has broadened to include joint work at the state level between the Ministries of Environment and Land Management (SMAOT) and Tourism (SECTUR), with the support of ADAPTUR and Reforestemos México A.C. It aims to make progress on climate change adaptation in the state and strengthen the links between the tourism and environmental sectors through coordinated interagency work. In addition, this process has actively involved the private tourism sector through a mechanism for financing EbA measures in state Natural Protected Areas (NPAs). These areas have high economic value because they are key to the provision of ecosystem services, tourism and the reduction of the sector’s vulnerability to climate change.

Event with the private tourism sector to present the alliance and Emblem Project © SECTUR GTO

The process is known as the “Emblem Project” for being a pioneer in the field at the regional and national level. As part of the project, a roadmap has been designed to compile lessons learned and promote the replication of these efforts by other interested states. These types of alliances are becoming increasingly meaningful and important in promoting a green economic recovery that guarantees the wellbeing of people and ecosystems, understanding that one cannot exist without the other.

Event with the private tourism sector to present the alliance and Emblem Project © SECTUR GTO

The Congress of the State of Nayarit through the commissions of Industry, Commerce and Tourism; Ecology and Environmental Protection and Economic and Social Development; in coordination with the project “Ecosystem-based Adaptation to Climate Change in Cooperation with the Private Sector in Mexico” (ADAPTUR) of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, held the webinar “Blue Carbon, an opportunity for a climate resilient economy”. The congressmen and congresswomen and their respective legislative teams from the other states in the Gulf of California region were invited to attend. Part of the capacity- building activities for legislative teams of local congresses, more than 45 people from Nayarit and Sonora participated.

This initiative was led by deputies Juanita González, Georgina López and Nadia Bernal, who serve as chairpersons of the commissions. They are working together to position tourism as an axis that encourages the inclusion of transcendental issues for the region in their commissions and within the State Congress. Their work aims to create a sustainable and inclusive economic recovery for everyone, focusing on the environment; natural resources; climate change and Ecosystem Based Adaptation (EbA) measures.

The event aimed to increase the knowledge of participants on coastal-marine ecosystems; their vulnerability to climate change; their importance for the region’s biodiversity and the creation of solutions for climate action; and their relationship to economic activity within the Gulf of California region, which is essential for the tourism sector. This was done through a panel discussion between subject-matter experts that included Dr. Nélida Barajas from the Intercultural Centre for the Study of Deserts and Oceans; Mr. Luis Fueyo, a consultant specialising in oceans, biodiversity and environmental law; and the moderator, Mr. Alejandro Callejas, an international consultant specialising in biodiversity and climate change.

The meeting created linkages and multi-stakeholder dialogue between states, congresses, commissions, and legislators of the Gulf of California region, which supports work towards the enrichment of the subnational legal framework in the region. They succeeded in positioning blue carbon as an opportunity to implement EbA measures to strengthen climate action, protect the natural capital of the Gulf of California and strengthen the region’s economy by protecting the natural capital of one of the country’s major tourist attractions.

For more information, please contact Andrés Martínez, Technical Advisor of the ADAPTUR project for the Riviera Nayarit-Jalisco region.

 


Blue carbon webinar an opportunity for a climate resilient economy © Karla Ramos, GIZ ADAPTUR

As Mexico is a megadiverse, multicultural country and highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, the Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) approach is being integrated into national instruments to select high-impact adaptation measures that contribute to reducing vulnerability and fulfilling the Paris Agreement.

In October 2015, the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) – with the support of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, through the Mexican-German Climate Change Alliance – presented the first version of the Methodology for the Prioritization of Adaptation Measures against Climate Change. This document considers the list of criteria contemplated in ENCC 10-20-40 and involves the economic evaluation of each of the contemplated adaptation measures. Since then, it has served as a guide for the development of the State-level Climate Change Programs (PECCs) and Climate Change Adaptation Programs (PACC) in Protected Natural Areas (NPA).

Considering Mexico’s megadiversity, both in climates and ecosystems, the Update of the Methodology for the Prioritization of Adaptation Measures was presented in 2018, with the integration of the EbA approach as its main feature. This approach addresses the country’s potential to reduce its vulnerability, and that of its population, through the sustainable management of resources, the restoration of ecosystems, and the conservation of biodiversity.

 

 

The methodology contemplates a participative process at each stage, involving all the actors that benefit from ecosystem services. In addition to functioning as an exercise in transparency and governance, the methodology demonstrates the potential of prioritizing EbA measures at a sectoral level, and even a private sector level, in response to the potential impacts to their productive activities caused by climate change.

Other great benefits of emphasizing the EbA approach in the selection of adaptation measures are the integration of local knowledge and the contribution to disaster risk reduction. Furthermore, EbA projects can be more cost-effective and accessible compared to other gray adaptation measures (construction of infrastructure and/or engineering works); this in turn favors the access to the portfolios of projects applicable for some type of green financing.