Impacts on the operation, infrastructure and market, are some of the risks that climate change poses for the tourist destination of Riviera Nayarit-Puerto Vallarta. In the face of such a climate emergency, the Association of Entrepreneurs of Puerto Vallarta and Bahía de Banderas) (AEBBA) has taken the lead in promoting ecosystem-based adaptation solutions.

Entrepreneurs recognize that conservation of the bay, mountain forests and wetlands are a priority for socio-economic development, to ensure water in the future and protect against floods and storms.

 

Credits: © ADAPTUR / Mariana Rodriguez Aguilera. Mountain forests in Riviera Nayarit-Puerto Vallarta

 

The commitment was ratified on August 2nd through the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, between AEBBA and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (German Cooperation for Sustainable Development), as well as the creation of a Green Agenda Committee, which will be led by entrepreneurs from the region. During the event, the president commented:

” Today we assume this challenge of starting the process of adaptation to climate change in our companies and partners, as something indispensable with a sense of urgency.”

The objective of this collaboration is to build joint solutions between the private, public and civil society sectors, which is why the state and municipal tourism authorities of Nayarit and Jalisco expressed their support for the initiative. Some highlight actions are: making adjustments to the policy and regulatory framework, encouraging financial mechanisms to implement adaptation solutions, and integrating the risks of climate change into new developments in real estate and tourism infrastructure.

 

Credits: © AEBBA / Ana Lilia Medina. Signing of the Memorandum of Understanding between AEBBA and GIZ

 

Riviera Nayarit – Puerto Vallarta is one of the three pilot sites in Mexico to implement the Ecosystem-based adaptation to climate in cooperation with the private sector (ADAPTUR). It is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, in conjunction with the Ministry of Tourism (SECTUR) and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), and the technical support of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) and the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC).

 

Credits: © ADAPTUR / Ana Lorena Gudiño Valdez. Business leaders of Riviera Nayarit-Puerto Vallarta

The exchange of experiences is a key factor for the development of the municipalities’ climate policy. Considering the above, with the beginning of the elaboration of the Municipal Climate Change Program (MCCP) of Puerto Vallarta, a portal that seeks to promote these actions, as well as promoting work and knowledge networks among actors and municipalities in the development of their programs was created.

As part of Jalisco’s efforts to combat climate change, the municipality of Puerto Vallarta has begun its activities for the development of its Municipal Climate Change program, based on the Guide for the development or updating of the MCCP. During this process the importance of opening a public space was recognized as a fundamental step for the follow-up of its activities and the exchange of information. For this, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (German Cooperation for Sustainable Development) supported the creation of a MCCP Portal in Mexico, which was presented in a webinar on April 9th of this year. In the webinar, the experience of Jalisco in implementing the guide, the progress and lessons learned from Puerto Vallarta in the preparation of its program and a brief user guide to interact with the portal was presented.

In that sense, since last February 2019, the municipality of Puerto Vallarta has been sharing stage by stage its activities and progress through this portal. Additionally, on the blog you can find the achievements and challenges of the municipality for the development of its MCCP, videos, studies and documents of common interest related to climate change. In this way, other municipalities can follow the process of developing their program and in turn can share their own experiences.

The MCCP Portal of Mexico is available on Energypedia, a platform available to the public where knowledge on renewable energy, access to energy and energy efficiency is exchanged. On the site, you can find an interaction guide with the portal step by step, framework questions for writing articles, the complete Guide, among other tools for the development of the MCCP.

 

 

For more information about this Portal, access the following links:

  • Presentation webinar of the MCCP Portal in Mexico.
  • MCCP Portal in Mexico.