Mexico: Protecting forests to slow climate change

About a third of Mexico’s land area—nearly 160 million acres—is forested, ranging from tropical rainforest to highland coniferous forest. These forests offer the country an unparalleled opportunity to conserve both its rich biodiversity and a large storehouse of carbon. When trees are cut down or burned, carbon dioxide—a main source of global warming pollution—is released.

Mexico is the 15th largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. It is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and has pledged to halve its emissions by 2050 from 2000 levels.

About 15% of Mexico’s total greenhouse gas emissions come from clearing, burning and thinning its forests, so protecting them is an important part of the country’s efforts to cut emissions.

Since 2010, EDF has worked with the Mexican government and non-governmental organizations, contributing our scientific and technical expertise to help advance Mexico’s climate goals by safeguarding forests and supporting local communities who depend on them.

Lush forests and high biodiversity

Mexico has a rich array of forest types, from pine and oak to tropical dry and cloud forests. These forests—most of which are communally managed—are a vital economic and ecological resource, providing livelihoods and social benefits to their inhabitants.

Most of the country’s tropical forests are in the southern states of Chiapas, Campeche, Quintana Roo and the Yucatán. These forests sequester large amounts of carbon and are recognized as biodiversity hotspots, yet the region has seen some of the highest rates of deforestation in the country.

The main causes of deforestation in Mexico are unsustainable management of land and conversion of forests for farming and cattle ranching. As in other forest-rich nations, the use of trees for firewood and building is also a major threat.

REDD+ policies: Making forests worth more alive than dead

In recent years, tropical forest conservation has become a key to international efforts to stop climate change. A policy approach that EDF helped develop, called Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), creates economic incentives that make it more valuable for people to maintain standing forests than to clear them for timber, charcoal, pasture or crops.

Central to REDD+'s success are the indigenous peoples who inhabit and protect much of the world's tropical forests. In Mexico they number more than 10 million. Their livelihoods and cultures are put at risk when forests are destroyed, so they have a great deal to gain from a robust implementation of REDD+.

About 70% of Mexico’s forests are communally owned by more than 8,000 collectives (called “ejidos” or “communities”), many comprised of indigenous peoples. Given the right incentives, these collectives could help reduce emissions through forest protection, which will not only sequester carbon but also benefit forest communities and ecosystems.

On the ground: EDF partners with a local group in Chiapas

EDF recognizes the importance of working with local groups rooted in the community. We recently joined forces with AMBIO, a Mexican nonprofit that has worked on land management with diverse rural communities, mainly in the states of Chiapas and Oaxaca.

Combining our climate team’s policy expertise with AMBIO’s experience on the ground, we plan to expand a pilot project in Chiapas that connects forest communities with academic experts in agriculture and forest management. The goal is to manage communal forests more sustainably, while improving the lives of those who inhabit them.

In the project, forestry and agronomy university students and graduates will live for several months in a community to understand its needs and challenges. They and their hosts will then work together to map out and address local land-management challenges, ranging from how to better manage coffee growing to using less land for meat and milk production.

National policy: EDF works with the Mexican government

Mexico has been a leader on climate action in Latin America at both the global and local levels. It hosted the United Nation’s 2010 climate meeting in Cancun, and last year Mexico City passed a landmark climate bill that will regulate greenhouse gases and create a carbon market within the boundaries of this megacity.

At the national level, EDF participates with government agencies and other nonprofits in a  consultative body called CTC-REDD+ to find ways to sustainably manage Mexico’s forests and reduce carbon emissions. We also work directly with the national forestry agency, the Comisión Nacional Forestal (CONAFOR).

EDF, CONAFOR and Conservation International are developing a decision tool (called OSIRIS), which uses data on Mexico’s forests to model the effectiveness of different forest conservation incentives. This will help the nation develop the most effective REDD+ policies.

The country has many successful models on which to build a REDD+ program. They include a payment-for-ecosystem-services program, as well as experience with world-class community forest management, sustainable forest management and timber certification. (See New York Times piece “Growing a Forest, and Harvesting Jobs.”)