Mexico Strengthening Entrepreneurship in Productive Forest Landscapes Project

Program Overview

The Mexico Strengthening Entrepreneurship in Productive Forest Landscapes Project seeks to strengthen sustainable forest management while also increasing economic opportunities for forest-dependent people and enterprises.

Program name	Mexico Strengthening Entrepreneurship in Productive Forest Landscapes Project
Jurisdiction	Nuevo León, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Durango
Size of jurisdiction	58 million hectares
Population in jurisdiction	13.4 million people
Drivers of land use change	Agricultural expansion and livestock production (cattle farming)
Accounting area	TBD
Implementing agency	National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR)
ISFL Funding	- $10 million in grant financing available
	- $4 million in funding for private sector engagement available
	- Potential payments of up to 10 million tons of emission reductions
	- $56 million IBRD loan for the Mexico Strengthening Entrepreneurship in Productive Forest Landscapes Project
Co-financing	$119 million in government financing (CONAFOR)

Private sector engagement is central to Mexico’s ISFL program, which seeks to promote collaboration between public and private actors in rural areas. The program also recognizes the role of landscapes in biodiversity conservation and forest production, and will seek to strengthen the role of women in forest governance and production.

Mexico’s ISFL program has two components:

Strengthening forest management, conservation, and business development through the financing of forest sector demand-driven incentive programs that aim to support local communities, other landholders, and forest-dependent people in sustainably managing forests while increasing economic opportunities for forest resources; and
Providing institutional development and facilitation support to help in preparation for a BioCarbon Fund Emission Reduction program.

IBRD loan proceeds will finance Component 1, and ISFL grant proceeds will finance Component 2.

Country Context

Drivers of deforestation

Drivers of deforestation and forest degradation vary widely across the country. Land-use changes in Mexico are a response to regional, national, or international market pressures for the extraction of timber products, mining, converting forests to agricultural production areas, tourism, urban and industrial developments, and infrastructure projects (e.g., dams, roads, and highways).
Particularly in the ISFL program area, key drivers of deforestation are agricultural expansion and livestock production (cattle farming).
Underlying institutional factors include low management capacity of communities and ejidos to conduct forest operations.

Key commodities and sectors

Agriculture and livestock production (cattle)

Policy interactions and green growth strategies

The National Climate Change Strategy, the Environment and National Resources Sector Program 2013–18 (PROMANART), the Special Program on Climate Change (PECC), and the National Forestry Program 2014–18 (PROFOR) set reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation as a priority through the National REDD+ Strategy (ENAREDD+).
The General Law on Sustainable Forestry Development (LGDFS) establishes the legal framework for financial payments for changes in land use in forests. This will serve as an important basis to inform benefit-sharing arrangements and the legal transfer of credits from ER payments.
The General Law on Climate Change (LGCC) sets out a framework for the development of Mexico’s Forest Registry.
Mexico has instituted a series of forest incentive programs, for example, the Payment for Environmental Services Program (supported by the World Bank), which, since 2003, has spearheaded the application of economic instruments for forest conservation and the promotion of sustainable forest management practices.

NDC commitments

Commitment to reduce GHG emissions by 25 percent compared with business-as-usual levels by 2030
Established goal of 0 percent net deforestation by 2030