Global Environmental Facility

M E X I C O

Private land mechanisms for biodiversity conservation in Mexico

GEF Medium-Sized Project

PROJECT BRIEF


Table of Contents

Acronyms and Definitions 3

Project Summary 4

Project Goal And Objectives 5

Detailed Project Description 14

Project Rationale And Objectives 14

Context And Underlying Assumptions 22

Activities And Financial Inputs Needed To Enable Changes 22

Sustainability Analysis and Risk Assessment 24

Stakeholder Involvement During Preparation 27

Incremental Cost Analysis 33

Public Involvement Plan 35

Project Implementation Plan 37

Procurement, Disbursements, Auditing, and Reporting. 43

Monitoring and Evaluation Plan 43

ATTACHMENT 1. Project’s Logical Framework

ATTACHMENT 2 Information on MSP Proposer: Pronatura

ATTACHMENT 3. Procurement Under the Project

ATTACHMENT 4. Reports, Disbursements, Audit and Special Account Progress Reports

Annex 1 Sites Selection Criteria.

Annex 2 Project Benefits for the Indigenous Population Indigenous Conservation

in “Carricito del Huichol”.

Annex 3 Site information

Annex 4 Advisory Board

Annex 5 Case Study: Private Reserve “Las Cañadas”

Annex 6 Procurement Under the Project

Annex 7 Reports, Disbursements, Audit and Special Account for the Project

Annex 8 Project Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

Annex 9 Site Selection Workshop Participants

Acronyms and Definitions

Private Land (PL)

In accordance with the constitutional changes that give full ownership rights to ejidos and communities over their lands, private land refers to all lands legally owned by individuals, ejidos, communities as well as those government properties managed under quasi private property regimes (including the lands considered “vacantes” , “mostrencos” or under “dominio directo de la federación”). This means that the definition incorporates all lands considered as social property under Mexican law.

CONABIO

Comision Nacional de la Biodiversidad / National Commission on Biodiversity

CONANP Comision Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas / National Commission on Protected Areas.

FANP Fondo de Areas Naturales Protegidas / Protected Natural Areas Fund

Ejidos A Community Group Legally Formed To Hold Land .

GEF Global Environment Facility

GIS Geographical Information System

INE Instituto National de Ecologia / National Institute of Ecology

ISR Impuesto sobre la Renta / Income Tax

PA Protected Area

PROFEPA Procuraduria Federal Proteccion al Ambiente / Federal Attorney for the

Environment

PLMBC Private Land Mechanisms for Biodiversity Conservation

RAN Registro Agrario Nacional / National Agrarian Registry

SEMARNAT Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales/

Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources.

SINAP Sistema Nacional de Areas Protegidas / National System of Protected Areas

TAC Technical Advisory Committee

TNC The Nature Conservancy

ToR Terms of reference


GEF Medium-sized Project Brief

Private Lands Mechanisms for Biodiversity Conservation in Mexico

Project summary

Project identifiers
1. Project Name:
Private Lands Mechanisms for Biodiversity Conservation in Mexico / 2. GEF Implementing Agency:
World Bank
3. Country or countries in which the project is being implemented:
MEXICO / 4. Country eligibility:
Date of ratification of the Convention on
Biological Diversity: March 11, 1993
5. GEF focal area(s), and/or cross-cutting issues:
Biodiversity / 6. Operational program:
Biodiversity of Forest, Arid, Semi-Arid and Coastal Ecosystems (including wetlands).
7. Project linkage to national priorities, action plans and programs:
- There is a growing recognition by the Government of the biological importance of private land and the need for greater private action to save the habitat and species that live there. Much of Mexico’s globally significant biological diversity even within the national system of protected areas is on private property, and many critical ecosystems are on private land still not covered by the system. As a result, the Mexican Government has recognized the importance of conservation of biodiversity on privately owned lands as a national priority.
- The recent Environmental Law includes specific provisions to promote the creation of policy and financial incentives for property owners and civil society to participate in conservation efforts. In addition, new agrarian and forestry laws have created new opportunities for the participation of private individuals and communities in the conservation and management of Mexico’s natural heritage.
- While it is known that an important share of Mexico’s biological diversity is held by ejidos and communities, the formal participation of these landowners in conservation efforts had, until recently, been limited to government permitted land uses on legally established protected areas. The recognition of full property rights of ejidos and communities over their lands (Reforma Agraria, 1995), which were previously held over a structure of social property, allow them to make use of a wider range of private land conservation tools. This broadens the scope for biodiversity conservation on these lands.
- Important changes have occurred in Mexico with regards to private and social interest in conservation. There has been an increase in NGO and civil society participation not only in public policy discussions about environmental issues, but also in direct actions taken for the conservation of globally significant biodiversity. The establishment of Private Reserves, such as those of Eden and Huitepec, in Quintana Roo and Chiapas respectively, and the work by the Friends of Sian Ka'an on transferable development rights, are examples of this trend.
- Pronatura itself perceives an increased interest in conservation by private landowners. Despite the fact that Pronatura has not formally advertised its program for biodiversity conservation in private lands, it received requests from over 40 landowners requesting assistance to conserve the biodiversity on their properties.
- Despite these policy changes and social interest and involvement, specific instruments and mechanisms to promote private conservation are not yet available to be implemented. This project aims precisely to develop and implement tools and incentives for the conservation and sustainable use of globally relevant biodiversity found on private land in Mexico in line with national policy objectives. It will be based on national, regional and local laws and regulations, promoting public and private programs to increase public and private sector interest and incentives to protect globally significant biodiversity. It builds upon Pronatura’s existing work and experience in private land conservation tools for global biodiversity conservation.
- The project therefore expects to provide a useful tool for other conservation initiatives such as the Mexico Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, the Indigenous and Community Conservation and the Protected Areas.
8. GEF national operational focal point and the date of country endorsement:
Endorsed: December 16, 1998

Project Goal and objectives

Project rationale and objectives:
Goal: To increase the area of privately owned land under protection in forest, arid, semi-arid and coastal ecosystems in Mexico through the use of Private Land Mechanisms for Biodiversity Conservation (PLMBC). / Indicators:
·  Area protected and biological value of protected sites: Measurable demonstration of successful conservation mechanisms and their ability to generate significant biodiversity protection on privately held lands, specifically: i). Protection of 20,350 has. through full implementation of private land conservation mechanisms in at least 5 sites under different legal ownership regimes. ii). An additional 15,000 has. subject to private protection.
·  Geographical spread and number of people reached: Wide dissemination of replicable tools, incentives and policies for conservation in private lands; On-site demonstration of effective, replicable approaches for conservation and sustainable natural resource management on private land.
·  Number of people, groups and sites within the potential sites database: Measurably more landowners, communities, ejidos, and other stakeholders directly involved in private land conservation.
·  Financial strength and long term program beyond GEF funding: Sustainable program to promote and catalyze private and public sector action for private land protection and, development of replicable mechanisms.
Rationale: Mexico’s biodiversity is of global importance and most globally significant biodiversity in Mexico is on private property, hence the importance of a conservation strategy for these lands. Unfortunately, the country’s biodiversity lacks adequate protection. Solely relying on conventional conservation methods, such as granting protected area status, is economically and socially impractical. New conservation models, such as PLMBC, are needed which entail negotiations with landowners to agree on conservation commitments.
PLMBCs offer various advantages: facilitate management and conservation, promote civil society participation, and do not depend on direct government action, promote a dialogue between economic and environmental goals and, can be a more economical option compared to conventional methods in the long term. There are PLMBC models in other countries, but they need to be adapted and validated.
Private land tools have not been developed in Mexico for several reasons: (1) a lack of legal and economic tools for private land conservation that have been validated and recognized in law and policy, (2) a lack of information available to landowners to use these alternatives, (3) few incentives, economic or otherwise, for landowners to conserve their land and, (4) insufficient capacity within NGOs to coordinate efforts and mobilize resources for the promotion and implementation of private land conservation mechanisms. As a result, there are insufficient alternatives to destroying productive ecosystems for the private landowner. Thus there is a definitive need to address these barriers to the adoption of PLMBCs in Mexico.
Project Objectives: / Indicators:
1. Create a set of legal tools, financial incentives, and implementation techniques for private landowners that promote conservation and sustainable use of biologically significant lands. / Model Toolkit designed with components for use by Government, NGOs, technical and professional valuators, public registry, landowners, congressmen, including:
·  Criteria for site selection.
·  Methodology for baseline assessment.
·  Methodology for management plan design.
·  Methodology for the development of Monitoring and evaluation plans.
·  Criteria for tool selection for various land ownership regimes.
·  An environmental economic valuation methodology.
·  Guidelines for negotiation with landowners.
·  Guidelines for the elaboration of Business packages.
·  Manual for the creation of NGO networks and landowner associations.
·  Manuals for the implementation of financial mechanisms.
·  Proposals for federal and state-level legal mechanisms and incentives
2. Implement these tools and incentives in pilot sites / ·  A minimum of five demonstration projects implemented under different private ownership scenarios and in different Mexican States under different legal requirements.
·  Representative number and variety of replicable tools and incentives being implemented in pilot sites.
·  Protection of 20,350 has. through full implementation of private land conservation mechanisms in the 5 sites under different legal ownership regimes.
·  Sites report benefits for landowners including legal certitude, technical assistance, and projected economic benefits
3. Build support for policy and legal reforms that would facilitate replication of demonstration sites. / ·  Proposals for legal recognition of the toolkit by state and federal legal systems being considered by legislators. Recognition and incorporation of the tools at least on four legal statutes.
·  Amendments being considered or actually implemented in valuation protocols and manuals that incorporate elements of the environmental valuation methodology.
·  Specific policy proposals developed to widen the legal options to enforce these mechanisms and to create new incentives for landowners and number of agencies (state, federal or municipal) considering or actually applying these policies.
4. Build capacity in PRONATURA and other NGO’s and relevant agents to implement PLMBCs. / ·  More than 100 members of NGOs in Mexico qualified to use tools for conservation on private lands.
·  Number and membership of NGO Networks and Landowner associations.
·  Number of sites (in addition to pilot sites) in the PLMBC implementation process by Pronatura.
·  Number of sites in PLMBC implementation process by organizations other than Pronatura.
·  An appropriate fund and other financial mechanisms established to enable Pronatura’s private land biodiversity conservation program to continue beyond the life of the GEF project funding.
5. Disseminate lessons learned from pilot sites and implementation tools. / ·  Lessons learned from pilot implementation disseminated to other conservation efforts in Mexico, including the Biological Corridors, Municipal and State level ecological land planning initiatives, and protected areas strategies.
·  Wide dissemination in Latin America of the toolkit among NGOs, landowners and others interested in conservation alternatives in private land.
Project outcomes
Outcomes: / Indicators:
1.1. Validated Toolkit developed
Produce a validated toolkit including:
·  -Methodologies for baseline assessment, economic valuation, management, monitoring and evaluation plans;
·  -Criteria for site and tool selection for various land ownership regimes; *
·  -Guidelines for negotiation with landowners and elaboration of business packages;
·  -Manuals for the implementation of financial and state-level legal mechanisms and incentives and,
·  -Manuals for the creation and maintenance of NGO networks and landowners associations.
·  -Manual on use of private land conservation tools to conservation NGO’s. / ·  Toolkit documentation, peer reviewed, validated in pilot sites, and finalized for distribution.
2.1. Site implementation
Create in five pilot sites under different legal ownership regimes (individual, ejido and communal), PLMBC models in situ with local benefits that can be replicated throughout Mexico and elsewhere through implementation of private land conservation mechanisms / ·  Five pilot sites implemented with private land conservation tools, criteria and methodologies in operation and covering 20,350 has.
·  Validated toolkit
3.1. Policy and Legal Reforms
3.1.1. Acceptance of the various components of the toolkit as well as its legal recognition and strengthening by relevant decision-makers at state and federal levels / ·  Relevant decision-makers –government officials and legislators- contacted at municipal and state levels where the five pilot sites are located. Recognition and incorporation of the tools in at least four municipal/state/federal legal statutes.
3.1.2. Acceptance and use of valuation methodology by valuation professionals in various fields. / ·  Valuation methodology recognized/incorporated in the regular catalog of professional services.
3.1.3. Support for the creation of policies and incentives for private land conservation from conservation NGOs, state, and municipal governments. / ·  Policy and regulatory initiatives dealing with private land conservation either implemented or in the evaluation process.
4.1. Capacity building
4.1.1.Stronger capacity within NGO’s and governments as well as awareness and interest among landowners of the PLMBCs to potentiate their implementation and hence the expansion of private land under conservation. / ·  160 key individuals trained: NGO, communities, government agencies and landowners; on the use, implementation and benefits of private land conservation tools.