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LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
MEXICO
MDG7
Progress Towards Environmental Sustainability
Guadalajara
Ciudad Juárez
Monterrey
Mexico recognizes the complex linkages between environmental and economic
development and has developed multidisciplinary strategies
accordingly. It has therefore flagged the need for reliable information and
Pacific
Ocean
Acapulco
adequate allocation of economic resources to promote environmentally sustainable development policies.
In 2001, the Mexican government declared water bodies and forests as important for national security. The inclusion
of these natural resources in the country’s legal framework led to the establishment of funding mechanisms and
the implementation of integrated programmes. Despite these efforts, the land area covered by forests decreased significantly
in the last decade, as a result of forest fires and intensive agriculture. Subsequent reinforcement of the legal framework
resulted in some improvements in the environmental arena. In 1990, 76 national parks and biodiversity reserves accounted for 2.9%
of total land surface area. The implementation of regional programmes has increased the proportion of protected areas to 9% in
2003. Poor management of low budget programmes has been a major constraint to the expansion and monitoring of natural
reserves.
Intensive demographic growth has posed a challenge to local governments’ capacity to strengthen infrastructure and to effectively
deliver services. Moreover, increased rural migration to urban areas has led to an increase in the number of slum dwellers. By 2002,
more than half of the population living under the poverty line – approximately 27 million, lived in urban areas. If demographic tendencies
continue in the same manner, 85% of population growth
will take place in urban cities in the next 25 years.
QUICK FACTS
CURRENT PORTFOLIO BUDGET
Total UNDP-GEF and Co-Finance: $39,075,660
Total UNDP and Co-Finance: $11,305,205
Total MPU and Bilateral: $3,318,295
Total: $53,699,160
Tijuana
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
MEXICO
Mérida
Mexico City
Gulf of
Mexico
BELIZE
GUATEMALA
EL SALVADOR
Major challenges to achieving MDG 7 for environmental sustainability
in Mexico include: ignorance of the economic and social
costs of population growth; uneven geographic distribution of the
population; poorly planned urbanization and its harmful impacts
on air, water, and soil; and the degradation of natural resources. 1
Cumulative Total ODS Phased-Out: 2,879.1 ODP tonnes
SPOTLIGHT
Organic Coffee Café, Preserving Biodiversity and Reducing Poverty 2
The struggle for equality, pluralism, autonomy and free participation in the coffee grinds business in Mexico began in the late
1970s. What started out as limited cooperation and a fight for proper land ownership in Las Margaritas, Chiapas has now
evolved into a well-known, well-run chain of coffee shops in Mexico City.
Café de la Selva is a chain of coffee shops selling organic coffee grown by indigenous communities in Chiapas. The chain is the
result of collaboration between a smallfarmers’ organization, the Union de Ejidos de la Selva, and the Vinculo y Dessarrollo civil
association.Together these organizations have developed five successful coffee shops in Mexico City and have worked to establish
the chain’s reputation among urban consumers. The origin of the coffee itself is what makes these cafés so special. By controlling
the entire vertical chain of coffee production, the Union de Ejidos de la Selva is able to improve indigenous farmer
income and self-sufficiency. With over 20 years of experience, the Union now collaborates with 1,250 families in 42 communities
to ensure the adoption of better soil management and environmental practices. By using certified organic techniques,
farmers are able to control erosion, limit pollution, create a healthier environment for other species, and produce coffee that
meets the demands of the most discriminating consumers
In recognition of their outstanding achievement, UNDP’s Equator Initiative awarded La Selva Café a US$ 30,000 grant in 2002.
La Selva Café used the grant to form, together with their local partners, a new corporate entity – La Selva International S.C. – to
promote the commercial expansion of the chain nationally and internationally, and to develop new operations, outlets, and café
BIODIVERSITY
locations. La Selva coffee is now sold in Switzerland, Austria, Germany, the UK, Denmark and the United States.
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