Butterflies in Mexico

    Core area “Conserving nature and natural resources, protecting life on Earth” Protecting biodiversity, promoting sustainable agriculture

    Mexico is what is known as a megadiverse country; an important field of work under Mexican-German environmental cooperation is the conservation of Mexico’s biodiversity. To achieve this, Germany is supporting the improved management of protected areas on land and at sea, the sustainable use of forests and the sustainable transformation of the country’s agriculture.

    Mexico is supporting the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, especially via its national biodiversity strategy (ENBioMex), and has a comprehensive array of environmental legislation in place. The country has established numerous nature reserves and is continuously increasing the extent of its protected areas. However, its natural resource base is coming under increasing pressure because of changes in land use, over-exploitation and environmental degradation, as well as invasive species and the impacts of climate change.


    Protecting the natural environment, increasing resilience

    Working with local partners, the German Development Ministry (BMZ) is pursuing a people-centred approach whereby people and nature are always considered in tandem. Furthermore, climate change also plays an important role in the cooperation portfolio: How can ecosystems and the services they provide be maintained even in the face of changing climatic conditions? How can the sustainable use of natural resources be designed in such a way that it makes people more resilient to climate change? The aim therefore is to increase human adaptability to the impacts of climate change through a combination of biodiversity conservation, sustainable use of natural resources and the rehabilitation of degraded ecosystems.

    Germany and Mexico are also developing financing strategies for nature conservation and forest protection, as well as incentives for the sustainable use and conservation of natural resources, including through cooperation projects with the private sector. Germany is thus supporting Mexico’s efforts to integrate biodiversity more firmly into other policy areas such as agriculture and forestry, fisheries, water management and tourism.