Mexico Forest Protocol
The Climate Action Reserve (Reserve) has been developing a Mexico Forest Protocol for over 2 years with a diverse set of stakeholders, including government agencies, nonprofit organizations, private sector, and landowners, both in the United States and in Mexico. The development of the protocol has sought to align with Mexico’s National REDD+ strategy and with California’s Global Warming Solutions Act (AB 32) in an effort to link activities in Mexico to California’s compliance market. The protocol can also work for the international voluntary market and many provisions in the document design are built on existing programs in Mexico in an effort to harmonize activities for management planning with access to a carbon market.
The protocol provides standardized guidance for carbon enhancement projects within a REDD+ framework and addresses eligibility, baseline, inventory, permanence, social and environmental safeguards and MRV requirements. Communal lands and private ownerships are eligible to develop projects. A baseline enables sequestration activities to be credited, allowing improved forest management, reforestation, agroforestry, and urban forestry to be included in the project design.
| Mexico Forest Protocol Version | Adoption Date | Notes |
|
Revised Draft Version 1.0 |
June 2013 (Anticipated) |
The revised draft of Version 1.0 of the Mexico Forest Project Protocol is currently in development and is expected to be released in June 2013 with a set of pilot projects to demonstrate proof of concept. |
|
November 11, 2011 |
The first draft of the forest project protocol developed by the Climate Action Reserve for forest carbon offset projects in Mexico. It is not available for project submission. | |
|
November 30, 2011 |
El primer borrador del protocolo de proyecto forestal desarrollada por la Reserva de Acción Climática para proyectos de compensación de carbono de los bosques en México. No está disponible para la presentación de proyectos. | |
|
November 28, 2011 |
This document is a one-page summary of the Mexico Forest Project Protocol Version 1.0 project eligibility requirements including project start date, additionality, and environmental safeguards. | |
|
November 28, 2011 |
Este documento es un resumen de una página de los requisitos México Forest Project Protocol Version 1.0 del proyecto de elegibilidad, incluyendo la fecha de inicio del proyecto, la adicionalidad y la protección ambiental. |
Please contact Policy Team with questions or comments
Version 1.0 Public Comments
The public comment period closed on January 20, 2012. Submitted comments are available below and staff responses to public comments will be available soon.
Public Workshop
The Reserve will host a public workshop to provide a venue for feedback on the draft Mexico Forest Project Protocol. Details will be posted here once meeting date and time are finalized.
Workgroup
The Reserve has assembled a workgroup to assist with the development of the adaptation of the Reforestation, Avoided Deforestation, and Sustainable Forest Management project types. The workgroup includes:
| Alianza para la Conservación Sierra Gorda | M-REDD |
| Ambio | OVVALO |
| Baker & McKenzie | Pronatura Mexico |
| Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC/COCEF) | Pronatura Sur |
| Centro Mexicano de Derecho Ambiental | Rainforest Alliance |
| CIGA/UNAM | Reforestamos Mexico |
| CONAFOR | Servicios Ambientales de Oaxaca |
| Consejo Civil Mexicano para la Silvicultura Sostenible | South Pole Carbon Asset Management |
| EcoLogic Development Fund | Terra Global Capital |
| Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) | The Nature Conservancy |
| Gold Standard | Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) |
| GHG Offset Services | Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) |
| Governors’ Climate and Forests Taskforce (GCF) | World Wildlife Fund |
| Natura Proyectos Ambientales |
Protocol Development Process
The timeline for the Mexico Forest Protocol development process will be updated as the process moves forward.
| Protocol Kickoff Meeting | April 12, 2010 |
| Staff Forms Stakeholder Workgroup | June 2010 |
| Staff Drafts Guidance and Standards for Forest Projects | June 2010 – July 2011 |
| Workgroup Process to Refine Draft Protocol | July 2010 – December 2011 |
| Public Comment Period | December 2011 – January 2012 |
| Revision of Protocol Based on Public Comment | February 2012 – April 2012 |
| Further Public Feedback and Revision | May 2012 – December 2012 |
| Release of New Draft | June, 2013 |
| Public Comment Period | June, 2013 – July, 2013 |
| Initiation of Pilot Activity Phase | August 2012 |
| Revision of Protocol Based on Public Comment | August, 2013 |
| Board Review for Approval | September, 2013 |
Subcommittee Resources
Environmental and Social Safeguards (click to expand)
- The Mexico Forest Protocol Workgroup is seeking to address environmental and social safeguards through an existing standard. The current thinking in the workgroup is that a project would need to be certified through a third-party standard in order to participate in a Climate Action Reserve forest carbon project. In order to evaluate the existing standards, the principles addressed in each standard were documented and assessed as to whether objective criteria and indicators are provided in the standard to ensure that verification of the principle would be consistently applied. The assessment of the existing standards will also consider the expected explicit requirements of the compliance market in California related to environmental and social integrity. The standards reviewed include:
- Climate, Community, and Biodiversity (Project and Jurisdiction)
- Plan Vivo
- The Gold Standard
- Forest Stewardship Council
- REDD+ Amazon Standards (Brazil)
The discussion is ongoing as the workgroup considers which principles are most important to align with Mexico’s REDD+ Vision and with California’s cap and trade regulation.
- Environmental Safeguards Comparison Matrix
- Environmental Safeguards – FSC Standard
- Environmental Safeguards – Gold Standard
- Environmental Safeguards – REDD+ Standard
- Environmental Safeguards – REDD + Brazilian Amazon Standards
- Environmental Safeguards – Plan Vivo Standards
- Envornmental Safeguards – CC&B Standards
- Social Safeguards Comparison Matrix
- Social Safeguards – FSC Standard
- Social Safeguards- Gold Standard
- Social Safeguards – REDD+ Standard
- Social Safeguards – REDD+ Brazilian Amazon Standards
- Social Safeguards – Plan Vivo Standards
- Social Safeguards – CC&B Standards
Workgroup Meeting Documents/Resources
Workgroup Meeting 10 – 8/18/2011
The workgroup meeting will take place Thursday, August 18th at 9:30am Mexico City time (7:30am PDT). If you will be attending remotely, please register by following the link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/327891034.
La próxima reunión del grupo de trabajo llevará a cabo jueves, 18 de agosto, a las 9:30 de la mañana, hora de México (7:30am PDT, hora de California). Si va a asistir vía remota (internet) por favor, inscríbase con el enlace https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/327891034.
To ensure that the protocol development process is transparent and open, the Reserve makes available to the general public documentation from the workgroup portion of protocol development as it occurs. Click here to view meeting notes and other resources from all past workgroup meetings. For added transparency, interested individuals may also participate in workgroup calls/webinars as an “observer.” Please note that observers will be in listen only mode during calls/webinars.”
Other Resources
If you are interested in reviewing the existing US Forest Project Protocol or the US Project Implementation Agreement (PIA) both documents are available in Spanish and English.
U.S. Forest Project Protocol version 3.1 (October 22, 2009)
Protocolo de Proyectos Forestales Version 3.1 (October 22, 2009)
US Project Implementation Agreement – Espanol
US Project Implementation Agreement – English
Mexico Forest Project Protocol Statement of Intent (March 4, 2010)
Declaracion de Intenciones (March 4, 2010)
If you have questions about the Mexico Forest Protocol, please contact:
John Nickerson at john@climateactionreserve.org
The Reserve at [English] 213-891-1444, Press 3, or policy@climateactionreserve.org
The Reserve at [Espanol] 213-891-1444, Oprima 6, o reserve@climateactionreserve.org