Mexico Forest Protocol Development

(Para ver la página en Español, por favor cambie las opciones de idioma en la parte superior del sitio web)

Current update in progress

Version 3.1

The Mexico Forest Protocol update to Version 3.1 will include revision of the incorporation of mangrove soil carbon and subsequent potential secondary effects, among other topics.

Public Webinar

The Reserve hosted a public webinar to kickoff the Mexico Forest Protocol V3.1 revision process (November 9, 2022)

Protocol Workgroup

The Mexico Forest Protocol update will be developed through the Reserve’s multi-stakeholder workgroup process. The Reserve strives to create a well-balanced workgroup consisting of industry representatives, government, project developers, academia, verifiers, and environmental advocacy organizations across Mexico. Workgroup member organizations can be found below.

Ala-Bool ICICO
Bioforestal Innovacion Sustentable SC Northern Arizona University
BRET Consultores Pronatura México A.C.
Canopia Carbon The Earthlab SA DE CV
CONABIO Tecnológico del Valle del Yaqui – Comité Mexicano de Manglares
Conservation International Toroto
CostaSalvaje SEMARNAT
ECOACT / ATOS World Resources Institute
Fundación San Crisanto

Stakeholders are also welcome to participate in the process as “observers.” Observers may attend workgroup meetings in listen-only mode, comment on the draft protocol when it is released for public comment, and attend the public webinar held during the public comment period. Please email agarcia(at)climateactionreserve.org if you wish to observe the workgroup process.

Workgroup Meetings

Workgroup Meeting 1: Mangrove soil carbon and secondary effects (November 21, 2022)

Workgroup Meeting 2: Secondary effects (December 8, 2022)

Development Timeline

The following timeline will be updated as the protocol development process unfolds.

Public webinar November 9, 2022
Workgroup Statement of Interest due November 14, 2022
Formation of workgroup November 2022
Workgroup meetings November – December 2022
Protocol drafting November -December 2022
Public comment period January 2023
Final protocol published February 2023

Please contact policy(at)climateactionreserve.org with questions or comments.

Previous protocol development

Version 3.0

The Mexico Forest Protocol update to Version 3.0 includes the revision of mechanisms to comply with permanence and additionality requirements, the application of stratification for forest inventories, modifications for mangrove ecosystems such as the inclusion of soil carbon, and social safeguards, among other topics. The protocol was adopted by the Reserve’s Board of Directors on October 5, 2022.

  • Mexico Forest Protocol Summary of Changes from Version 2.0 to 3.0 (English | Spanish)

Public Comments

  • Mexico Forest Protocol V3.0 – Public Comments and Responses (English | Spanish)
Adrián Nievez Ramírez, Project Coordinator, Santiago Coltzingo, Puebla CostaSalvaje, A.C.
Bioforestal Innovación Sustentable Integradora de Comunidades Indígenas y Campesinas de Oaxaca AC (ICICO)
Canopia Carbon Fundación San Crisanto A.C.
Centro de Investigación y Proyectos en Ambiente y Desarrollo (CIPAD) M.C. Juan Carlos Levya Reyes
Climate Seed Servicio y Consultoría Ambiental y Forestal S. de R.L. de C.V. (SYCAF)
CONABIO Toroto SAPI de CV
Conservation International

Public Comment Webinar
The Reserve held a public comment webinar on August 9 to discuss the draft protocol in detail and to solicit public comment (conducted in Spanish):

Workgroup

ANCE Northern Arizona University
Bioforestal Innovacion Sustentable SC Pronatura México A.C.
CANOPIA CARBON Secretaría del Medio Ambiente del Gobierno de la Ciudad de México
CONAFOR SEMARNAT
Consejo Civil Mexicano para la Silvicultura Sostenible Servicio y Consultoría Ambiental y Forestal S. de R.L. de C.V.
ECOACT / ATOS South Pole
Ejido Coltzingo The Earthlab SA DE CV
Forest Rangers Alliance A.C. Toroto*
Fundación San Crisanto Unidad de Conservación y Desarrollo Forestal Integral Topia, S.C.
GLZ Abogados Universidad Autónoma de Tamaulipas
ICICO World Resources Institute

* Provided partial funding to support protocol revision process.

Workgroup Meetings

MFP V3.0 Workgroup Meeting
June 16, 2022

MFP V3.0 Workgroup Meeting: Additionality
December 10, 2021

MFP V3.0 Workgroup Meeting 4: Mangrove
December 2, 2021

MFP V3.0 Workgroup Meeting 3: Forest inventory
November 18, 2021

MFP V3.0 Workgroup Meeting 2: Safeguards and eligibility
November 9, 2021

MFP V3.0 Subcommittee Meeting: Permanence – Legal instruments
November 4, 2021

MFP V3.0 Workgroup Meeting 1: Permanence
October 28, 2021

Kickoff Meeting
September 23, 2021

Version 2.0

The Mexico Forest Protocol revision to Version 2.0 included reassessing the Version 1.5 Performance Standard Test and Secondary Effects calculation for improved forest management activities, adopting a new quantification methodology for small urban forest activities and silvo-pastoral and agroforestry activities, incorporating previously released errata and clarifications, and updating language and protocol guidance concerning reporting periods, verification periods, crediting periods, and QA/QC. The protocol was adopted by the Reserve’s Board of Directors on March 30, 2020.

Public Comments

Public comments on the draft protocol closed in January 2020. Please see comments received and staff responses to public comments below.

  • Staff Response to Public Comments on draft Mexico Forest Protocol Version 2.0 (English | Spanish)
Centro de Investigación y Proyectos en Ambiente y Desarrollo (CIPAD) Juan Carlos Leyva
National Forestry Commission (CONAFOR)

Pronatura Mexico
Fundación San Crisanto Secretary of Environment of Mexico City (SEDEMA)
Jesus Morales Bautista Soluciones Ambientales YAAX

Public Workshop

The Reserve hosted public webinars to discuss the revisions to the Mexico Forest Protocol:

Mexico Forest Protocol Public Comment Webinar 2 (in Spanish)
December 12, 2019

Mexico Forest Protocol Public Comment Webinar 1 (in Spanish)
November 26, 2019

Protocol Workgroup

The protocol was revised through an expert stakeholder review process.

Mexico Forest Protocol Workgroup Meeting 1 (in Spanish)
October 30, 2019

Version 1.5

The Mexico Forest Protocol Version 1.5 revision involved minor editorial changes and clarifications as well as clarified roles of project developers and forest owners, clarified project documentation requirements, revised start date requirements to six months prior to project submittal, and clarified verification requirements. Notable changes from Version 1.4 are outlined in the document below:

  • Mexico Forest Protocol Summary of Changes from Version 1.0 to 1.5 (English | Spanish)

Version 1.4

Version 1.3

  • Mexico Forest Protocol Version 1.3 (November 3, 2016) (English | Spanish)

Version 1.2

  • Mexico Forest Protocol Version 1.2 (May 2, 2016) (English | Spanish)

Version 1.1

  • Mexico Forest Protocol Version 1.1 (January 26, 2016) (English | Spanish)

Version 1.0

  • Mexico Forest Protocol Version 1.1 (October 23, 2013) (English | Spanish)

The Climate Action Reserve developed the Mexico Forest Protocol for over three years with a diverse set of stakeholders, including government agencies, nonprofit organizations, private sector, and landowners, both in the United States and in Mexico. See below for detailed information on protocol development, including public comment submissions, public workshops, workgroup meetings, a list of workgroup participants, and other resources.

Revised Version 1.0 Public Comments

The protocol underwent a second public comment period in August 2013 to solicit feedback on the revised draft of the protocol; see below for the staff response to the one comment received. The second comment period did not result in any changes to the protocol.

BioDean

Public Workshop

The Reserve hosted a public webinar on Wednesday, September 4, 2013 to present details on the revised draft of the protocol and provide a venue for public comments. Workshop materials are available below.

Reserve Presentation
Meeting Video

Version 1.0 Public Comments

The protocol underwent an initial public comment period in January 2011 and the Reserve responded to comments (see below) and made substantial modifications to the protocol based on stakeholder feedback. Some of the important changes from the first draft include:

  • Guidance for crediting avoided emissions has been removed from the current draft. This is consistent with the evolution of thinking in Mexico associated with REDD+ activities.
  • Communal lands and private ownerships are eligible to develop projects.
  • The approach to baseline enables varied sequestration activities to be credited under one project, including improved forest management, reforestation, and agroforestry.
  • Environmental and social safeguards have been added directly into the protocol. Rather than relying on third-party criteria to define safeguards, the Reserve will require, monitor, and verify a set of safeguards that have been vetted by stakeholders.
  • The approach to permanence has been modified to account for the temporal value of the project activity.
Center for Biological Diversity New Forests Inc.
Centro de Investigaciones en Geografía Ambiental, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (CIGA-UNAM) Rainforest Alliance
Comisión Nacional Forestal (CONAFOR) Scientific Certification Systems
David Patrick Ross Stanford Environmental Law Clinic
EcoLogic Development Fund Terra Global Capital
Elsa Esquivel The Carbon Basis Company Ltd
Natura Proyectos Ambientales

Workgroup

The Reserve assembled a workgroup to assist with the development of the adaptation of the Reforestation, Avoided Deforestation, and Sustainable Forest Management project types. The workgroup included:

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

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.

Workgroup Meeting Documents/Resources

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 Protocol or the US Project Implementation Agreement (PIA) both documents are available in Spanish and English.

Pilot Project – San Juan Lachao

A pilot project using the Mexico Forest Protocol is currently underway in San Juan Lachao, Oaxaca, Mexico. The Reserve will post information and resources below as the project develops.

Pilot Project Fact Sheet (English)
Protocol Onsite Training Workshop (November 2013) (Spanish)

Please contact the Reserve with questions or comments.