It is an extraordinary privilege to collaborate with FMCN. Working with FMCN means having hope. Hope that our species will manage to live with this its home, this being that is Mother Earth. That, regardless of individual beliefs, we can as a species live as brothers and sisters, taking care of this marvelous planet.
I wish to express my deep gratitude to Alberto for his seven years at the head of the FMCN Board of Directors and for his enormous achievements in the conservation of our natural resources. Thanks to his leadership and dedication, we have made important progress in the protection of the environment.
Finally, during 2022, the pandemic that shook the world began to wane. Over these three years, although economic activity seemed to have taken a break, the human impact on nature continued to escalate. According to the most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, published in 2022, the trends in North America have assumed alarming proportions.
It is an extraordinary privilege to collaborate with FMCN. Working with FMCN means having hope. Hope that our species will manage to live with this its home, this being that is Mother Earth. That, regardless of individual beliefs, we can as a species live as brothers and sisters, taking care of this marvelous planet.
I wish to express my deep gratitude to Alberto for his seven years at the head of the FMCN Board of Directors and for his enormous achievements in the conservation of our natural resources. Thanks to his leadership and dedication, we have made important progress in the protection of the environment.
Finally, during 2022, the pandemic that shook the world began to wane. Over these three years, although economic activity seemed to have taken a break, the human impact on nature continued to escalate. According to the most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, published in 2022, the trends in North America have assumed alarming proportions.
Regional funds continued to execute and monitor FMCN projects in specific areas of the country during 2022. For example, the Fund for the Conservation of the Neovolcanic Belt coordinates the Monarch Butterfly Fund since 2020; the Gulf of Mexico Fund and FONNOR supported the local operation of the CONECTA and RÍOS projects in 2022, while the El Triunfo Conservation Fund also supported the CONECTA project. In 2021, Sureste Sostenible began operating the AKK, Kaanbal Suut and MAR-L projects; and supported the preparation of ACCIÓN. For its part, FMCN accompanied the strengthening of regional funds as executing entities, mainly in aspects of safeguards and incorporation of the gender perspective in all projects.
In parallel, biodiversity monitoring plays a key role in many FMCN projects. Through the development of monitoring protocols and information systems, FMCN-funded projects focus on territorial planning and management, natural resource conservation and management activities, and the training of people who monitor biodiversity. The National Biodiversity Monitoring System, a community biodiversity monitoring protocol (BIOCOMUNI), and the Ecosystem Monitoring System for Protected Areas are among these efforts. During 2022, FMCN integrated a sixth bundle to the BIOCOMUNI collection to incorporate the monitoring of the health of cattle-grazing pastures and promote the creation of eco-productive corridors for biodiversity conservation.
FMCN is committed to environmental sustainability, human rights and gender equality. As of 2022, FMCN is a beneficiary of the Mexico Preparedness Support Project managed by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). The strengthening of FMCN is aimed at its reaccreditation with the GCF. It included the development of a new Environmental and Social Policy, as well as tweaking of FMCN's Environmental and Social Management System to assess environmental and social risks in all FMCN projects. In addition, GGGI carried out a gender diagnosis, which resulted in a training plan for FMCN and regional fund staff.
Regional funds continued to execute and monitor FMCN projects in specific areas of the country during 2022. For example, the Fund for the Conservation of the Neovolcanic Belt coordinates the Monarch Butterfly Fund since 2020; the Gulf of Mexico Fund and FONNOR supported the local operation of the CONECTA and RÍOS projects in 2022, while the El Triunfo Conservation Fund also supported the CONECTA project. In 2021, Sureste Sostenible began operating the AKK, Kaanbal Suut and MAR-L projects; and supported the preparation of ACCIÓN. For its part, FMCN accompanied the strengthening of regional funds as executing entities, mainly in aspects of safeguards and incorporation of the gender perspective in all projects.
In parallel, biodiversity monitoring plays a key role in many FMCN projects. Through the development of monitoring protocols and information systems, FMCN-funded projects focus on territorial planning and management, natural resource conservation and management activities, and the training of people who monitor biodiversity. The National Biodiversity Monitoring System, a community biodiversity monitoring protocol (BIOCOMUNI), and the Ecosystem Monitoring System for Protected Areas are among these efforts. During 2022, FMCN integrated a sixth bundle to the BIOCOMUNI collection to incorporate the monitoring of the health of cattle-grazing pastures and promote the creation of eco-productive corridors for biodiversity conservation.
FMCN is committed to environmental sustainability, human rights and gender equality. As of 2022, FMCN is a beneficiary of the Mexico Preparedness Support Project managed by the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). The strengthening of FMCN is aimed at its reaccreditation with the GCF. It included the development of a new Environmental and Social Policy, as well as tweaking of FMCN's Environmental and Social Management System to assess environmental and social risks in all FMCN projects. In addition, GGGI carried out a gender diagnosis, which resulted in a training plan for FMCN and regional fund staff.
Technical Coordination Unit of the CONECTA project in the National Institute for Ecology and Climate Change
It is an extraordinary privilege to collaborate with FMCN. Working with FMCN means having hope. Hope that our species will manage to live with this its home, this being that is Mother Earth. That, regardless of individual beliefs, we can as a species live as brothers and sisters, taking care of this marvelous planet. For those who do not recognize magic, I invite you, in stillness, to take a look around at the wonder of all the living beings that surround us. This planet and this universe are pure magic. The mission of our FMCN should be seen in that light: to continue conserving our biological resources so that we continue to grow as humanity. May the magic continue to exist in all its marvel.
It is also magic to work with each one of the colleagues of FMCN and with so many talented individuals that selflessly collaborate with the institution. This year for me is the end of a cycle in service as President of FMCN and I can only express my deep gratitude for the magic of each one of its members and partners. What better way to end than by handing that responsibility over to Marilú Hernández, who will lead us to imagine and perform more magic! Many thanks to her for accepting this challenge and thanks to each and every one of us who form part of FMCN for accepting to grow in this dream that we share.
To those who read these lines, I encourage you wholeheartedly to never lose hope. I hope that with the deep roots that FMCN has developed we will see it bear many fruits. Congratulations to Renée González, our General Director, and to everyone for the great resilience they have shown. May the sunlight continue to shine on their faces and may I have the joy of seeing the happiness of hope and magic in them.
I wish to express my deep gratitude to Alberto for his seven years at the head of the FMCN Board of Directors and for his enormous achievements in the conservation of our natural resources. Thanks to his leadership and dedication, we have made important progress in the protection of the environment.
It is a great honor for me to chair FMCN's Board of Directors. I am committed to continue to work together for the benefit of our biodiversity and our ecosystems. In this new period, we will try to build more bridges every day between people, organizations and countries so that together, given the urgency, we work in service of the natural resources of our planet. We will continue to link stakeholders to protect the environment of our wonderful country.
I am convinced that, with the cooperation and effort by all, we will successfully face the core challenges in the conservation of our natural heritage. Thank you for your support and commitment!
Finally, during 2022, the pandemic that shook the world began to wane. Over these three years, although economic activity seemed to have taken a break, the human impact on nature continued to escalate. According to the most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, published in 2022, the trends in North America have assumed alarming proportions. They highlight deep droughts in northern Mexico, increased risk of storms and hurricanes, as well as rising sea levels on the Mexican coasts. Increasing air, water and land temperatures have restructured ecosystems and contributed to the redistribution of fish, birds and mammals. Coral reefs continue to be lost.
In response, increased funding was announced in the last quarter of the year at the United Nations Climate Change and Biodiversity conferences. The immense challenge now is for these financial resources to be transformed into large-scale natural resources in record time. This requires the work of many people who defend the forests, mangroves, reefs, mountains, and deserts of our Mexico on a day-to-day basis. Partner organizations in the field have been weakened by the pandemic and face new obstacles, including insecurity, an increase in tax requirements and increased demands from financial funding sources. Strengthening these partners is our priority.
In 2022, the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature (FMCN, Spanish acronym) worked hard with its partners in the field. The Protected Areas Fund (FANP, Spanish acronym) turned 25 years old. The celebration of the anniversary of the financial mechanism that supports the National Commission of Protected Areas (CONANP, Spanish acronym) took place in a magical place, the Tehuacán region. It is there that maize was first domesticated, an event that provided the world with an integral crop in the global diet. Tehuacán is also where we find the largest center of diversity of cactus species worldwide. It was an honor to celebrate with representatives of CONANP and communities from the 55 protected areas (PAs) supported by FANP, an exemplary public-private partnership that has inspired a dozen countries to protect their natural resources.
In northern Mexico, FMCN worked with the organization Cuenca de Los Ojos and CONANP to conserve private lands and protected areas, as well as to promote regenerative cattle ranching in a biological corridor where jaguars have been seen once again. The FMCN Board of Directors met in this landscape of bison, wolves and prairie dogs and elected its new Chairwoman of the Board, Marilú Hernández, who stands out for her trajectory in strengthening communities in the Yucatan Peninsula. FMCN is fortunate to continue to be accompanied by the intelligence and warmth of Alberto Saavedra, who, while he hands over his role as Chair of the Board of Directors, will continue to head the Investment Committee and the Institutional Support Committee. It is an honor for FMCN to have these leaders who set the course.
Regarding central Mexico, in recognition of the German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, who toured this part of our country in the early nineteenth century, KfW Development Bank signed a financial contract with FMCN to execute the project Conservation and Sustainable Use of Mountains and Mountain Ranges (CoSMoS, Spanish acronym). During the pandemic, the number of visitors to the Iztaccíhuatl, Popocatepetl and Citlaltépetl volcanoes doubled. CoSMoS will drive the rediscovery of these landscapes by urban people and improve rural livelihoods. With the leadership of CONANP, CoSMoS will strengthen 18 PAs, support the restoration of mountain ecosystems and trigger local ventures focused on conserving natural resources. With the support of the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO, Spanish acronym), CoSMoS will work with forest owners on monitoring fauna and flora, as well as in communicating the importance of these landscapes that provide water to cities.
Along the coasts of the west, east and south of the country, in 2022 field work began on two projects: Connecting Watershed Health with Sustainable Livestock and Agroforestry Production (CONECTA, Spanish acronym) and River Restoration for Climate Change Adaptation (RÍOS, Spanish acronym). Fifty initiatives of local groups were selected to incorporate regenerative practices in livestock, diversify production in forest systems and strengthen community social enterprises. The two projects focus on coastal basins, which are the territories defined by river systems that travel from the mountain to the sea. Landowners are working to restore ecosystems around springs, streams and rivers. Faced with climate change scenarios with greater onslaught of hurricanes, revegetation efforts around bodies of water filter sediments and bacteria, a phenomenon that prevents flooding downstream and improves the quality of the liquid that gives rise to life.
In the Yucatan Peninsula in 2022, the start of operations of the fifth regional fund promoted by FMCN, Sureste Sostenible, was consolidated which coordinates support to strengthen future leaders in the region, to strengthen more than twenty organizations whose work focuses on environmental solutions, as well as to a network of more than thirty-six partner organizations that work to establish and protect fishing refuge areas that allow fish and corals to recover from overfishing. In recognition of the progress made in the region, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) authorized resources to prepare the Sustainable Communities for Climate Action in the Yucatan Peninsula (ACCIÓN, Spanish acronym) project, which FMCN will build with partners in the region. ACCIÓN will focus on the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and will strengthen communities and ecosystems through strategies to address climate change.
Environmental challenges have never been more daunting than now. Investing in nature is the best strategy. Financial resources are not enough to implement it. The governance of the communities that are the stewards of natural resources, their financial inclusion and the formation of networks that provide knowledge amongst different sectors are fundamental to achieve the capillary effect of financial resources until they are transformed into nature. Contributing to this magic is our passion.
It is an extraordinary privilege to collaborate with FMCN. Working with FMCN means having hope. Hope that our species will manage to live with this its home, this being that is Mother Earth. That, regardless of individual beliefs, we can as a species live as brothers and sisters, taking care of this marvelous planet. For those who do not recognize magic, I invite you, in stillness, to take a look around at the wonder of all the living beings that surround us. This planet and this universe are pure magic. The mission of our FMCN should be seen in that light: to continue conserving our biological resources so that we continue to grow as humanity. May the magic continue to exist in all its marvel.
It is also magic to work with each one of the colleagues of FMCN and with so many talented individuals that selflessly collaborate with the institution. This year for me is the end of a cycle in service as President of FMCN and I can only express my deep gratitude for the magic of each one of its members and partners. What better way to end than by handing that responsibility over to Marilú Hernández, who will lead us to imagine and perform more magic! Many thanks to her for accepting this challenge and thanks to each and every one of us who form part of FMCN for accepting to grow in this dream that we share.
To those who read these lines, I encourage you wholeheartedly to never lose hope. I hope that with the deep roots that FMCN has developed we will see it bear many fruits. Congratulations to Renée González, our General Director, and to everyone for the great resilience they have shown. May the sunlight continue to shine on their faces and may I have the joy of seeing the happiness of hope and magic in them.
I wish to express my deep gratitude to Alberto for his seven years at the head of the FMCN Board of Directors and for his enormous achievements in the conservation of our natural resources. Thanks to his leadership and dedication, we have made important progress in the protection of the environment.
It is a great honor for me to chair FMCN's Board of Directors. I am committed to continue to work together for the benefit of our biodiversity and our ecosystems. In this new period, we will try to build more bridges every day between people, organizations and countries so that together, given the urgency, we work in service of the natural resources of our planet. We will continue to link stakeholders to protect the environment of our wonderful country.
I am convinced that, with the cooperation and effort by all, we will successfully face the core challenges in the conservation of our natural heritage. Thank you for your support and commitment!
Finally, during 2022, the pandemic that shook the world began to wane. Over these three years, although economic activity seemed to have taken a break, the human impact on nature continued to escalate. According to the most recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, published in 2022, the trends in North America have assumed alarming proportions. They highlight deep droughts in northern Mexico, increased risk of storms and hurricanes, as well as rising sea levels on the Mexican coasts. Increasing air, water and land temperatures have restructured ecosystems and contributed to the redistribution of fish, birds and mammals. Coral reefs continue to be lost.
In response, increased funding was announced in the last quarter of the year at the United Nations Climate Change and Biodiversity conferences. The immense challenge now is for these financial resources to be transformed into large-scale natural resources in record time. This requires the work of many people who defend the forests, mangroves, reefs, mountains, and deserts of our Mexico on a day-to-day basis. Partner organizations in the field have been weakened by the pandemic and face new obstacles, including insecurity, an increase in tax requirements and increased demands from financial funding sources. Strengthening these partners is our priority.
In 2022, the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature (FMCN, Spanish acronym) worked hard with its partners in the field. The Protected Areas Fund (FANP, Spanish acronym) turned 25 years old. The celebration of the anniversary of the financial mechanism that supports the National Commission of Protected Areas (CONANP, Spanish acronym) took place in a magical place, the Tehuacán region. It is there that maize was first domesticated, an event that provided the world with an integral crop in the global diet. Tehuacán is also where we find the largest center of diversity of cactus species worldwide. It was an honor to celebrate with representatives of CONANP and communities from the 55 protected areas (PAs) supported by FANP, an exemplary public-private partnership that has inspired a dozen countries to protect their natural resources.
In northern Mexico, FMCN worked with the organization Cuenca de Los Ojos and CONANP to conserve private lands and protected areas, as well as to promote regenerative cattle ranching in a biological corridor where jaguars have been seen once again. The FMCN Board of Directors met in this landscape of bison, wolves and prairie dogs and elected its new Chairwoman of the Board, Marilú Hernández, who stands out for her trajectory in strengthening communities in the Yucatan Peninsula. FMCN is fortunate to continue to be accompanied by the intelligence and warmth of Alberto Saavedra, who, while he hands over his role as Chair of the Board of Directors, will continue to head the Investment Committee and the Institutional Support Committee. It is an honor for FMCN to have these leaders who set the course.
Regarding central Mexico, in recognition of the German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt, who toured this part of our country in the early nineteenth century, KfW Development Bank signed a financial contract with FMCN to execute the project Conservation and Sustainable Use of Mountains and Mountain Ranges (CoSMoS, Spanish acronym). During the pandemic, the number of visitors to the Iztaccíhuatl, Popocatepetl and Citlaltépetl volcanoes doubled. CoSMoS will drive the rediscovery of these landscapes by urban people and improve rural livelihoods. With the leadership of CONANP, CoSMoS will strengthen 18 PAs, support the restoration of mountain ecosystems and trigger local ventures focused on conserving natural resources. With the support of the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO, Spanish acronym), CoSMoS will work with forest owners on monitoring fauna and flora, as well as in communicating the importance of these landscapes that provide water to cities.
Along the coasts of the west, east and south of the country, in 2022 field work began on two projects: Connecting Watershed Health with Sustainable Livestock and Agroforestry Production (CONECTA, Spanish acronym) and River Restoration for Climate Change Adaptation (RÍOS, Spanish acronym). Fifty initiatives of local groups were selected to incorporate regenerative practices in livestock, diversify production in forest systems and strengthen community social enterprises. The two projects focus on coastal basins, which are the territories defined by river systems that travel from the mountain to the sea. Landowners are working to restore ecosystems around springs, streams and rivers. Faced with climate change scenarios with greater onslaught of hurricanes, revegetation efforts around bodies of water filter sediments and bacteria, a phenomenon that prevents flooding downstream and improves the quality of the liquid that gives rise to life.
In the Yucatan Peninsula in 2022, the start of operations of the fifth regional fund promoted by FMCN, Sureste Sostenible, was consolidated which coordinates support to strengthen future leaders in the region, to strengthen more than twenty organizations whose work focuses on environmental solutions, as well as to a network of more than thirty-six partner organizations that work to establish and protect fishing refuge areas that allow fish and corals to recover from overfishing. In recognition of the progress made in the region, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) authorized resources to prepare the Sustainable Communities for Climate Action in the Yucatan Peninsula (ACCIÓN, Spanish acronym) project, which FMCN will build with partners in the region. ACCIÓN will focus on the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and will strengthen communities and ecosystems through strategies to address climate change.
Environmental challenges have never been more daunting than now. Investing in nature is the best strategy. Financial resources are not enough to implement it. The governance of the communities that are the stewards of natural resources, their financial inclusion and the formation of networks that provide knowledge amongst different sectors are fundamental to achieve the capillary effect of financial resources until they are transformed into nature. Contributing to this magic is our passion.
