Promotion of agroecological practices and sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems
(
United Nations / Multilateral body
)
#SDGAction43370
Description
One of the main components of the project was the Fellowship “Capacity Building Programme in Open Government and Sustainable Development for Local Agents of Change”. UNDP Mexico in collaboration with the Working Group provided technical support, incubation and seed capital to six acceleration projects designed and implemented by fellows graduated from both generations (2017-2018) of this Fellowship Programme (for more information please visit www.apertus.org.mx).
These acceleration projects, built in the framework of open government and sustainable development, succeeded in building strategic bridges of collaboration between citizens, subnational governments, civil society, private sector, academia and other key actors. Hence, empowering active citizens by reaffirming the potential of a collective civic consciousness to promote and enable effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.
In this context, six projects, designed and implemented by the fellows in coordination with the Project’s Working Group, were selected in the Mexican states of Tlaxcala, Quintana Roo, Chihuahua, Oaxaca, Veracruz and Campeche, linked by a common purpose: to act as social laboratories to co-create scalable and replicable routes of action seeking to strengthen open government practices as a pivot to accelerate the localization and progress of SDGs.
The present Voluntary Acceleration Action elaborates on the project implemented in Veracruz, Mexico.
Deforestation of tropical forests and soil degradation due to conventional farming practices has caused the south region of Veracruz state to lose up to 81% of its forests. This region receives the name of “The Tuxtlas” and it is a biosphere reserve that comprises over 155,000 hectares. Moreover, according to some statistics from the Superior Auditing Organ of the state of Veracruz, the eight municipalities in this region do not invest in ecological protection and preservation nor in a productive transformation of agricultural practices that may modify the actual unsustainable agricultural patterns of production and consumption.
The main objective of this project is to support the subnational governments in the State of Veracruz, in cooperation with local citizens and other actors interested in agroecology restoration so that they can identify the problems caused by inadequate agricultural practices and engage in promoting the co-creation of innovative solutions that allow ecological and social transformations in short, medium and long-term.
The main expected impact is to achieve the creation and consolidation of the chapter on the subject of “Agroecology” in the Local Action Plan of Open Government inside the Local Technical Secretariat of Open Government of the state of Veracruz, Mexico, promoting the co-creation of innovative solutions taken in order to adopt commitments for an improvement of sustainable agroecological practices.
An impact already reached is that it was possible to increase awareness in several city councils and government departments on the matter of Open Government and agroecology, leading to the willingness of public officials from different levels to co-create along with citizens a set of innovative solutions to transform the agricultural landscapes and practices in Veracruz, contributing to the localization of the SDGs.
These innovative solutions became concrete activities translated in the Second Local Action Plan of Open Government in the state of Veracruz. The solutions must be developed by both authorities and citizens, so that together they can transition to better agricultural practices whilst rekindling local biodiversity and economies. It is intended that these solutions will be integrated to the Local Technical Secretariat of Open Government of Verazcruz, in the recently created “Agroecology” chapter. These chapter was an initiative of the fellows graduated in 2018 form the fellowship implemented by UNDP Mexico in collaboration with the institutions of the Working Group.
The actions or methodologies considered to concrete this project are three:
1. The consolidation and improvement of agency within the mentioned “Agroecology” chapter.
2. The facilitation of additional spaces of co-creation between government and citizens that allow the development of transformative innovations in the Tuxtlas region and beyond.
3. The awareness and capacity building on the matter of agroecology and open government to the local governments, NGOs, citizenry and other social actors at all levels.
For the collaborative process of co-creation of transformational public policies to be achieved, acceleration of the “Agroecology” chapter was needed and performed throughout the realization of open fora, T-Labs (transformation-labs: highly facilitated workshops delivered by specialists) and policy briefs. The outcomes of this process delivered expected impacts in public policies that include compromises such as:
1. Reactivation of state and municipal tree nurseries through farmers participation and engagement.
2. Incremental support for farmers that are implementing or willing to implement innovative agroecology practices.
3. Creation of spaces that allow responsible production and consumption of local food.
4. Collation of data for better agricultural practices and productive systems that could be replicated or scaled-up at local, regional, national and international levels.
United Statutes Agency for International Development, USAID. (Government)
National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Personal Data Protection, INAI. (Government)
Gestión Social y Cooperación, GESOC A.C. (Civil society organization)
Gobierno Fácil (Civil society organization)
ProSociedad A.C. (Civil society organization)
Academic institutions such as the Ecology Institute from the National Autonomous University of Mexico, UNAM (Academia)
Estampa Verde A.C. (Civil society organization)
Local officials from the municipality of San Andrés Tuxtla and Angel R. Cabada in the State of Veracruz, Mexico.(IVAI, SECTUR, EDEMA, ORFIS) (Government)
Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve (Mab/UNESCO/CONANP/SEMARNAT. (Government)
Private sector actors such as, Tabacalera A.Turrent, Granja Nut, Coop. Las Cañadas, Los Amigos Ecoturismo (Private Sector)
SDGS & Targets
Goal 15
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
15.1
By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements
15.1.1
15.1.2
15.2
By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally
15.2.1
15.3
By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world
15.3.1
15.4
By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development
15.4.1
15.4.2
15.5
Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species
15.5.1
15.6
Promote fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and promote appropriate access to such resources, as internationally agreed
15.6.1
15.7
Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products
15.7.1
15.8
By 2020, introduce measures to prevent the introduction and significantly reduce the impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems and control or eradicate the priority species
15.8.1
15.9
By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts
15.9.1
(a) Number of countries that have established national targets in accordance with or similar to Aichi Biodiversity Target 2 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 in their national biodiversity strategy and action plans and the progress reported towards these targets; and (b) integration of biodiversity into national accounting and reporting systems, defined as implementation of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting
15.a
Mobilize and significantly increase financial resources from all sources to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems
15.a.1
(a) Official development assistance on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity; and (b) revenue generated and finance mobilized from biodiversity-relevant economic instruments
15.b
Mobilize significant resources from all sources and at all levels to finance sustainable forest management and provide adequate incentives to developing countries to advance such management, including for conservation and reforestation
15.b.1
(a) Official development assistance on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity; and (b) revenue generated and finance mobilized from biodiversity-relevant economic instruments
15.c
Enhance global support for efforts to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species, including by increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue sustainable livelihood opportunities
15.c.1
Goal 16
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
16.1
Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere
16.1.1
16.1.2
16.1.3
Proportion of population subjected to (a) physical violence, (b) psychological violence and/or (c) sexual violence in the previous 12 months
16.1.4
Proportion of population that feel safe walking alone around the area they live after dark
16.2
End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children
16.2.1
Proportion of children aged 1–17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past month
16.2.2
16.2.3
Proportion of young women and men aged 18–29 years who experienced sexual violence by age 18
16.3
Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all
16.3.1
Proportion of victims of (a) physical, (b) psychological and/or (c) sexual violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized conflict resolution mechanisms
16.3.2
16.3.3
Proportion of the population who have experienced a dispute in the past two years and who accessed a formal or informal dispute resolution mechanism, by type of mechanism
16.4
By 2030, significantly reduce illicit financial and arms flows, strengthen the recovery and return of stolen assets and combat all forms of organized crime
16.4.1
16.4.2
16.5
Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms
16.5.1
16.5.2
16.6
Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
16.6.1
16.6.2
Proportion of population satisfied with their last experience of public services
16.7
Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making at all levels
16.7.1
Proportions of positions in national and local institutions, including (a) the legislatures; (b) the public service; and (c) the judiciary, compared to national distributions, by sex, age, persons with disabilities and population groups
16.7.2
16.8
Broaden and strengthen the participation of developing countries in the institutions of global governance
16.8.1
Proportion of members and voting rights of developing countries in international organizations
16.9
By 2030, provide legal identity for all, including birth registration
16.9.1
16.10
Ensure public access to information and protect fundamental freedoms, in accordance with national legislation and international agreements
16.10.1
16.10.2
16.a
Strengthen relevant national institutions, including through international cooperation, for building capacity at all levels, in particular in developing countries, to prevent violence and combat terrorism and crime
16.a.1
16.b
Promote and enforce non-discriminatory laws and policies for sustainable development
16.b.1
SDG 14 targets covered
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- Latin America and the Caribbean
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Adán Corral Cossío, Specialist in Open Government and Sustainable Development