Our letter
By María de Lourdes Hernández Velasco and Renée González MontagutIn the process of returning to normal daily activities after the COVID-19 pandemic, 2023 will be especially remembered for having allowed us to re-establish human connections, which are essential for joint efforts to make better use of the natural resources in our territory. During our field visits, we found that local organizations were weakened, and now, more than ever, we must resume efforts to rebuild that social fabric, which is the primary condition for addressing the environmental challenge. The loss of biodiversity and the havoc caused by climate change represent a challenge that has acquired unprecedented dimensions.
María de Lourdes Hernández Velasco
Chairwoman of the Board of Directors
Renée González Montagut
General Director
While we would like 2023 to go down in history as the year with the highest temperatures in historical records, climate change scenarios indicate that it is highly likely that the extremes that we have witnessed will likely be repeated. In June 2023, the scientific community that advises the Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature (FMCN, acronym in Spanish) expressed concern over reports of coral bleaching of a magnitude never before seen in the Pacific. High sea temperatures resulted in the death of reefs and caused a tropical storm that later became Otis, the hurricane that devastated the port of Acapulco. Droughts in the north of the country destroyed livestock herds and numerous crops. In the face of increasingly stronger obstacles of this nature, we at FMCN are working hard with all our allies.
At FMCN, we attract financial resources and ensure that they are transformed into natural resources through community work.
In 2023, field partners, donors, and experts provided input to our institution's sixth strategic plan, which will cover the critical period between 2024 and 2030. This plan lays the groundwork for contributing decisively to the goals established in Mexico's National Biodiversity Strategy and contributing to both the Nationally Determined Contributions for climate challenges and the National Soil Strategy for Sustainable Agriculture. Mexico's commitments to the world can only be achievable through the joint work of all sectors and if each institution brings with it what it does best. At FMCN, we attract financial resources and ensure that they are transformed into natural resources through community work.
Thanks to the work of our partners in the field, the support of public and private institutions, the advice of academia, and the contributions of financial sources committed to a better future, FMCN has doubled its budget in less than five years, thus assuming the challenge we face. In 2023, we received resources from the KfW Development Bank for the Conservation and Sustainable Use in Mountains and Mountain Ranges project (CoSMoS, acronym in Spanish), which will address the volcanoes in the center of our country, supporting 18 areas under the responsibility of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP, acronym in Spanish) and strengthening community and sustainable enterprises. A pleasant ceremony inaugurated this project within the framework of the eighth Conservation Knowledge Exchange Week (SICC, acronym in Spanish).
After two years of pandemic, the energy flowed with the expected presence of the participants, allowing learning communities to be established in regenerative livestock farming, agro-silvopastoral systems and river restoration.
The SICC is a biennial event organized by FMCN for the past 16 years, bringing together its allies in charge of addressing major environmental challenges to share their experiences. In 2023, the theme was “Celebrating our diversity.” For this eighth edition, 480 people attended the event and exchanged innovative approaches, lessons learned from mistakes and effective solutions to address climate change, biodiversity loss, and the decline of ecosystem services. After two years of pandemic, the energy flowed with the expected presence of the participants, allowing learning communities to be established in regenerative livestock farming, agro-silvopastoral systems and river restoration. It promoted gender approaches in field interventions and included the presentation of a book celebrating 25 years of the Protected Areas Fund (FANP, acronym in Spanish) through 25 stories.
The linking of initiatives transcended borders. The XXV Congress of the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Environmental Funds (RedLAC, acronym in Spanish) in Peru was a milestone. Mexico was represented by the Mexican Environmental Funds Network, which includes FMCN and the five regional funds we support. This meeting brought together more than 400 participants from 35 countries and focused on the exchange of knowledge in key areas such as environmental finance, knowledge management, protected areas, participation of Indigenous peoples and the private sector. During the Congress, the head of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) invited environmental funds to develop a common agenda. The GEF's focus on biodiversity, climate change, and land degradation is present in the four projects coordinated by FMCN and the fifth it is preparing with the support of CONANP, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRICULTURA, in Spanish), as well as the Ministry of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP, acronym in Spanish).
In response to the environmental crisis, 2023 was a year of growth for FMCN and allowed it to monitor 23 projects, the milestones of which are described in this report. With excitement at the results recorded, we thank the people who own the natural resources in the field for achieving the magic of transforming financial resources into natural ones, public officials for promoting long-term initiatives, those in academia for sharing their knowledge, the private sector for providing practical solutions, and to financial partners for their trust in a national community that keeps Mexico's natural treasures in their minds and hearts.
For FMCN, being part of this social fabric that creates a spark of hope is a true honor that we would like to share with you today.