Mexico - Overview

Status and Trends of Biodiversity

Overview

Given its situation in the zone of confluence of the Nearctic and Neotropical biogeographic regions, its very varied topography and climate, its long history of in situ evolution and the manipulation and domestication of plant populations and species by indigenous people, Mexico is one of the five foremost biologically “megadiverse” countries in the world: It has five of the eight principal terrestrial biomes, and has one of the greatest assemblages of ecosystem diversity anywhere on the planet – a facet of biodiversity shared only with China, India, Peru and Colombia... More »

Number and Extent of Protected Areas

Mexico has 159 federal reserves, covering a total of 22,275,672 hectares, with Biosphere Reserves comprising around 50% of the total area. 77% of this total comprises terrestrial ecosystems, while the remaining 23% protects marine environments, including coral reefs and coastal habitats. Mexico also has 67 Ramsar sites for wetland protection, with a surface of more than 5 million hectares – the second country with highest number of wetlands of international importance in the world... More »

Percentage of Forest Cover

73% of Mexico’s total land surface, that is over 140 million of a total of 194.3 million hectares, is covered by natural vegetation. Of this, a little over 71 million hectares (36.5% of Mexico’s territory) is forested (ecosystems in which trees predominate), while the remainder is mostly desert scrub and natural grasslands... More »

National Biodiversity Strategy Action Plan

Major features of National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan

Mexico’s NBSAP (2000) has established four strategic lines that will help to accomplish CBD objectives: 1) conserve and protect the biodiversity components 2) value the different components of biodiversity; 3) promote knowledge on biodiversity and 4) encourage sustainable and diversified use of biodiversity components... More »

Implementation of the Convention

Measures Taken to Achieve the 2010 Target

Mexico has added more than 5 million 263 thousand hectares to the list of wetlands of international importance, including ecosystems such as mangroves and coral reefs. Attention is being paid to the conservation of ecosystems with a high degree of biodiversity, for example, the Biosphere Reserve of Calakmul which has been incorporated into a strict conservation regime through the expropriation of 150,710 hectares designated as core zones... More »

Initiatives in Protected Areas

Mexico has added more than 5 million 263 thousand hectares to the list of wetlands of international importance, including ecosystems such as mangroves and coral reefs. Attention is being paid to the conservation of ecosystems with a high degree of biodiversity, for example, the Biosphere Reserve of Calakmul which has been incorporated into a strict conservation regime through the expropriation of 150,710 hectares designated as core zones... More »

Initiatives for Article 8(j)

Mexico is a country with extreme biological and cultural diversity. A large part of Mexico’s rural population lives from small-scale traditional agricultural practices. In 2004, during the COP-MOP-2 in Malaysia, Mexico made a declaration against modifications to maize, which may limit its use for human consumption. Established in 2003, the programme of collective biological resources has among its objectives the promotion of the collective ownership of innovative traditional knowledge and practices for the in situ conservation of biodiversity... More »

National Contacts

Full details of national contacts »

Convention on Biological Diversity

S.E. Sr. Juan José Guerra Abud	CBD Primary NFP
Dr. Roberto Dondisch Glowinsky	CBD Primary NFP
Mr. Hesiquio Benitez Diaz	CHM NFP, SBSTTA NFP, GSPC NFP
Ing. Francisco Barnes Regueira	ICNP ABS NFP (ONLY)
Mtro. Pedro Carlos Alvarez-Icaza Longoria	ICNP ABS NFP (ONLY)
Dr. Patricia Koleff Osorio	GTI NFP
Sr. Luis Fueyo Mac Donald	Protected Areas NFP

Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

Ms. Sol Ortiz García	BCH NFP
Dr. Reynaldo Ariel Álvarez-Morales	Cartagena Protocol Primary NFP