The Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL) program in Mexico aims to strengthen forest management, conservation, and business development to support local communities and other landholders in sustainably managing forests, as well as increasing economic opportunities from forest resources. The main drivers of deforestation and degradation that the program will address are agriculture and livestock production, as well as communities’ low management capacity to conduct sustainable forest operations.
With $10 million in ISFL funding, the program will provide institutional development and facilitation support, which will strengthen coordination between Mexico’s National Forestry Commission and other agencies that play a role in landscape management. The program will also make payments for verified emission reductions in the program areas.
Private sector engagement will be central to the ISFL Mexico Program. The program aims to test zero-deforestation value chain agreements in deforestation hot spots, and further engage companies to invest in payment for environmental services. The program will also help Mexico develop its greenhouse gas reporting and accounting approaches for Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use categories.
The ISFL program will support Mexico in meeting its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as other global commitments related to deforestation, ecological connectivity, and ecosystem-based adaptation goals. The program will build on bilateral programs in Mexico, including the project Strengthening Preparation for REDD+ and South-South Cooperation supported by Norway. There are also several World Bank agriculture programs (focused on sustainable landscape management, energy efficiency for agricultural producers and grain storage) that will support the ISFL Mexico program.
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The ISFL Mexico Program is part of The BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL) is a multilateral fund, supported by donor governments and managed by the World Bank. It promotes reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the land sector, from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries (REDD+).