Conservation of Biodiversity in the Volcanic Belt of Mexico (COBEN) I+II
The Biodiversity Conservation in the Neovolcanic Belt of Mexico project was implemented by GIZ with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), together with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), through the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) of Mexico. The Neovolcanic Belt is a mountainous landscape that hosts more than 100 state and 36 federal protected areas in Mexico, providing essential ecosystem services to urban and rural societies. At the same time, it is one of the most densely populated regions in Mexico, threatened by the process of urbanization, fragmentation and loss of ecosystems and species, pollution, and the effects of climate change.
The objective of the project was to improve the management of protected areas in the central region of the Neovolcanic Belt and to consolidate the environmental and economic importance of protected areas in the political and social arena. The target group was the rural population, including indigenous communities, in and around protected areas, as well as the urban population that benefits from the environmental services provided by protected areas.
The first phase of the project focused on supporting strategic and operational planning processes and tools, with a particular emphasis on the effectiveness of protected area management. The second phase, focused on partnership building; gender approach and implementation of good practices in small-scale livestock farming; institutional and operational capacity building for sustainable tourism; integration of multi-scale information for decision making in CONANP; and evaluation and preparation of alternatives for the post-COVID situation, especially in tourism activities, but also for preventive management of zoonoses.
PROJECT IS PART OF
