Project Summary

Este proyecto piloto fue diseñado para recolectar información para apoyar el desarrollo de políticas de adaptación en México. Este proyecto utiliza zonas de humedales costeros representativas y las correspondientes cuencas tierra adentro para estudiar las funciones biológicas y la biodiversidad, los papeles de estos humedales para el suministro de agua de la comunidad, y la función ambiental frente a los impactos del cambio climático, sobre todo los incrementos de temperatura, sequías e incrementos en el nivel del mar. Los resultados del proyecto ayudarán a educar a México sobre el valor de estos humedales y a dirigir las recomendaciones de políticas de la adaptación al cambio climático para la zona costera.

Background

Climate change will have severe impacts on coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico, especially on water resources, forestry, agriculture, and wetlands. This project serves as a pilot project in the region to demonstrate the importance of coastal wetlands and how climate change will be impacting these areas. It looks at a variety of climate change adaptation measures for the protection of these areas as a way to move climate change adaptation policy forward in Mexico to ultimately strengthen the resilience of coastal wetlands in the Gulf of Mexico and improve water resource management. The project is funded by The World Bank and implemented by National Institute of Ecology (INE).

Implementation

This project has three main components in developing an Environmental Management Framework: developing a national climate change adaptation policy, evaluating current and predicted climate change impacts on the Gulf of Mexico wetlands, and implementing adaptation strategies on representative coastal wetlands. The project includes an analysis of measures to reduce climate change impacts on coastal wetlands and intervention measures to increase resilience, as well as potential environmental and social impacts. The areas used in this project include the wetlands of the Panuco-Altamira in Tamaulipas, Papaloapan Rivershed, Alvarado Lagoon in Veracruz, Carmen-Pajonal-Machona in Tabasco, and the Sian Ka’an Nature Conservancy site.

The project looked at increasing conservation areas, establishing buffer zones around wetlands, constructing stabilization barriers to buffer from extreme events and sea level rise, updating land zoning regulations to include sea level rise impacts and extreme weather events, restoring and reforesting with native species along corridors, strengthening sandbars that separate lagoons from the sea, and restoring coastal reefs to increase buffering capacity.

Outcomes and Conclusions

The results of this project are expected to support the planning and implementation of climate change adaptation policy for coastal wetlands in the Gulf of Mexico. Specifically, results will assist in the planning and implementation of wetland adaptation; assist in the development of an integrated resource management program with climate adaptation measures; prevent development in valuable mangrove areas and implement a mangrove restoration program; promote best management practices and more efficient water management strategies to maintain water supply for productive sectors; and develop mechanisms to promote sustainable land-use patterns that maintain the functional integrity of wetland ecosystems in the region.

Citation

Score, A. (2010). Adaptación a los impactos del cambio climático en los humedales costeros del Golfo de México [Estudio de caso de un proyecto del Banco Mundial y el Instituto Nacional de Ecología (INE)]. Producto del Programad del Estado de Adaptación de EcoAdapt. Consultado en CAKE: http://www.cakex.org/case-studies/adaptation-climate-change-impacts-coas... (Actualizado en febrero 2010)