GCF Results-Based Payments Mexico 2018-2019 aimed at Forest Conservation and Sustainable Livestock

Mexico's forests store carbon and shelter biodiversity, yet conversion to pasture, degraded grazing land, drought, fires and pests threaten them. Conventional livestock systems are poorly adapted to climate risks, so producers lose output while pressure to clear forest continues.

The project will reward the forest emission reductions Mexico achieved in 2018 and 2019, and the proceeds will be reinvested in landscapes across Chiapas, Guerrero, Jalisco, Michoacán, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo and Yucatán. Farmer field schools and technical support will help producers adopt silvopastoral systems and regenerative grazing. Payments for environmental services, deforestation-free value chains and sustainable finance will strengthen the incentives needed to make conservation viable over the long term. Local territorial agents will coordinate producers, ejidos (communal land-holding communities) and communities, with dedicated support for women-led initiatives.

This is the first results-based payment project under GCF's permanent policy on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation. It targets extensive livestock production, a main driver of deforestation, and builds on Mexico's monitoring, safeguards and incentive systems rather than parallel structures. At least 25 per cent of on-the-ground grant resources will benefit Indigenous Peoples and Afro-Mexican populations.