1. General information
Location and description of the intervention
City or FUA
Mexico City
Region
Latin America and the Caribbean
Native title of the NBS intervention
Water Fund Mexico
Short description of the intervention
Mexico City's (CDMX) Water Fund was established in 2015 by The Nature Conservancy Mexico on behalf of the Latin American Water Funds Partnership aiming to reduce the imbalance of the aquifers providing significant water supply for the territory of the CDMX and promoting positive long-term water balance (1). "The Water Fund emphasises good science in relation to the selection of sites and interventions, and in comprehensive monitoring. It seeks to make the business case demonstrating that these activities show returns with respect to water security" (1 p22). The first pilot project of the CDMX Water Fund engages small-scale producers in sustainable agriculture practices, works to restore and conserve water-absorbing land and reconvert land to water-friendly agriculture practices (1)
Address

Mexico city
Mexico

Location
The NBS is a city-wide initiative, the GIS point marks the centre of the city
Total area
788000000.00m²
NBS area
788000000.00m²
Type of area before implementation of the NBS
Protected Area
Natural Heritage Area/Untouched nature
Website of the intervention
https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/latin-america/stories-in-la…
Timeline of intervention
Start date of the intervention (planning process)
2015
Start date of intervention (implementation process)
unknown
End date of the intervention
ongoing
Present stage of the intervention
Ongoing
Goals of the intervention
-"Develop a strategy and financing mechanism that attracts funding in an organised and transparent manner from large water users to protect ecosystem features with the aim of strengthening the water security of urban areas" (1 P6).
- Building of water security and creating a sensitive urban environment for water in Mexico City
Objectives of the first pilot project of the Water Fund Mexico:
- Engagement with small-scale producers to improve and sustain their land-based livelihoods with the use of sustainable agriculture practices (1)
- Restoration and conservation of the biodiversity in the project area (1)
- Improvement of the infiltration and recharge of the underground aquifers (1)
Quantitative targets
First pilot project:
- Conservation and restoration of 587.76 ha of water-absorbing land (1)
- Transformation of 201.53 ha land back to water-friendly agriculture practices (1)
Monitoring indicators defined
Unknown
Sustainability challenge(s) addressed
Climate action for adaptation, resilience and mitigation (SDG 13)
Climate change adaptation
Water management (SDG 6)
Stormwater and rainfall management and storage
Improvements to water quality
Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
Habitat and biodiversity restoration
Habitat and biodiversity conservation
Green space creation and/or management
Economic development and employment (SDG 8)
Economic development: agriculture
Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
Sustainable production
Climate change adaptation: What were the goals of the NBS?
Build resilience
Climate change adaptation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Implement sustainable urban drainage infrastructure (e.g. to make space for water)
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What types of conservation goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Ecosystem-focused
Habitats and biodiversity conservation: What activities are implemented to realize the conservation goals and targets?
Protect and enhance urban habitats
Preserve and strengthen existing habitats and ecosystems
Promote environmentally-sound development in and around protected areas
Reduce negative impacts and avoid the alteration/damage of ecosystem
Means for conservation governance
Capacity building
What types of restoration goals are / were defined for the NBS intervention?
Ecosystem-focused
What activities are implemented to realize the restoration goals and targets?
Rehabilitate and restore damaged or destroyed ecosystems
Implementation activities
First pilot project:
- Active conservation practices including the restoration of degraded land
- Passive conservation of areas that are in a good state
- Development and implementation of sustainable agricultural activities that are compatible with water infiltration
- Mapping the state of the environment, planning, implementation, scaling, monitoring and improvement of conservation and rehabilitation practices (1)
Type of NBS project
Ecological restoration of ecosystems
Protection of natural ecosystems
Monitoring and maintenance of habitats and/or biodiversity
NBS domain and interventions
Ecological domain(s) where the NBS intervention(s) is/are implemented
Parks and urban forests
Large urban parks or forests
Green areas for water management
Sustainable urban drainage systems
What is the level of innovation / development of the NBS related to water management?
Medium / High: sustainable urban drainage systems which include water storage and diverts water flooding
Vegetation Type
Trees
Other
Please specify how many trees were planted
Unknown
Amenities offered by the NBS
Unknown
Services
Expected ecosystem services delivered
Provisioning services
Food for human consumption (crops, vegetables)
Water (surface and ground water for drinking and non-drinking purposes)
Regulating services
Local climate regulation (temperature reduction)
Flood regulation
Water purification / filtration
Habitat and supporting services
Habitats for species
Scale
Spatial scale
Meso-scale: Regional, metropolitan and urban level
Beneficiaries
Primary Beneficiaries
Local government/Municipality
Non-government organisation/Civil Society
Private sector/Corporate/Company
Researchers/University
Citizens or community groups
Food producers and cultivators (i.e. farmers, gardeners)
Governance
Governance arrangements
Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Non-government actors
Non-governmental organisation (NGO) / Civil society / Churches
Private sector/Corporate/Business
Financial institution (e.g. bank, insurer, pension fund)
Please specify the roles of the specific government and non-government actor groups involved in the initiative
The CDMX Water Fund began in 2015 initiated by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) Mexico on behalf of the Latin American Water Funds Partnership and in partnership with other organisations including the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), businesses and the CDMX government" (1 p22). The now lead by the For the Water of Mexico City (Por el Auga de la Ciudad de México). The initiative's aim is to partner with actors from private-public and non-governmental sectors who are key players in the water use and supply of Mexico City such as Coca Cola. Nevertheless, the CDMX government plays a significant role as a decision-maker, founder and implementer (1). The Nature Conservancy has a central role as the model of the Water Fund derives from. "The Water Fund plays an important intermediary role where it is both a trusted, transparent and well-defined entity and one that is almost infinitely flexible and creates a space for rethinking basic assumptions about water." (1 p24)
Key actors - initiating organization
Non-government organisation/civil society
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Other
Key actors - Other stakeholders involved (besides initiating actors)
Local government/municipality
Non-government organisation/civil society
Private sector/corporate actor/company
Financial institution
Researchers/university
Please specify other participatory methods
The Fund does not want to reach out to the general public at this stage. However, it has a wide network of partnerships from all sectors (1)
Land owners
Public space owned by the city
Other
Please specify other land owner
The focus area of the Water Fund is Mexico City's Conservation Land that is partially owned by the municipality and indigenous communities, however, except for these actors the ownership of the land is unknown (1)
Participatory methods/forms of community involvement used
Other
Please specify other landowner
The focus area of the Water Fund is Mexico City's Conservation Land that is partially owned by the municipality and indigenous communities, however, except for these actors the ownership of the land is unknown (1)
Policy drivers
NBS intervention implemented in response to an Regional Directive/Strategy
No
NBS intervention implemented in response to a national regulations/strategy/plan
No
NBS intervention implemented in response to a local regulation/strategy/plan
Unknown
Mandatory or voluntary intervention
Voluntary (spontaneous)
Enablers
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS vision/strategy/plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
CDMX Resilience Strategy: The Water Fund has been integrated into the Resilience Strategy of the Mexico City Government as it aligns with its core goals (1)
Presence of specific city-level GI/NBS section/part in a more general plan - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
If there is a relevant strategy or plan, please specify the theme / type of the plan.
City specific climate change policy or plan
Please specify other vegetation type
Forest ecosystem
Presence of city network or regional partnerships focused on NBS - mentioned in connection to the project
Yes
Please specify
The Water Fund Mexico has been created on behalf of the Latin American Water Funds Partnership which is the network and partnership of all Water Funds in Latin America initiated by an agreement created in 2011 between the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), FEMSA Foundation, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the International Climate Initiative (IKI), and The Nature Conservancy (TNC) to contribute to water security in Latin America and the Caribbean through the creation and expansion of Water Funds. (3)
Presence of GI / NBS research project - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Subsidies/investment for GI / NBS in the city - mentioned in connection to the project
Unknown
Co-finance for NBS
Yes
Co-financing governance arrangements
Yes
Co-governance arrangement
A fund / grant
Was this co-governance arrangement already in place, or was it set up specifically for this NBS?
Set up specifically for this NBS
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
What is/was the Cost/Budget (EUR) of the NBS or green infrastructure elements?
Unknown
What are the total amount of expected annual maintenance costs?
Unknown
What is the expected annual maintenance costs of the NBS or GI elements?
Unknown
Please specify cost savings
Unknown
Please specify total cost (EUR)
The Nature Conservancy, Inter-American Development Bank and the CDMX government provided initial funding (amount unknown) while all partners contributing to implementation costs. The first pilot project cost is 1.164 million EUR (1)
Source(s) of funding
Public local authority budget
Funds provided by non-governmental organization (NGO)
National or regional development bank
Type of fund(s) used
Direct funding (grants, subsidies, or self-financed projects by private entities)
Non-financial contribution
Unknown
Please specify other Business model
Governance model (Ref 6)
Business models
Risk reduction model
Other
Which of the involved actors was motivated by this model?
Public actor (e.g. municipality)
Private for-profit actor (e.g. firm, insurer)
Private non-for-profit actor (e.g. NGO, foundation)
Type of innovation
Social
Economic innovation
Governance innovation
Please specify social innovation
The 'water fund' is a governance model designed by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and it consists of public-private partnerships that connect around a common goal: using nature-based solutions to ensure sustainable watershed management (4). The Water Fund offers an innovative business model "that traces and calculates the full costs of different pathways for water provision providing both a decision-making tool and a means to properly price water." (1 p30)
"The Water Fund is also a governance innovation by creating an intermediary, which is viewed as a neutral, creditable, transparent entity that can work with all of the relevant actors and provide them with an overview of the system in which they operate and recommendations for its more effective functioning" (1 p30)
Novelty level of the innovation
The innovation is copied/derived from previous initiative(s) with substantial adaptation
Please specify novelty level of the innovation
The 'water fund' is a governance model designed by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and it consists of public-private partnerships that connect around a common goal: using nature-based solutions to ensure sustainable watershed management. Downstream users, such as businesses, utilities and local governments, contribute to upstream conservation initiatives aimed at improving water quality and quantity for the region (6).
Replicability/Transferability
The innovation is transferred to new initiative(s) with substantial adaptation
Please specify Replicability/Transferability
The 'water fund' is a governance model designed by The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and replicated across various initiative in Mexico city (6).
Impacts, benefits
Environmental impacts
Climate change
Strengthened capacity to address climate hazards/natural disasters
Water management and blue areas
Improved water quality
Improved stormwater management
Reduced risk of damages by drought
Enhanced protection and restoration of freshwater ecosystems
Green space and habitat
Increased conservation or restoration of ecosystems
Increase in protected green space areas
Description of environmental benefits
As the Water Fund was recently initiated, there are only expected impacts listed below.
- With the restoration and conservation of ecosystems crucial for stormwater collection and infiltration, the imbalance of the aquifers will decrease and long-term water balance can be achieved resilient against climate change events (1)
- The restoration and conservation of project areas will enhance the protection of biologically significant sites (1)
Already achieved benefits:
- With the setting up of an extensive research program, the operation of the natural and artificial water system has been studied and its costs have been calculated (1)
- Indicators were established to identify the high priority areas (1)
Economic impacts
Unknown
Description of economic benefits
Unknown
Social and cultural impacts
Unknown
Please specify other environmental justice issue
Making the costs of water more transparent in the Mexico City Area (1)
Description of social and cultural benefits
Unknown
Type of reported impacts
Expected impacts
Indicators
Unknown
Analysis of specific impact categories
Job creation: The NBS created ...
No information available
Environmental justice: The implementation of the NBS project resulted in ...
Other
Negative impacts: Did the project cause any problems or concerns?
Yes
Please specify the negative impacts
In Mexico, water has had a low price for a long time with high subsidies and a widely held value concerning water as a public good that cannot be assigned a monetary value due to both indigenous cultures and socialist opposition to privatisation of water. Therefore, consumers of Mexico City are ill-prepared to be faced with the real costs.(1)
In the Water Fund Mexico, influential private and public actors are in a partnership whose interest does not always align with the scientific community's standpoint and suggestions regarding the project (1)
COVID-19 pandemic
Unknown
Methods of impact monitoring
Process of recording NBS impacts
Conduct a baseline survey before and after NBS implementation
Collection of monitoring data continuously throughout the project to aid evaluation
Methods used to evaluate the impacts of NBS
Measurements of biophysical aspects of the NBS (e.g. temperature, water flow)
Evidence for use of assessment
Presence of an assessment, evaluation and/or monitoring process
Yes
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
Impact assessment mechanism
Name of any specific impact assessment tools
Unknown
Use of GIS in mapping impacts
No evidence in public records
Citizen involvement
Citizens involvement in assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Citizens involvement in the analysis of the assessment/evaluation
Unknown
Follow-up to the evaluation / assessment
Unknown
References
List of references
"1) Astbury, J. (2018). NATURVATION - Case Study Working Paper: Mexcio City, Mexico
2) The Nature Conservancy. (n.a.). Innovation to Meet the Water Shortage: Mexico City's Water Fund. The Nature Conservancy. Accessed on 29th March 2021, https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/latin-america/stories-in-latin-america/mexico-city-water-fund/
3) Latin American Water Finds Partnership. (n.a.) What is partnership? Accessed on 29th March 2021, https://www.fondosdeagua.org/en/what-is-the-partnership/"