Ninth World Wildlife Congress Promotes

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 003321 SENSITIVE, SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D C O P Y (edited para number) STATE FOR WHA/MEX STATE FOR OES STATE FOR DS/IP/WHA INTERIOR FOR OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS AGRICULTURE PASS TO FORESTRY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV EAGR MX SUBJECT: Ninth World Wildlife Congress Promotes Wilderness Conservation as Climate Change Issue MEXICO 00003321 001.2 OF 002 SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (U) Summary: The ninth World Wildlife Congress (WILD 9),a wilderness conservation conference hosted annually by the WILD Foundation, convened in Merida, Mexico from November 6-13. In a nod to next month's climate change talks in Copenhagen, the theme of the conference was "Wilderness, the Climate's Best Ally." The WILD 9 congress gathered NGOs, government representatives, scientists, academics, and media to discuss wildlife conservation issues. The conference focused on adaption to and mitigation of climate change consequences on wilderness and society. The conference's central deliverable was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Mexico, Canada and the U.S., which contributes resources to a continent-wide wilderness protection plan. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) Mexican President Felipe Calderon attended the opening ceremony of the conference, as did Ministers of Environment Juan Elvira of Mexico and Jim Prentice of Canada. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Sam Hamilton and National Parks Service Director Jon Jarvis both delivered keynote speeches at the MOU signing ceremony. USG presence included a senior advisor to Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilseck, and representatives from the U.S. Forestry Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the Bureau of Land Management. At the international level, discussions covered a diverse range of environmental issues and included innovative strategies for counteracting global warming, such as carbon trading systems, payments for environmental services, and the use of satellite imaging to track ocean acidification. ¶3. (U) At the local level, academics, bureaucrats and environmentalists addressed biodiversity and climate change concerns specific to Mexico. The Mexican scientific community emphasized that while climate change in Mexico remains under-studied, they have detected adverse effects of increased temperatures, such as a diminishing population of native amphibians and reptiles. Mexico is an environmentally "megadiverse" country with the fourth largest number of species of any nation, 70 percent of which are endemic to Mexico. However, because it is also an economically developing country, experts predict that failing to adapt to climate change could greatly exacerbate rural poverty. For example, they emphasized the importance of encouraging coastal communities to preserve wetlands and mangroves as a tool to offset damage from increasingly frequent hurricanes, a point reiterated by President Calderon. ¶4. (U) Jose Luis Luege, the Director of the National Water Commission (CONAGUA),said Mexico's greatest environmental challenge is the lack of cohesive policies linking urban development, environmental conservation, and water use. Officials from Mexico's Secretariat of Environment (SEMARNAT) added that global warming was a contributing factor to the salinization of Mexico's water supply and the overexploitation of 103 of Mexico's 188 aquifers. They believe government subsidization of water and electricity in Mexico has created a culture of misuse and inefficiency and advocated a system to more effectively tax consumers according to their level of consumption. ¶5. (U) The MOU on Cooperation for Wilderness Conservation was billed as the first of its kind to cover an entire continent, although a Trilateral Committee for Management and Conservation of Wildlife and Ecosystems already exists, which is chaired by the conservation authorities of the three countries. The MOU was signed by the Department of Interior (Bureau of Land Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service, National Park Service) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (U.S. Forest Service). MEXICO 00003321 002.2 OF 002 It contains specific provisions to address challenges unique to cross-boundary wildlife and natural resources. President Calderon said the agreement, which promotes trilateral scientific collaboration, "will make it easier to exchange successful experiences, and facilitate monitoring and the training of human resources, as well as financing projects that will protect and recover wilderness areas." The WILD 9 conference organizers framed the MOU as a sign of North America's acknowledgement of the role of wilderness in climate change adaptation and mitigation, as well as the need to monitor the effects of global warming in the long term. (COMMENT: We believe that the MOU will, in fact, bring additional resources to the already-existing Trilateral Committee. END COMMENT) PASCUAL