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Water and climate change
adaptation in Mexico
Estrellita M. Fuentes Nava / Colin Herron
International Affairs Department
National Water Commission of Mexico
(CONAGUA)
Bonn, June 2nd, 2010
The National Water Commission of
Mexico
Created in 1989, the CONAGUA is an administrative,
normative, technical, consultative and decentralized agency
of the Mexican federal government, whose mission is to
“manage and preserve Mexico’s water and its inherent public
goods to achieve a sustainable use of these resources, with
the co-responsibility of the three tiers of government and
society-at-large”.
Mexico is on the same latitudes as the world’s biggest deserts
Latitude North 32°
Tropic of Cancer 23°
Latitude South of Mexico 14°
Equator
Tropic of Capricorn 23°
Mexico has always been prone to climate
variability, both in space…
High stress >40% usage
Low stress <10% usage
I
North and Central Mexico
1,700
II
VI
III
VII
VIII
m3
31
per capita
77
80
23
20
South and East Mexico
13,000 m3 per capita
69
IX
XIII
X
IV
V
XII
XI
Total water
availability %
Population % GDP %
On average Mexico has annual availability of ~4 300 m3 of water per
capita, but a large part of the country is water stressed
4
… and in time
Average annual precipitation 863 mm
Example of Mexico City
millimeters
200
180
160
178 175
156
146
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
65
68
28
9
7
12
12
7
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec
76% of the precipitation in Mexico falls
between June and September, leading
to frequent flooding
Why is the CONAGUA interested in climate
change adaptation?
• In Mexico, the impacts of climate change are
already being felt, particularly on water resources
• Mitigation of possible future effects takes second
place to adapting to current impacts
• As a government agency of the host country of the
COP 16, we have a strategic opportunity to focus
attention on areas of consensus, such as water
Some examples of climate change adaptation
activities by the water sector in Mexico
• A proposed new official standard to regulate
environmental flows, developed jointly with WWF
• Investments in key water infrastructure works, among the
world’s biggest of their kind (Atotonilco Wastewater
Treatment Plant, Eastern Drainage Tunnel, etc)
• Application of McKinsey’s water availability cost curve in
all 13 of Mexico’s Hydrological-Administrative Regions
Examples of climate change adaptation activities
by the water sector in Mexico (continued)
• Program to Improve Efficiencies in the Drinking Water
and Sanitation Sector (PROME)
• Updating of the climate information system of the
National Meteorological Service
•Modeling of the IPCC predictions on climate change
scenarios in several basins in Mexico
Long-term planning for water in Mexico is
presented in the 2030 Water Agenda
All municipal wastewater treated
All irrigation surfaces with appropriate
technology
Trash-free rivers and lakes
Self-managed basins
Non-point sources of
pollution under control
All industrial wastewater
treated
Suburbs connected to
water supply and sanitation
networks
Rural communities with
improved water supply and
sanitation
Efficient water utilities
Clean water
bodies
Universal
access to
water services
Balanced
supply and
demand for
water
Settlements
safe from
floods
Reuse of all treated
wastewater
Aquifers in equilibrium
Sustainable land-use
management
Flood zones free from human
settlements
Alert and prevention systems with stateof-the-art technology
Cooperation for water and climate change
adaptation in the build-up to COP 16
• Regional dialogues, for example in Latin America and
the Caribbean and Asia-Pacific
• Integration of a global document on water and climate
change adaptation, with the support of the World Bank
and in collaboration with WWF
• All of this brought together in a series of events during
COP 16
Latin America process
Aim to foster the consolidation of a regional position, to be
presented at COP 16, through the following events:
• Technical workshop, Mexico City, June 8th-9th
• Ibero-American Water Directors (CODIA) workshop,
Mexico City, July 7th-9th
• Ministerial segment, World Water Week in Stockholm,
September 7th
Asia-Pacific process
Aim to initiate a regional reflection through the following
events:
• Dialogue workshop, June 28th, Shanghai, China
• Asia-Pacific climate change adaptation forum 2010,
October 21st-22nd, Bangkok, Thailand
• 4th Asian ministerial conference on disaster risk
reduction, October 25th-28th, Incheon, Republic of Korea
Potential partners
Plans for the COP 16 in Cancun
• A series of technical sessions, both physical and
virtual, related to themes and regions, during the first
week of the event. These sessions would present the
results of the preparatory work undertaken
• A high-level political segment, proposed as part of
the formal program during the second week, to
present the results of the first week’s sessions
Final thought
“If climate change is a shark, then water is its
teeth”
Paul Dickinson, CEO of Carbon Disclosure Project
Thank you for your attention