Strategies and Policies

Regional Ecological Planning Program of the Territory of the State of Oaxaca (POERTEO) - The POERTEO is an instrument for the planning of the territory through the promotion of sustainability criteria for different productive and anthropogenic activities. It integrates the main environmental problems and identifies the main productive sectors and relevant actors in each region through the definition of an Ecological Ordinance Model (MOE). The MOE is made up of 55 Environmental Management Units (UGA). Each UGA has its own ecological strategy and guidelines, including recommended use, conditioned uses, and non-recommended uses, as well as its importance according to biodiversity criteria, ecological regulation, its level of risk and its level of pressure. The MOE allows orienting of the productive activities in Oaxaca towards those areas with greater natural vocation that guarantee the success of the proposed activities.

State Program of Coastal Wetlands of Oaxaca (PEHCO)-  Tool for the management, use, and conservation of the wetlands of the coast of Oaxaca; built with the participation of different community groups, organizations, and institutions in charge of conserving these ecosystems and represents an opportunity for the sustainable use of the biodiversity of the coast, for the economic and social development of the communities settled in this region.

The State Development Plan 2016-2022 (PED 2016-2022) - Governing instrument of the planning of the Government in the long, medium, and short terms, which reflects the aspirations and demands of society, and defines both the objectives and goals, as the strategies and lines of action that will guide decision making and public administration work, in collaboration with the different public and social sectors.

State Program on Climate Change - seeks to consolidate Oaxaca as a resilient state in the face of the effects of climate change, to ensure the conservation of natural capital, strategic infrastructure and cultural heritage, as well as to contribute to low-carbon economic development and the well-being of the population, considering gender equity and interculturality. (In the process of publication).

State Strategy for REDD + Oaxaca, (EEREDD +) of Oaxaca - The EEREDD + was built through a participatory and interdisciplinary process. Its objective is to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) from agricultural, forestry, and other land uses (AFOLU). With this, it seeks to avoid deforestation and degradation of the forests and jungles of the state, promote the conservation and increase of forest carbon stocks, and implement low-emission agricultural production models in the state of Oaxaca. It considers the causes of deforestation and degradation throughout the state context. The EEREDD + is linked to the National REDD + Strategy (ENAREDD +) through seven major complementary components: 1) public policies and legal framework; 2) financing schemes; 3) institutional arrangements; 4) monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) and reference level (NR); 5) social and environmental safeguards; 6) communication and capacity development; and 7) social participation and transparency. (Draft in publication process). The draft annex is available here. 

Laws and Regulations

Decree No. 1396. 01/12/2010. Last reform 2/17/18 - Organic Law of the Executive Power - Establishes the bases of organization, powers, attributions, and functioning of the executive power, through the State Public Administration of Centralized and Parastatal, based on the provisions of the Political Constitution of the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca . It contemplates the functions and attributions of the Secretariat of the Environment, Energies and Sustainable Development (SEMAEDESO), as well as of the Secretariat of Agricultural Development, Fishing and Aquaculture (SEDAPA).

Decree No. 2068. 12/28/2013 - Law on Climate Change for the State of Oaxaca (LCCO) - Defines the powers to coordinate mitigation and adaptation actions to climate change, establishes concurrence mechanisms for actions related to climate change, and considers the gender approach, respect to human rights, the rights of indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples, the participation of society and the strengthening of state capacities.

Decree No. 2004. 11/06/2013 - Sustainable Forest Development Law of the State of Oaxaca (LDFS) - Creates the State Forestry Commission (COESFO), with the objective of supporting the planning of forest sector development, the strengthening of community institutions and the promotion and consolidation of the productive forest chain, under criteria of conservation, protection and restoration of biodiversity and forest resources. This law promotes the integration of forestry and agriculture to increase the productivity and sustainability of the agrosilvícola system, and the promotion and consolidation of permanent forest areas, avoiding the change of agricultural land use.

Decree No. 1179. 09/04/2012 - State Law of Sustainable Rural Development - It contemplates the protection of the environment in the productive systems, the planning and organization of the agricultural production, its industrialization and commercialization and of the other goods, services and all those tending to elevate the quality of life of the rural population, as well as to promote the conservation of biodiversity and the improvement of the quality of natural resources, through its sustainable use.

Decree No. 266. 10/05/2008 - Law on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and Communities of the State of Oaxaca - Establishes the obligations of the State Powers in their different spheres of government, regarding the rights and culture of the peoples and indigenous and Afro-Mexican communities; its provisions constitute the minimum prerogatives for the existence, survival, dignity, and well-being of these indigenous peoples and communities.

Ministry of Environment, Energy and Sustainable Development (SEMAEDESO) - Seeks to promote sustainable development in the state through the implementation of relevant public policies for the sustainable use of resources in the state with the minimum environmental impact, protection and conservation of natural resources, the preservation of the ecological balance, the mitigation and adaptation of climate change and the promotion of an environmental culture, considering social participation, inclusion, equity and equality. In charge of directing the policy on climate change and ecological ordering of the territory.

Ministry of Agricultural Development, Fisheries and Aquaculture (SEDAPA) - It is responsible to plan, regulate, and promote the agricultural, livestock, fisheries, and aquaculture development of the State, with the participation of productive and social organizations promoting land use planning under the hydrological basins, as well as criteria of regionalization and differentiated attention of the producers for a better focus of the policies of the sector. The SEDAPA promotes, coordinates, executes, and supervises the correct operation of the strategies of rural development and food security contributing to the sustainable development of the entity; as well as public policies, for the mitigation and adaptation to climate change and to encourage studies and research in this area, within the scope of its sphere of competence.

State Forestry Commission (COESFO) - Seeks to contribute to the welfare of the Oaxacans, through the economic and social environmental benefits generated by the orderly and sustainable management of forest ecosystems, with the impetus on the organization of the owners of forest resources, support for the planning of the development of the sector, the strengthening of community institutions, and the promotion and consolidation of the forest production chain, under criteria of conservation, protection, and restoration of biodiversity and forest resources, with a landscape management approach. Coordinates the implementation and implementation of the REDD + State Strategy.

Secretariat for Indigenous Affairs (SAI) - Responsible for formulating, organizing, promoting, monitoring, and executing policies and actions for compliance with the constitutional provisions on indigenous matters, international treaties, the Law on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and Communities of the State of Oaxaca and other corresponding legal systems. SAI implements, coordinates, executes, and evaluates plans, programs, projects, and actions for the sustainable integral development of indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples and communities. SAI designs and implements the program of indigenous and Afro-Mexican peoples and communities for the mitigation and adaptation of climate change.

State Committee for Planning for the Development of Oaxaca (COPLADE) - Its institutional framework is to instruct the work related to planning for the preparation, formulation, and validation of the State Development Plan. COPLADE evaluates and proposes the parameters for the targeting of actions for sectoral, special, and institutional programs. It proposes and implements public policy priorities for State Development, with the aim of supporting the orientation of resources, the alternatives for their achievement, and the definition of corresponding performance goals. It formulates for approval the regions, micro-regions, municipalities, and localities that require priority attention, with the aim of focusing efforts on the State Public Administration to address the lags in the entity.

The Program of Regional Ecological Planning of the Territory of the State of Oaxaca (POERTEO) arose from the recognition that population growth in Oaxaca represents a threat to the natural capital of the state and so a State Ecological Planning Program was necessary. The creation of this program seeks to balance the different productive anthropogenic activities and the protection of resources using sustainability criteria. To achieve this, the program recognizes the importance of maximizing consensus and the participation of the different actors in order to minimize conflicts, verify the information used, and validate the analysis and results. Additionally, POERTEO integrates the main environmental problems and defines the main productive sectors and relevant actors in each region. The integration of the document includes: 

• The laws and regulations that support its preparation;
• The methodology used to elaborate the ordering model and the decision rules to define the elements of the program;
• The Ecological Ordinance Model (MOE), which defines 55 Environmental Management Units (UGAs), and;
• Recommendations and conclusions. 

The POERTEO is integrated through the MOE, the ecological guidelines (for each UGA), and the ecological strategies. The MOE made it possible to focus the productive activities in Oaxaca towards those areas where the environmental impact is minimal while at the same time maximizing the characteristics for its realization. For the determination of the UGAs, four main statistics were used, (1) sustainable use (67.79% of the territory of the State), (2) Conservation with exploitation 14%, (3) restoration with utilization 13%, and (4) protection 2%

Additionally, POERTEO identifies the surface of each UGA, its importance by biodiversity criteria, its level of risk, and its level of pressure. The POERTEO presents the ecological guidelines for each UGA, including the recommended use, conditioned uses, non-recommended uses, those for which the UGA does not have aptitude, types of coverage to 2011, and guidelines to 2025 (where the vision of such area is presented for that year). Additionally, for each recommended sector, strategic actors are mapped to promote this sector.

In its ecological strategies, the POERTEO organizes the UGAs based on its policy and later on by sectors, defining the strategies that should be applied after the recommendation of a certain sector. Finally, the POERTEO relates the forty-nine criteria of ecological regulation with where the specific UGA would be applied. This includes a legal foundation (applicable federal and state laws) and ecological foundation.

The POERTEO is monitored through an online log, and includes the Territorial Ordinances of the Municipalities of Santa María Tonameca and Tututepec, belonging to the region of the coast of Oaxaca. There is also a Technical Committee that evaluates and monitors compliance with the POERTEO.

The active and thriving involvement of the social sector and organized civil society have facilitated the creation of spaces for citizen participation supported by models of local governance for decision-making. This has led to decisions with inputs in a participatory, inclusive, intersectoral, and transparent way, with the intention of gathering the views of the owners, users and forest dwellers, businessmen, producer organizations and civil society, as well as of public officials. This was the case of the creation of the State Strategy REDD +. The citizens are focused on achieving the reduction of emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, maintaining and increasing the area covered by forests, and increasing the area of sustainably managed forests (REDD +).

Due to the multicultural conformation of the State of Oaxaca, the participation of priority communities and nuclei is necessary, not only through informed prior consultation procedures, but also through active participation in the planning, implementation, and implementation processes. 

The forestry sector is organized through Natural Resources Committees, from different regions of the state, which are united in a State Union of Foresters of the State of Oaxaca (UESCO). The UESCO actively participates in the State Forestry Council, so that the decisions and public policy relating to natural resources, specifically forests, are carried out in a participatory manner.

One of the guiding principles of the EEREDD + is to seek social equality and opportunities, to generate well-being and favorable conditions for the participation of people in vulnerable situations, and to promote human rights.

It is important to comply with the safeguards recognized by international law and guarantee the free, prior and informed consent of ejidos, communities, and indigenous peoples. This includes recognizing the equitable distribution of benefits, the certainty and respect for property rights and legitimate possession and access to the natural resources of the owners and legitimate holders of the land, inclusion and territorial, cultural, social and gender equity, plurality and social participation, transparency and access to information and accountability, internal organizational forms, and the transversality, integrality, coordination, and complementarity between policies and instruments of the three levels of government.