Country information
Basic facts on marine waters
- Territorial sea (12 NM): 231 813 km2
- Exclusive Economic Zone: 3 149 920 km2
Strategic documents related to MSP
- National Policy on Seas and Coasts
- National Strategy for the Ecological Management of the Territory of Seas and Coasts
- Mexico’s Strategic Action Plan for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021-2030
- Strategy for the Implementation of a Sustainable Ocean Economy in Mexico
- National Maritime Policy
Technical resources related to MSP
- Ecological Management Information Subsystem
- Guidelines of the Ecological Management Process
- Online course on ecological management
- General information on environmental management
- Contribution of Marine Spatial Planning in Mexico to Coastal Marine Management
- National Oceanographic Information Archive
- Marine Coastal Analysis and Information System
Relevant MSP projects
- N/A
Current status of MSP
Name of the plan |
Marine Ecological Planning of the Gulf of California |
|---|---|
Year of approval
|
2006 |
Size of planning area in km2
|
247 000 km2 |
Authority leading the MSP process
|
Secretariat for the Environment and Natural Resources |
Current status |
|
|---|---|
Pre-planning |
Status: Complete |
Assessments for planning |
Status: Complete |
Plan development
|
Status: Complete |
Plan completion
|
Status: Complete |
Plan approval
|
Status: Complete |
Plan implementation |
Status: Complete |
Plan review
|
Status: N/A |
MSP Typology |
|
|---|---|
Scale (Local/ Sub-national/ National)
|
Sub-national |
Scope (Coastal Zone /Coastal and Marine /Marine)
|
Marine |
Purpose (Strategic /Zoning /Comprehensive)
|
Comprehensive |
Political commitment (Informal /Executive decision / Legal statute)
|
Legal statute |
Implementation framework (Guiding /Legally binding)
|
Legally binding |
Main objectives (Biodiversity conservation / Economic development / Multiple objectives)
|
Multiple objectives |
Spatial allocation (Limited / Partial allocation /Detailed allocation)
|
Detailed allocation |
Stakeholders involved (Limited /Key sectors /Sectors & Public)
|
Sectors & Public |
Participatory process (Informative /Consultative /Collaborative)
|
Collaborative |
Funding (Government /Public-Private /Grants)
|
Government |
Name of the plan |
Marine and Regional Ecological Planning of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea |
|---|---|
Year of approval
|
2012 |
Size of planning area in km2
|
827 024 km2 |
Authority leading the MSP process
|
Secretariat for the Environment and Natural Resources |
Current status |
|
|---|---|
Pre-planning |
Status: Complete |
Assessments for planning |
Status: Complete |
Plan development
|
Status: Complete |
Plan completion
|
Status: Complete |
Plan approval
|
Status: Complete |
Plan implementation |
Status: Complete |
Plan review
|
Status: N/A |
MSP Typology |
|
|---|---|
Scale (Local/ Sub-national/ National)
|
Sub-national |
Scope (Coastal Zone /Coastal and Marine /Marine)
|
Coastal and Marine |
Purpose (Strategic /Zoning /Comprehensive)
|
Comprehensive |
Political commitment (Informal /Executive decision / Legal statute)
|
Legal statute |
Implementation framework (Guiding /Legally binding)
|
Legally binding |
Main objectives (Biodiversity conservation / Economic development / Multiple objectives)
|
Multiple objectives |
Spatial allocation (Limited / Partial allocation /Detailed allocation)
|
Detailed allocation |
Stakeholders involved (Limited /Key sectors /Sectors & Public)
|
Sectors & Public |
Participatory process (Informative /Consultative /Collaborative)
|
Collaborative |
Funding (Government /Public-Private /Grants)
|
Government |
Name of the plan |
Marine and Regional Ecological Planning of the Northern Pacific |
|---|---|
Year of approval
|
2018 |
Size of planning area in km2
|
950 550 km2 |
Authority leading the MSP process
|
Secretariat for the Environment and Natural Resources |
Current status |
|
|---|---|
Pre-planning |
Status: Complete |
Assessments for planning |
Status: Complete |
Plan development
|
Status: Complete |
Plan completion
|
Status: Complete |
Plan approval
|
Status: Complete |
Plan implementation |
Status: Complete |
Plan review
|
Status: N/A |
MSP Typology |
|
|---|---|
Scale (Local/ Sub-national/ National)
|
Sub-national |
Scope (Coastal Zone /Coastal and Marine /Marine)
|
Coastal and Marine |
Purpose (Strategic /Zoning /Comprehensive)
|
Comprehensive |
Political commitment (Informal /Executive decision / Legal statute)
|
Legal statute |
Implementation framework (Guiding /Legally binding)
|
Legally binding |
Main objectives (Biodiversity conservation / Economic development / Multiple objectives)
|
Multiple objectives |
Spatial allocation (Limited / Partial allocation /Detailed allocation)
|
Detailed allocation |
Stakeholders involved (Limited /Key sectors /Sectors & Public)
|
Sectors & Public |
Participatory process (Informative /Consultative /Collaborative)
|
Collaborative |
Funding (Government /Public-Private /Grants)
|
Government |
Name of the plan |
Marine and Regional Ecological Planning of the South Central Pacific |
|---|---|
Year of approval
|
N/A |
Size of planning area in km2
|
N/A |
Authority leading the MSP process
|
N/A |
Current status |
|
|---|---|
Pre-planning |
Status: Complete |
Assessments for planning |
Status: Underway |
Plan development
|
Status: N/A |
Plan completion
|
Status: N/A |
Plan approval
|
Status: N/A |
Plan implementation |
Status: N/A |
Plan review
|
Status: N/A |
National authority in charge of MSP |
Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) |
Governmental funding |
Budgetary |
External funding |
Partial, only in the case of the Marine and Regional Ecological Zoning of the Central South Pacific with funds from the GEF |
Public-private funding |
N/A |
Total size of planning area |
3 149 920 km2 |
Time required to complete the planning document |
between 4 and 6 years |
Main issues that led to the adoption of MSP (drivers) |
National legislation and sectoral programme |
Stakeholder engagement activities |
The entities of the federal public administration with competence in the administration and regulation of maritime issues, academia, non-governmental organisations and organised society participate. Coordination agreements are in place for the four marine ecological zoning processes. |
Sectors included in planning |
Environment; protected natural areas; Mexican navy; tourism; communications and transport; energy; economy; fishing; urban and rural development |
Articulation between MSP and Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) |
There is no definition for integrated coastal zone management in current environmental legislation, so there is no formal framework describing how to articulate these two planning approaches since integrated coastal zone management is carried out at a higher resolution scale than MSP. |
Articulation between MSP and marine conservation (including the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework) |
Marine protected areas are explicitly considered in the formulation and zoning of the PEMs. |
Articulation between MSP and sustainable blue economy |
The PEMs in Mexico are formulated on an intersectoral basis, but they are also considered to be the basic instrument for territorialising the strategies and actions of the National Policy for the Sustainable Management of Mexico’s Seas and Coasts, which is currently being formulated and is in the process of being issued. |
Articulation between MSP and climate change (including the Paris Agreement) |
The MSPs contain ecological guidelines and criteria with climate action content, both for mitigation and adaptation. |
Plan approval |
By means of a presidential or sectoral agreement, based on the determination of a Marine Ecological Zoning Committee in which the competent bodies participate in a participatory planning exercise that includes workshops and consultation forums. |
Legal status of the plan (guiding or legally binding) |
The PEMs are compulsory for the institutions of the Federal Public Administration. |
Plan review process |
According to the relevant regulations, it should be carried out based on indicators or evaluations. |
Performance monitoring and evaluation |
Pending execution for all current PEMs |
Interactions with neighbouring countries in the context of MSP attending transboundary coherence approaches |
N/A |
Legal framework
- General Law of Ecological Equilibrium and Environmental Protection (LGEEPA): article 5 fraction IX, article 20 BIS 6, article 20 BIS 7: The Secretariat [SEMARNAT] may formulate, issue and execute, in coordination with the competent agencies, marine ecological management programs. The purpose of these programs will be to establish the guidelines and provisions to which the preservation, restoration, protection and sustainable use of the existing natural resources in specific areas or surfaces located in Mexican marine zones, including adjacent federal zones, must be subject.
- Regulations of the LGEEPA on ecological management: article 1 fraction I, article 4 fraction II, chapter five, article 77
- National Policy for Seas and Coasts (in force)
- National Maritime Policy (in force)
- National Policy for the Sustainable Management of Mexico’s Seas and Coasts (Sustainable Ocean Plan, soon to be issued)
Contact
Secretariat for the Environment and Natural Resources
Rafael Obregón Viloria – Director General of Forest Management, Soils and Ecological Planning