Innovative environmental policy instruments in Mexico

Abstract

Over the last thirty years, Mexico has evolved from traditional command and control environmental policy to market-based instruments and from a single-sided government intervention view to a new environmental governance approach. Incorporation of novel environmental policy instruments then has required several environmental laws and institutional arrangements reforms to be put in place, with different degrees of success at the policy implementation stage as well. In this paper, I examine two contemporary environmental policy instruments, whose acceptance has increased significantly in the last several years in terms of public and private funding: Payment for Environmental Services and Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (redd+). Both instruments are also encompassed at the forest sector climate change international agenda.