Adaptation to climate change impacts on the coastal wetlands in the Gulf of Mexico Project

Abstract

Mexico has been and continues to be particularly vulnerable to the impacts of global climate change. These impacts include an increase in sea surface temperature in the Gulf of Mexico, continuous sea level rise affecting coastal areas and inland basins, intensification of hurricanes, changes in the hydrological cycle with an increase in heavy rains and storms, longer and more frequent drought episodes, and net decreases in water run-off, among others. Given the long-term irreversible character of many of these changes and the nature of their impacts, it was critical for Mexico to begin a process of adaptation. Mexico’s National Communications to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) have assessed the country’s vulnerabilities to climate change focusing on areas and sectors seen as particularly fragile in terms of its impacts. These include water resources, drought and desertification, and coastal zones, in particular the wetlands of the Gulf of Mexico.

The Global Environmental Objectives are: (a) to promote adaptation to the consequences of climate impacts in the coastal wetlands of the Gulf of Mexico, through the implementation of pilot measures that will provide information about the costs and benefits of alternative approaches to reduce the vulnerability of said coasts to climate change; and (b) to assess the overall impacts of climate change on the Recipient's national water resource planning, including the identification of potential response options, with a focus on coastal wetlands and associated watersheds.