Various strategies and lines of action have been provided in the 1989-1994 National Development Plan that tend towards the ecological code of laws and protection of natural resources, in as much as the irrational use thereof has placed ecosystems at risk.

There is a large number of animal and plant species in our country that are unique to the planet and many of them are threatened or in danger of extinction; their conservation shall be given a high priority.

Mexico is recognized as one of the most biologically diverse places on the planet. Some recent estimates indicate that between 8% and 10% of the plant and vertebrate terrestrial animal species are found within her borders. There may be more than five hundred thousand species of all groups within Mexico’s territory.

In addition to its great biological wealth, the nation has a strong scientific tradition in the study and research of biological resources, as well as being home to a group of scientists recognized worldwide. Mexico has been a source of a large number of plants that represent the food supply of our country and of many other countries.

Starting with this intellectual common property, the nation has developed a series of advances and projects of great value that form a point of departure and a solid base on which to lay the foundation of a national program for the study, conservation, and rational use of Mexico's biological resources.

The conservation of biodiversity is of vital importance to the maintenance of the nation's hydraulic resources through its hydrological basins.

Moreover, our nation has made a great investment in developing knowledge of Mexico’s biological diversity and this can be attested by the creation of projects such as the Flora de Veracruz (Flora of Veracruz), Flora Mesoamericana (Mesoamerican Flora), and the Consejo de la Flora de Mexico (Board of Flora of Mexico), among others.

Broad programs must be implemented to aid the development of trained personnel in order to improve our knowledge of, use of, and conservation of Mexico's biodiversity, through a national effort of coordination and agreement.

This requires having a biodiversity information center in Mexico, which incorporates a broader range of technology to the field such as satellite imaging – a form of information that no current institution has the capacity to gather.

Biodiversity constitutes a patrimony of great economic, aesthetic, and cultural values for Mexico. Its conservation is fundamental for the continuation of life itself, something which our own survival as a species is contingent upon.

The consequences that possible climatic changes can bring upon biodiversity patterns in Mexico must be studied so that, in such a case, they can be mitigated.

As a result of human activity, extinction rates of species have increased between 1,000 and 10,000 fold, when compared to naturally occurring rates. This can erode biological groups that provide the necessary variance for future diversification processes.

Not only must tropical zones and humid jungles, where over two and a half thousand usable products have been detected, be conserved, but also arid, coastal, and marine ecosystems, which are all home to great biological diversity.

This biological wealth must be seen as a fundamental part of the national culture, and, therefore, much attention must be given to carrying out dissemination programs on existing biodiversity knowledge in Mexico.

We must develop processes to give added value to Mexico's natural resources and explore the economic value of the country’s biological diversity - in conjunction with economic models that take into account the depletion of natural resources.

The costs and benefits of the use of natural resources such as soil loss, overexploitation, and deforestation, which reach annual rates of between 2% and 4.5% in tropical rain forests, must be incorporated into Mexico's accounting.

Biotechnology has great potential to generate economic wealth and development within this sector in Mexico.

Notwithstanding the nation's great resources and natural wealth, the changes and alterations caused by human actions constitute an undeniable threat to this patrimony. The loss of this wealth not only implies the erosion of the nation's biological diversity, but also the destruction of a great amount of resources that could be of use to mankind.

Our country is in a favorable position to carry out a program to protect the biological diversity it possesses, whilst, at the same time, to take advantage of the enormous potential of directly using its natural resources. I have, therefore, considered it appropriate to issue the following:
 

AGREEMENT WHEREBY THE NATIONAL COMMISSION IS CREATED FOR THE KNOWLEDGE AND USE OF BIODIVERSITY

FIRST ARTICLE - The Inter-secretarial Commission is hereby created on a permanent basis for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity whose purpose shall be to coordinate the actions and studies related to the knowledge and preservation of biological species, as well as to promote and develop scientific research activities for the exploration, study, protection, and use of biological resources tending toward the conservation of the nation's resources and generate criteria for its defensible handling

Back to index

SECOND_ARTICLE.- The Commission shall consist of the holder of the Chief Federal Executive Office, who shall have the capacity of President thereof, and the holders of the secretaries of Foreign Affairs, Finance and Public Credit, Energy, Mines and Parastate Industry, Commerce and Industrial Development, Agriculture and Hydraulic Resources, Urban Development and Ecology, Public Education, Health and Fishing. In his absence, the holder of the Chief Federal Executive Office shall be substituted by the Secretary whom he himself shall determine; the representatives themselves shall designate their own substitutes who shall have a level that shall not be inferior to that of a Subsecretary.

Back to index

Go to Modifications to this agreement

THIRTH_ARTICLE- The International Commission shall have a National Coordinator designated by the President of the Republic, proposed by the members of the Commission itself.

The Secretary of Urban Development and Ecology shall hold the position of Technical Secretary of the Commission itself.

The President of the Commission, through the Technical Secretary, may convene other Federal Public Administration agencies and entities when, by virtue of his office and pursuant to the matters to be dealt with, their participation is deemed advisable. Likewise, he may invite the authorities of the other federal entities and municipalities in order to successfully coordinate the actions required at different government levels. . 

Back to index

Go to Modifications to this agreement

FOURTH_ARTICLE.- The Commission shall hold a meeting at least once a year, without prejudice of holding extraordinary meetings when determined by the President thereof. 

FIFTH_ARTICLE.- The Commission may invite the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (National Autonomous University of Mexico), Instituto Politecnico Nacional (National Polytechnic Institute), and other universities and research institutions to participate in its programs, as well as various members of the scientific community, groups, and institutions whose specialty or purpose is related to its activities. Moreover, within the scope of establishing the National Planning System, representatives shall be invited from the social and private sectors related to scientific research and the processes of exploitation, use, and conservation of biological resources

Back to index

Go to Modifications to this agreement

SIXTH_ARTICLE.- The Commission shall discharge the following duties

I. Generate, compile, and handle information for establishing a program on the nation's biological inventories that contribute elements to knowing the distribution of the various species of flora and fauna qualitatively and quantitatively in Mexico, both by zones and regions

II. Synthesize the information relative to the nation's biological resources in a data bank that must be kept permanently updated

III. Promote the development of projects concerning the potential and use of conventional and non-conventional biological resources.

IV. Advise governmental agencies, as well as social and private sectors, on technical and applied research aspects regarding the use and conservation of biological resources

V. Promote the regional and nationwide dissemination of the nation's biological wealth, the various forms of use and exploitation for mankind, as well as to carry out the broadest dissemination in reference to the measures proposed to prevent the deterioration and destruction of these resources.

VI. Approve the internal regulations, annual work programs, a budget of expenditures of the Commission itself, and the general lines of advance thereof.

VII. The others necessary for complying with their purpose 

Back to index

SEVENTH_ARTICLE.- - The National Coordinator of the Commission shall be in charge of the tasks of drawing up annual programs that shall be submitted to the core of the Commission itself.

Back to index

EIGHTH_ARTICLE .- The National Coordinator of the Commission shall prepare and submit the budget of expenditures to said Commission that shall consist of the contributions made by the agencies comprised thereof, in compliance with budgetary availabilities thereto, in conformity with the authorized programs.

The National Coordinator shall have a group of administrative and operational support staff, in charge of the progress, management, administration, and assignment of the Commission's resources, and he shall adhere to the guidelines approved annually by said Commission. In order to reach its objectives, the Commission shall also promote the contribution of financial and material resources by the social and private sectors, by entering into the applicable agreements 

Back to index

NINTH_ARTICLE .- The Technical Secretary of the Commission shall discharge the following duties:

I. Submit the proposed bylaws of the Commission itself for the Commission's approval.

II. Submit the priorities of the research programs for consideration by the Commission, as well as a report of the National Coordinator's activities.

III. Follow-up on the agreements made in the Core of the Commission and periodically report thereto on the compliance and execution thereof. .

IV. Gather the information that enables the Commission to monitor the execution of the programs and actions agreed upon by the Commission. 

V. Convene the meetings of the Commission.

VI. The others assigned thereto by the Commission. 

Back to index

TENTH_ARTICLE.- For the performance of his duties, the National Coordinator of the Commission shall be assisted by the following technical groups: 

I. Technical Groups of Properties Analysis, Prospective Analysis, and Work Program Performance Analysis

II. Technical Group of Project and Proposal Analysis.

The bylaws of the Commission shall determine the form of integration and functioning of the technical groups, as well as the institutions, researchers, and technicians it deems advisable to incorporate for the performance of its activities. Each group shall operate under the responsibility of a director. . 

Back to index

ELEVENTH_ARTICLE.- For the development of its activities, the Commission may establish regional centers of an operative nature throughout Mexico, which shall carry out their actions on a coordinated basis, as prescribed by the Commission's bylaws

For better performance of its duties, the regional centers shall subject themselves to the instructions and guidelines determined by the National Coordinator of the Commission, in conformity with the applicable programs

Back to index

TRANSITORY

FIRST ARTICLE .- This agreement shall go into effect on the day subsequent to the publication thereof in the Federal Official Gazette. .

SECOND ARTICLE .- The National Commission shall issue its bylaws within the 90 days subsequent to the establishing thereof.

Given in the Residence of the Federal Executive Power in Mexico City, Distrito Federal on the thirteenth day of the month of March of nineteen hundred and ninety-two.- Carlos Salinas de Gortari.- Paraph.- The Secretary of Foreign Affairs, Fernando Solana Morales.- Paraph.- The Secretary of Finance and Public Credit, Pedro Aspe Armella.- Paraph.- The Secretary of Energy, Mining, and Parastate Industry, Fernando Hiriart Balderrama.- Paraph.- The Secretary of Commerce and Industrial Development, Jaime Serra Puche.- Paraph.- The Secretary of Agriculture and Hydraulic Resources, Carlos Hank González.- Paraph.- The Secretary of Urban Development and Ecology, Patricio Chirinos Calero.- Paraph.- The Secretary of Public Education, Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León.- Paraph.- The Secretary of Health, Jesús Kumate Rodríguez.- Paraph.- The Secretary of Fishing, Guillermo Jiménez Morales

Back to index