Mexico Launches National Dialogue to Modernize Environmental Law

Mexico is advancing a structural reform of the General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (LGEEPA) to strengthen climate resilience, biodiversity conservation, environmental governance, and the adoption of digital technologies in environmental management. The proposed overhaul seeks to align Mexico's environmental framework with international commitments while expanding public participation, legal certainty, and environmental justice, with implications for infrastructure, energy, manufacturing, forestry, real estate, and other sectors subject to environmental regulation and permitting.

Federal authorities and civil society representatives convened the National Forum for the Modernization of Mexico's General Law of Ecological Balance and Environmental Protection (LGEEPA). The event sought to promote an overhaul of the country's main environmental law to address contemporary challenges, including climate change, biodiversity loss, water pollution, and ecosystem degradation.

Jesús Martín Cuanalo, Secretary of the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, Chamber of Deputies, and organizer of the forum, said the LGEEPA, enacted in 1988, was a cornerstone in establishing Mexico's national environmental policy. However, he also argued that, after nearly four decades, it requires a comprehensive transformation to reflect current environmental realities. 

Cuanalo highlighted that a renewed environmental law should prioritize the prevention of ecological damage, promote ecosystem restoration, incorporate climate adaptation and resilience measures, and encourage the circular economy while protecting the country's natural capital. He highlighted the loss of 5Mha of forests and tropical woodlands over the past 25 years and the contamination of more than half of the country's water bodies as evidence of the need to strengthen policies for environmental protection, ecosystem restoration and the sustainable management of natural resources. These concerns are consistent with assessments by Mexico's environmental institutions.

According to the National Institute of Ecology and Climate Change (INECC), Mexico's gross greenhouse gas emissions reached 765Mt of CO₂ equivalent in 2022, representing a 24% increase compared to 1990. Meanwhile, the National Water Commission (Conagua) estimates that 70% of the country's rivers, lakes and surface water bodies show some degree of contamination.

On biodiversity, the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO) reports that more than 2,600 species in Mexico are listed under a risk category in NOM-059-SEMARNAT, a situation linked to pressures such as land-use change, habitat fragmentation, pollution, and the impacts of climate change on ecosystems.

Technology Already Supporting Environmental Management

Another topic discussed during the forum was the use of emerging technologies to strengthen environmental policy. Participants highlighted the potential of high-resolution satellite imagery, geographic information systems, real-time monitoring, artificial intelligence, and data science to improve environmental surveillance, planning, and decision-making.

Several of these technologies are already being deployed in environmental restoration projects across Mexico. In Michoacan, the state government launched a pilot reforestation program in 2025 that used drones to disperse 200,000 pre-germinated seeds in areas affected by forest fires as part of the Let's Sow the Future campaign, which aims to plant 10 million trees this year. In Chihuahua, a similar initiative has dispersed more than 500,000 endemic pine seeds using drones in burned areas, coating the seeds with nutrients and natural repellents to improve germination rates.

Digital technologies are also becoming increasingly important for ecosystem monitoring and management. During the fifth Bosques & Tech Forum, held in May, specialists showcased drone-based forest monitoring systems equipped with LiDAR sensors capable of generating three-dimensional forest models to support sustainable management. Other innovations included artificial intelligence platforms for urban tree inventories, mobile applications for species identification and digital forest management systems designed to strengthen data-driven decision-making.

Shared Responsibility and Stronger Environmental Governance

Participants also stressed the need to strengthen environmental governance through a broader distribution of responsibilities. They agreed that environmental protection should be a shared responsibility among the three levels of government, local communities, Indigenous peoples, academia, the private sector and civil society organizations, supported by greater transparency, public participation, and accountability.

In this regard, Cuanalo emphasized the need to strengthen municipalities' authority over land-use change decisions, arguing that weak territorial planning has contributed to uncontrolled urban expansion, ecosystem degradation and water pollution. He also underscored the importance of recognizing the role of rural communities and forest-dependent populations in conserving natural resources and establishing mechanisms to ensure that those responsible for environmental damage are held accountable and required to restore affected ecosystems.

The legislator also called for stronger coordination among the three levels of government, broader public participation and greater legal certainty for responsible investment. "Modern legislation must prioritize prevention over correcting environmental damage, promote ecological restoration as a state policy and ensure that economic development and nature conservation are not opposing objectives but complementary ones," he said.

Reform Proposal Expands Environmental Justice and International Alignment

Marco Esquivel, Deputy Attorney General for Strategic Litigation and Environmental Justice, Federal Attorney's Office for Environmental Protection (PROFEPA), said the agency has participated in developing proposals to amend, improve and update the LGEEPA, describing it as a fundamental instrument for environmental protection in Mexico. He explained that the proposals seek to strengthen the legislation and adapt it to emerging environmental challenges while aligning it with Mexico's international commitments. He added that the updated law should incorporate mechanisms to guarantee access to public information, expand public participation through instruments such as citizen environmental complaints and strengthen environmental justice.

Esquivel also argued that the reform should include provisions to protect environmental defenders and reinforce key legal principles, including prevention, the protection of human rights and safeguards for people reporting environmental harm. "We believe the LGEEPA requires structural reform, and we are actively working toward building broad consensus around it," he said.

Ileana Villalobos, Deputy Minister for Environmental Regulation,  Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), said the proposal goes beyond isolated amendments and instead represents a complete restructuring of the law, incorporating new environmental assessment instruments. "Our country has sought to remain up to date with the obligations we have assumed under international agreements, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, biodiversity-related agreements and treaties on chemical substances, such as the prohibition of mercury use," she said.

The forum also included representatives from the Universidad Autónoma de Chapingo, the Colegio de Postgraduados, the Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México (UAEM), UTEM, as well as researchers, students and environmental specialists.

Representatives from the Mexican Academy of Environmental Impact Assessment, the College of Environmental Engineers of Mexico, the Mexican Association of Environmental Audit Verification Units (AMUVAA), the Mexican Institute of Wildlife, Flora and Social Sustainability, the Center for Legal and Environmental Studies, the Mexican Center for Environmental Law (CEMDA), the National Academy of Forestry Sciences, the Mexican Association of Forestry Professionals, the International Conservation Caucus Foundation (ICCF), and Environmental Defense Fund de Mexico (EDF de México) also attended the event.