Pilot Program for Environmental Improvement of the Delegation of Tlalpan

The Environmental Program of the Delegation of Tlalpan in the Federal District is part of the national efforts towards the mitigation of greenhouse gases. The program was conceived under the idea that greenhouse gas mitigation and capture may be developed successfully at a municipal level if they are outlined as efforts oriented to the achievement of environmental, economic, and social benefits at a local scale.

Under such framework, the Tlalpan program has included energy and water saving projects in the government, hospitals, houses, small and medium industry, and resource conservation and restoration sectors.

The program has been implemented through a coordinated effort between the delegation of Tlalpan and academic organizations such as the Instituto de Ingeniería of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM) and the Centro Mexicano para la Producción más Limpia (CMP+L) of the Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN). Besides, the consulting firm Hagler Bailly Inc. participates in the project, as well. Essential funding for the development of the program has been obtained from the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Additionally, the program has been supported by an Environmental Management System (EMS), which allowed the integration of projects under a unified vision and administration, as well as having an environmental information system. Such system has enabled the institutions involved to exchange information and to assess the results. Likewise, it has allowed the delegation authorities to act as facilitators in the distribution of information and resources leading to environmental benefits. The experience in Tlalpan may work as a model to carry out activities in other delegations in the Federal District, and in other municipalities of different regions in Mexico.

• The Delegation of Tlalpan

• The Environmental Program

• Results in the Energy Sector

• Carbon Capture

The Delegation of Tlalpan

The delegation of Tlalpan is located in the southern area of Mexico City. With 30,449 hectares, it is the largest in surface out of the 16 delegations in which the Federal District is divided. The northern part is urban and accounts for 17% of the delegation. Meanwhile, the southern part is mainly rural and comprises a significant portion of the Sierra del Ajusco, which is one of the main forest refugees of the city, as well as an essential source of aquifer recharge in the region. Tlalpan is one of the delegations with high diversity from the perspective of land-use. Small and medium industries, trading corridors, one of the most important hospital clusters of the country, housing units, and a rural and forestry zone, are all located within Tlalpan.

The current population of Tlalpan is above half a million people; in fact, it is one of the delegations with highest demographic growth. In the 1970s and 1980s, huge open areas in the south of the city were urbanized, thus giving birth to important human settlements in the stony areas (pedregales) and the Low Ajusco. Although in the last decade the growth rate decreased, there still are strong pressures on the conservation area and increasing difficulties to stop the urban sprawl expansion.

As for houses, in 1995, 98% had electricity, 84.2% had sewerage systems, and 86% had piped water, which is mainly extracted from deep wells, and to a lesser extent, from springs.

Based on a preliminary estimate, in 1998 energy consumption in the delegation mounted to 13.7 PJ, which accounts for nearly 2% of energy final consumption in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area, and 0.4% of national consumption.

Should the population and economic growth trends continue, carbon dioxide emissions associated with energy consumption would increase by nearly 45% by the year 2010.

The Environmental Program

The Environmental Program for Tlalpan comprises five subprograms, which are described as follows:

Project 1: Environmental Management System

The Environmental Management System (EMS) has allowed the delegation of Tlalpan to organize and administrate the environmental issues of its operations. The objectives of the EMS are:

• To enhance the understanding of the environment in Tlapan;

• To apply environmental planning tools within the delegation;

• To develop projects that result in environmental improvements for Tlalpan, and

• To encourage environmental and energy saving education among Tlalpan residents.

A number of measures have been implemented regarding energy efficiency, water saving, and solar panel heating in four buildings (the main delegation office building, La Casona building, the Coapa delegation building, and the Villa Olímpica sport center). The EMS has allowed to estimate energy, water, and financial resource savings, as well as to reduce GHG emissions.

Project 2: Energy and Water Saving in the Residential Sector

This subprogram consists of two subprojects:

• A pilot project on water saving, whose objective is to determine the saving potential stemmed from the installation of water saving devices.

• A project on efficient lighting. The energy saving program for the residential sector included studies oriented to reduce energy consumption through the use of efficient equipment to light common areas in housing units.

Project 3: Cleaner Production and Environmental Management in the Small and Medium Industry

The Cleaner Production and Environmental Management in the Small and Medium Industry subprogram has focused on energy efficiency and renewable energy, on pollution prevention, and on the implementation of the EMS in industry. Actions developed include diagnoses on cleaner production, energy efficiency, and environmental management in 4-5 industries in the area.

Project 4: Cleaner Production and Environmental Management in Hospitals

The Cleaner Production and Environmental Management in Hospitals subprogram is oriented to energy efficiency and renewable energies, pollution prevention and implementation of EMS in hospitals. The project included diagnoses on cleaner production, energy efficiency, and environmental management in 4-5 hospitals in the area.

Project 5: Carbon Capture and Forestry Restoration

The objective of the forestry subprogram is carbon capture in the area of the Mid- Ajusco (Ajusco Medio), and to develop an environmental-education-oriented park in San Andrés Totoltepec. Such project encompasses the estimation of carbon capture in the area, the establishment of a forestry program, the creation of economic benefits for land owners, the development of sustainable production alternatives for the mountain, and the demonstration of interdependence between the forest and urban areas in the Federal District through a novel environmental education program.

As for carbon capture, the specific objective of the Project is to define the carbon reservoir in the Mid-Ajusco (Ajusco Medio), as well as potential scenarios regarding: emission under the current deforestation trend; carbon sequestration under a reforestation program implemented by the Mexico City Government through the Natural resources Commission (Corena); and carbon sequestration under an ecological restoration plan suggested by the Environmental Program for Tlalpan.

Results in the Energy Sector

The following Table shows the results obtained from mitigation projects associated with energy consumption.

Main results of mitigation pilot projects implemented in the delegation of Tlalpan

Source: Román G., Oven M., Sheinbaum C. Informe del Programa Ambiental, Tlalpan (Environmental Program Report, Tlalpan).

Carbon Capture [1]

The following tables show the estimation of the carbon reservoir in the area, the capture potential associated with reforestation performed by the Government of the Federal District and the delegation of Tlalpan, and finally the carbon capture potential as per the management plan of the Environmental Project for Tlalpan.

Estimation of the Carbon Reservoir of the Mid-Ajusco (Ajusco Medio)

Source: Escandón J, Ordóñez A, Sheinbaum C. Informe Proyecto Tlalpan (Tlalpan Project Report). Instituto de Ingeniería, UNAM.

Carbon Sequestration Potential according to the Reforestation Plan performed by Corena

Source: Escandón J, Ordóñez A, Sheinbaum C. Informe Proyecto Tlalpan (Tlalpan Project Report). Instituto de Ingeniería de la UNAM.

Carbon Sequestration Potential of the Restoration Plan Suggested by the Technical Team

Source: Escandón J, Ordóñez A, Sheinbaum C. Informe del Proyecto Tlalpan (Tlalpan Project Report). Instituto de Ingeniería de la UNAM.

[1] The study was conducted by Jorge Escandón