According to the PPEF —which will begin its legislative route next week in the Chamber of Deputies—, the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (Conanp), responsible for the management of 232 areas that cover more than 30% of the national territory, will face a 12% cut compared to the 2025 budget, equivalent to 138 million pesos.
If approved, Conanp will operate with just 1,002 million pesos, the lowest amount in more than two decades.
“We are talking about financial asphyxiation. It is impossible to maintain surveillance, restoration or environmental education programs with that amount. Protected natural areas do not take care of themselves: they require personnel, resources and community support,” said Gina Ileana Chacón, representative of Wildlands Network Mexico.
Also a member of Noroeste Civil Society for Environmental Sustainability (NOSSA) said that this cut will affect basic tasks such as ecosystem conservation, restoration and environmental surveillance.
“These are not just figures, they are essential functions that would be left without support. If approved in these terms, we would be facing a very important setback in the protection of the environment,” he warned in an interview.
The specialist recalled that between 2007 and 2026 the budget allocated to conservation has plummeted 52%, and that only 0.2% of the resources of Transversal Annex 16 – the instrument in the budget that groups climate spending – are actually allocated to the protection of nature.
This budget literally means managing the lack of protection (…) Without sufficient resources for surveillance and management, protected natural areas will be just lines on a map condemned to disappear.
Gina Ileana Chacón, environmental activist.
With such a limited budget, experts warn that protected natural areas will operate practically on the brink of administrative collapse. Each hectare will receive, on average, a little more than 10 pesos a year for its care.a symbolic amount compared to the magnitude of the challenge.
(Photo: National Commission of Protected Natural Areas/Facebook)
Currently, only 140 of the 232 natural areas have a current management program, Therefore, without a sufficient budget, the organizations point out, the development and updating of these instruments—which include consultations with indigenous communities—becomes almost impossible.
The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat) does not escape the cut either: it is estimated that for 2026 its budget will decrease 4.3%, 1,859 million pesos less that in 2025, reducing its participation to 0.6% of total federal spending and just 0.1% of GDP, a figure below international standards: ECLAC recommends allocating at least 3.7% of GDP to environmental protection.
“We are concerned that the narrative of commitment to biodiversity is maintained while basic protection instruments are weakened. The environment is not an expense, it is an investment in well-being and security for all people,” Chacón emphasized.
