THE OAXACA DECLARATION

City of Oaxaca, Oaxaca, Mexico. November 14, 1993

The First Meeting was held in the city of Oaxaca, capital of the state of the same name, which has the richest biological diversity in the Republic of Mexico. It was convened to provoke discussions between the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity (CONABIO) and institutions researching into biological diversity in Mexico, to consider:

• That Mexico is one of the five countries with the richest biological diversity in the world;
• That biodiversity is the basis of ecological processes that sustain humanity and that in Mexico it constitutes a unique wealth which is inseparable from its culture;
• That Mexico has a huge traditional knowledge of the use of plants and animals, with an intrinsic cultural and economic value, that needs to be documented and saved.
• That the botanical and zoological studies made by Mexican researchers forms an intellectual and cultural wealth, evident by the amount of scientific knowledge deposited in institutions, museums, herbaria and botanical gardens;
• That there is an urgent need for this biological information to be permanently brought up to date and validated by experts;
• That the coverage of this information is unevenly distributed amongst numerous institutions throughout Mexico, therefore, is necessary to communicate through the use of modern computer technology and telecommunications;
• That Mexico has committed itself to a number of national and international strategies for the conservation and rational use of its biological wealth. For example the creation of the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity and the signing and ratification of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Rio.

What was decided?

First: To create a World Biodiversity Information Network, that could connect databases containing information on botanical, zoological and other organisms in Mexico, with each other, and facilitate access to them through information technology tools. This network would have the following characteristics:

1. It would be sustained through the participation of the institutions and the information validated by experts in each area;
2. The information would be distributed through databases resident in each of the participating institutions;
3. The participating institutions would continually up-date the data, and integrate it into the network, using their expertise.

Secondly: To set up an organising committee whose remit would be to define the principal framework and criterion of the network, and invite other institutions to participate.

Thirdly: To establish a Steering Committee for the network, which would start work on February 1994.

We are convinced that the consolidation of this network has wide benefits, not only for scientific research, but also to help Mexico’s capacity as a nation to face the challenges of monitoring, conserving and using its biological wealth. In addition, given that there are very few precedents of this type of network in the world, we will be in the vanguard with regard to the study of biodiversity on the planet.

HONOR WITNESS: Lic. Diódoro Carrasco Altamirano Gobernador Constitucional del Estado de Oaxaca

PARTICIPANTS: Dr. Juan Luis Cifuentes Lemus Director General del Instituto Nacional de la Pesca, Secretaría de Pesca; M. en C. Juan José Consejo Dueñas

Biocenosis, A.C. en Oaxaca y Coordinador del Instituto de la Naturaleza y la Sociedad de Oaxaca, S.C.; M. en C. Adolfo Espejo Serna Vocal Ejecutivo del Consejo Nacional de la Flora de México; Dr. Exequiel Ezcurra Real de Azúa Director General de Aprovechamiento Ecológico de los Recursos Naturales Instituto Nacional de Ecología SEDESOL; M. en C. Rosaura Grether González Directora de la División de Ciencias Biológicas y de la Salud, Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana Unidad Iztapalapa; Dr. Sergio Guevara Sada Director General del Instituto de Ecología, A.C.; Fís. Ana Luisa Guzmán Directora de Evaluación de Proyectos, Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad; Dr. Gonzalo Halffter Salas Investigador del Instituto de Ecología, A.C.; Antrop. Antonio Hoy Manzanilla Director General del Centro de Investigaciones de Quintana Roo; Dr. Fernando Jiménez Guzmán Director de la Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León; Dr. Alfonso Larqué Saavedra Profesor Investigador del Centro de Botánica, Colegio de Postgraduados; Ing. Juan Lobo Zertuche Director del Comité de Seguimiento del Proceso de Modernización de la Actividad Geográfica, Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática; Dr. Antonio Lot Helgueras Director del Instituto de Biología, UNAM; M. en C. Jorge Llorente Bousquets Director de Análisis y Prioridades, Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad; M. en C. Miguel Martínez Trujillo M. en C. Miguel Martínez Trujillo Director de la Escuela de Biología, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo; Dr. Rafael Pérez Pascual Director de la Facultad de Ciencias, UNAM; Dr. Eulogio Pimienta Barrios Director de la Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad de Guadalajara; Dr. Manuel Robert Díaz Director del Centro de Investigación Científica de Yucatán, A.C.; Dra. Graciela Rodríguez Coordinadora de Asesores del C. Director General Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología; Dr. Oscar Sánchez Herrera Director de Flora y Fauna Silvestre, Subsecretaría Forestal y de Fauna Silvestre, Secretaría de Agricultura y Recursos Hidráulicos; Dr. José Sarukhán Kermez Coordinador Nacional, Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad; Dr. Guillermo Soberón Chávez Director de la División de Graduados, Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey-Campus Guaymas; Director de la División de Graduados, Instituto Tecnológico de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey-Campus Guaymas; Dr. Jorge Soberón Mainero Secretario Ejecutivo, Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad; Dra. Thelma Lilia Villegas Garrido Directora de la Escuela Nacional de Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto Politécnico Nacional.

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