Our approach to local development in Mexico

Eni Foundation - Improving access to primary health care services

In June 2022, the Eni Foundation signed a three-year MoU with the Ministry of Health of the State of Tabasco to promote access to primary health care (PHC) services for the most vulnerable citizens in the municipality of Cardenas. Activities under this agreement include improving the infrastructure of the emergency care network and providing medical and technological equipment, training all health care personnel, and implementing health education and information initiatives for the population aimed at combating the most prevalent diseases in the area. These initiatives, developed in collaboration with local institutions, support both the short and medium- to long-term objectives of the Ministry of Health's ambitious Health Programme (Programa Sectorial de Salud 2019-2024).

The importance of fishing for the economy

Fishing is one of the most significant activities for local communities. We support sea fishers with the delivery of fishing nets and outboard motors. We contribute to the modernization of their equipment and to the reduction of the environmental impact, also thanks to the knowledge shared during the sustainable fishing laboratories set up to meet their needs.

For the promotion of sustainable management of fishing resources in the Carmen-Pajonal-Machona lagoon, we carry out the repopulation of 4 native species to compensate for the loss of fish productivity and diversity of fish species. Until December 2023 we have released around 130 k offsprings.

Oyster farming is also one of the primary activities in the Carmen-Pajonal-Machona lagoon system. This initiative began with the implementation of a first pilot phase, lasting one year, whose objective was to evaluate the growth potential of oysters when using Australian baskets compared to Japanese strings, which have been used traditionally for the cultivation of this mollusk.

The results of the pilot phase were favorable, not only due to the observed growth, but also due to aesthetic presentation, size, and weight. Therefore, interested oyster producing groups were invited to implement the new method, reserving some lines in their farms for the introduction of Australian baskets. Currently there are 11 producing groups – including cooperatives - supported with Australian baskets. Besides the provision of supplies, the initiative includes training and technical support from the Juárez Autonomous University of Tabasco, a recognized local university.

Finaly, to achieve oyster health certification in the lagoon system, support is provided through continuous environmental monitoring and management with local authorities. The aim is to improve safety and hygiene, to make oyster production increasingly sustainable and offer more commercial possibilities.

Development and integration opportunities for young people in coastal communities of the Municipality of Cardenas

Eni Mexico identified the need to assist the youth population of communities close to its operations, which faces problems related to inadequate access to vocational training, insufficient public recreative spaces, scarce work opportunities, and low participation in the public life of their communities.

To this end, we formulated a project to create an enabling environment for the development and integration of youth between the ages of 15 to 24 years, which covers the intervention in two specific areas:

• promote social integration and feeling of belonging through initiatives to increase the participation of young people in their communities
• improve the path to economic and personal autonomy of young people through technical and human formation.

With the collaboration of AVSI Mexico, the project started activities by the end of 2022 and seeks to benefit more than 1,5 k young people of the coastal zone of the Municipality of Cardenas. Activities include the construction of a cultural and educational space in the main urban community of the zone, the acquisition of a mobile classroom for young people from remote communities, artistic, human and professional training initiatives, the creation of a youth network, and the establishment of committees (or other mechanisms of participation) and initiatives led by youth. As for December 2023 more than 430 young people were participating in artistic, cultural, and sports activities.

Integrated, responsible, and sustainable approach to the coconut palm production and commercial chain

One of the objectives of Eni Mexico’s social investment is economic diversification. In the communities close to Contractual Area 1, Eni Mexico identified the primary sector as an area of opportunity, particularly the coconut production, which has been several affected by pests and diseases, as well as by the lack of a formal commercial coordinated strategy. In this sense, a project is being implemented since mid-2023 focused on the intervention around three axes of action:

• technical: improve the productivity of coconut crops from a regenerative and sustainable approach
• economical: increase the sales of coconut through improved and strengthened strategies for coconut and derivatives sales
• social: improve the cohesion of the sector and crop activity and coconut transformation work conditions through a collective efficiency approach.

Among the most important expected results are the creation of a local governance mechanism, the incorporation of 100 ha (planting and reactivation) of coconut palms, and the generation of strategic partnerships and collaborations for the purchase and sale of coconut. It is expected to benefit more than 100 people (producers, families, and workers) by the end of the project.

Collaboration Program with UNESCO

At the beginning of 2022 Eni Mexico signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UNESCO which objective is to promote joint actions for the reduction and prevention of disasters, management and conservation of biodiversity, sustainable tourism, education for development and cultural promotion. Through this agreement the following initiatives have been implemented:

Museography and recovery of the main hall of La Venta Park Museum

Both activities have as their purpose to strengthen the educative, preservation, research, and diffusion functions of the museum to benefit close to 160 k local visitors and tourists, more than a thousand schools and more than 230 k students of the Municipality of Centro, as well as 685 k inhabitants of its municipal seat, Villahermosa.

Diagnosis of water security of the Mezcalapa-Samaria sub-basin

With the participation of the Regional Center of Water Security (CERSHI), a Category 2 Center under the sponsorship of UNESCO, this diagnostic seeks to establish the bases that allow the definition of a possible water security and integrated flood risk management plan to protect more than 140 k inhabitants of Tabasco living near this subbasin.

Sustainable tourism opportunities

This initiative included a feasibility study about sustainable tourism opportunities in Villa y Puerto Coronel Andres Sanchez Magallanes. Its purpose is to identify the possibilities of promoting this activity as an alternative for economic diversification in the communities of the region, along with suggestions to preserve a social and environmental equilibrium from an intercultural, human rights, and ethical perspective.