The Mexican National Council for Science (CONACYT), the British Council Newton Fund and Foro Consultivo Científico y Tecnológico (FCCYT) has worked with TIPC since 2017 on Transformative Innovation Policy (TIP) to support Mayan octopus fisheries and farming to transform their livelihoods of vulnerable coastal communities in Mexico. This was the initial project undertaken to examine and experiment with how TIP can lead to transformative change.
Mexico is one of the biggest countries in the world and the 14th largest economy, as well as one of the 10 mega-biodiverse countries. With this, comes big challenges; Mexico has one of the highest rates of inequality in the world. Mexican ministries have recently been working to reduce this through an emphasis on higher education, research and development funding, and entrepreneurship. At the same time, Mexico is also facing increasing environmental pressures due to uncontrolled urban growth, climate change impacts and overexploitation of natural resources.
Using TIP, CONACYT is changing its approach toward regional development by working on strengthening Mayan Octopus fishing, in collaboration with the Agency of Economic Development of Yucatan (ADY), the National Institute of Entrepreneurship (INADEM) and local fisheries. Through promoting sustainable, environmentally-friendly fishing methods, including experimental techniques for Octopus farming, the set of initiatives around the Pulpo Maya fishery aims to harness the power of local communities to improve their livelihoods and protect their environment.
