The Selva Maya is a tropical forest region extending over Belize, northern Guatemala and southeastern Mexico. It is the most extensive tropical rainforest of Mesoamerica. The presence of an important ecological and environmental gradient has resulted in more than 20 ecosystems, from the evergreen forests of Petén to the dry forests in the northern Yucatán Peninsula.

The Protected Areas are of great importance to the flora and fauna of the Selva Maya. Different categories of protection exist, such as National Parks, Forest Reserves and Biosphere Reserves.

Communities living in or around forest areas of the Selva Maya, aware of the need to conserve them and use their resources in a responsible and sustainable way, adopt management mechanisms such as the so-called Areas Voluntary Designated for Conservation Areas (ADVC) and other conservation modalities such as tolches.