Within the framework of the project, “Strengthening ancestral knowledge through its use for the prevention of diseases transmitted by insect vectors and dietary patterns”, on December 5, 6 and 7 in Flores, Petén, Guatemala an exchange of knowledge between traditional therapists and academics on medicinal plants and food sovereignty was held. Under the slogan ““Our place in the world is to be ourselves” (“Ser en el mundo, ser nosotros” in Spanish), the meeting represented a valuable opportunity for representatives of some twenty community organizations that promote traditional and indigenous knowledge about the medicinal and food plants of Mexico and Guatemala to meet with representatives of the academic world specialized in the flora of the Selva Maya region. During the meeting, experiences of community seed banks, healing practices based on traditional floral medicine, as well as experiences of naturopathic pharmacies in urban centers with medicines created from active ingredients from the regional flora, were presented, which allowed to visualize the complementarity of knowledge between the participating organizations. These dialogues made it possible to generate agreements regarding the implementation of some joint work activities, to which representatives of Belize would join, with the intention, for example, of obtaining a reference document regarding […]

Within the framework of the event of the Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas de México (CONANP), “Perspectives, America’s Protected Areas 2023” and, in the company of the Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas de Guatemala (CONAP), the Belize Forest Department and other actors in the region, on November 8, 2023 in Cancun, Quintana Roo, the results and impacts of the project “Strengthening the regional strategic and operational cooperation for the protection of the Selva Maya” were presented. The project was implemented by the governments of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala, with the regional support of the Comisión Centroamericana de Ambiente y Desarrollo (CCAD) and the technical-financial advice of the German Development Cooperation (GIZ), who compiled and shared the processes and impacts obtained during the four years of execution (2020 – 2023) of the first phase of the Regional Cooperation Project. The event was honoured by the attendance of Mrs. Josefina Huguette Hernández Gómez of the Secretaría de Ecología y Medio Ambiente of Quintana Roo, Commissioner Humberto Adán Peña, Head of the Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP) of the government of Mexico, Mr. Eduardo Fernando Palomo, Executive Undersecretary of the Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (CONAP) of the government of […]

With the aim of implementing the “One Health” approach in the natural protected areas of the Selva Maya, shared by Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, a workshop was held to focus on the use and management of the Smart Mobile platform. This tool will play a crucial role in the early monitoring of wildlife health. The workshop was held as part of the activities of the pilot project “SMART for Health in the Selva Maya” and took place from 11 to 15 September at the headquarters of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) México, bringing together officials from different sub-directorates of this environmental protection agency. The event will also include officials from the National Centre for Disease Prevention and Control Programmes (CENAPRECE) of the Mexican Ministry of Health and the National Service for Health, Food Safety and Quality (SENASICA), as well as operational staff from the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve and the Defenders of Nature Foundation (FDN) of Guatemala, with whom CONANP coordinates various monitoring and surveillance activities in the protected natural areas of the transboundary region. At the end of November, the second phase of the workshop will take place, using the “Training for Trainers” methodology directly in […]

Belize, Guatemala and Mexico are joining forces to promote the conservation of the Selva Maya through the “Mesa de Monitoreo Biológico y Manejo de Vida Silvestre para la Selva Maya”, a platform used to share, analyse and discuss the conservation of the second largest forest massif in the Americas.

Coordinating with allies from Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo, the Intersectoral Meetings “One Health Approach and its Importance in the Public Agenda” were held. The meetings were an opportunity to present the strategy of the approach in the Selva Maya Program, generating an exchanging space for its inclusion in the political framework of the Selva Maya region.

On March 13th, 2023, the twenty-first virtual working meeting of the Strategic Coordination Group (GEC), GEC environmental governance platform for the protection of the Selva Maya was held. With the participation of the representative members of the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD) and the government entities responsible for the management and administration of the protected areas of the Selva Maya region that share Mexico (National Commission of Natural Protected Areas, CONANP), Guatemala (National Council of Protected Areas, CONAP) and Belize (Forest Department).

Environmental organizations coordinate actions to protect the Maya Forest from one of its main theats.

Last Wednesday, August 10, 2022, at 09:00 am Guatemala and Belize time and 10:00 am Mexico time, with the online participation of more than 100 public officials and members of goverment and private organizations, universities and other stakeholders from Mexico, Guatemala and Belize, in addition to a noteworthy attendance of various GIZ offices in Latin America and other parts of the globe, the Alliance One Health Selva Maya (AOHSM) plattform was launched. The welcome remarks were delivered by Mr. Wilber Sabido, CEO of the Forest Department, Belize, and pro-tempore president of the Strategic Coordination Group (SCG) of the Selva Maya. The AOHSM website is a space for communication among decision makers, researchers, technicians and the interested public, aimed for policy makers, scientists and communities to implement the One Heath approach in the Selva Maya region. The One Health approach includes a comprehensive look at the trinomial system composed by environmental, human and animal health, The Alliance’s website is a window to the actions and processes of scientific research, as well as successful community projects that seek to propagate knowledge under this framework for the second largest forest massif of the American continent, and the largest tropical forest in Mesoamerica. To participate in this knowledge network and become […]