As part of the Project “Support for the Monitoring of Biodiversity and Climate Change in the Selva Maya” the first Trinational Workshop on Monitoring of Waterholes and Associated Fauna in the Selva Maya was held on October 26th 2017, in Flores, Petén, Guatemala; with the objective of promoting the exchange of experiences among actors who participate in initiatives that address these issues in the region, as well as the formation of the Trinational Monitoring Group of Waterholes and Associated Fauna in the Selva Maya.

Researchers from different institutions from the three countries participated in the workshop: On behalf of Mexico, representatives of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP), the Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR), the civil association Conservación Biologica y Desarrollo Social (CONBIODES); from Guatemala, the National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP), Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), Fundación Defensores de la Naturaleza (FDN), the Tikal National Park (PANAT) and the Center for Conservation Studies of the University of San Carlos in Guatemala (CECON) and from Belize, the Forest Department (FD) and WCS Belize.

During the workshop, technical and methodological issues of monitoring in waterholes and bodies of water in the Selva Maya were discussed. The main common threats at the regional level were mentioned as well as the importance of conforming a monitoring group of waterholes. The group’s sustainability and the need for the definition of protocols allowing the analysis of data on a regional level which, in turn, is disseminated and used for decision making and public policy formulation, inside and outside natural protected areas.