As a follow-up to the activities of the Strategic Coordination Group (SCG), which has already met twice in Chicaná, Campeche (2015) and Cancun, Quintana Roo (2016); on March 29, 2017, the third meeting was held in Chetumal , Quintana Roo, with the participation of Mr. Marcelo Windsor, Deputy Director of the Forest Department of Belize; Ms. Alma Polanco, Regional Director of the Guatemalan National Council of Protected Areas and Mr. Ricardo Gómez Lozano, Regional Director of the Peninsula of Yucatan and Mexican Caribbean of the Mexican National Commission of Natural Protected Areas. In accordance with the agenda topics, seven people of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Mexican National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP) and the German Agency for Cooperation (GIZ) attended the meeting as observers.
Considering that the objective of the SCG is to develop and coordinate the implementation of the integral strategy of conservation of the natural and cultural heritage of the Selva Maya (Belize-Guatemala-Mexico), the expectations of this 3rd meeting focused on a) establishing channels of effective communication within the SCG and other levels of government; b) advance in the creation of a strategic framework with a trinational vision, and c) consolidate collaborative synergies in favor of the Selva Maya.
With regard to gotten progresses since its constitution, the SCG has been positioning itself as an articulating instance of initiatives and projects in the Tri-national Selva Maya. Among the main challenges that this group will address during 2017, it highlights the need to build effective coordination and communication mechanisms for the integration of an inclusive regional environmental agenda, consolidate an operational structure at the trinational level, advance the signing of a Trinational Memorandum of Understanding and to consolidate the SCG as an articulating and conducting entity in issues of conservation and sustainable development for the Selva Maya.
