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 Guatemala,  Mr. John Pinelo, Deputy Chief Officer of the Forest Department of the Government of Belize, Mr. Jair Urriola, Executive Secretary of the Comisión Centroamericana de Ambiente y Desarrollo (CCAD) and Ms. Silke Silvia Meléndez, First Secretary for Cooperation at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Mexico and the Director of the Sistema de Integración Centroamericana (SICA) Portfolio and Permanent Representative of GIZ in El Salvador,  Mrs. Anna Wittenborg, who presented the Selva Maya Program and its regional importance in the portfolio of German Cooperation in the region.

The regional and national implementing partners prepared a journey along the path of the Selva Maya, presenting a series of conversations to share, in an interactive way, the successful experiences and processes of this project.

We invite you to read the systematization document of this project Experiencias de cooperación regional en la Selva Maya | Selva Maya, the illustrative document of its fruits Conoce, aprende y comparte los impactos y resultados del Proyecto de Cooperación Regional. | Selva Maya, as well as a video with its main challenges and achievements Fortaleciendo la Cooperación Regional – YouTube.

Image credits: Courtesy of CONANP/TeresaCamargo