| Project Detail |
Selva Maya is a strategic block of important natural ecosystems. It is the second largest tropical forest of America, after the Amazon rainforest. It possesses an extraordinary diversity of endemic and endangered species, as well as important sites of historical and cultural heritage.
This landscape located between Belize, Guatemala and the southeast of Mexico, covers 42,300 square kilometers in a corridor of protected natural areas in which different categories of management converge. In some cases, these areas are separated by international boundaries but united by conservation and sustainable management efforts by governments, civil society and cooperation agencies, among other relevant actors.
The German Cooperation, through the KfW (German development bank) supports the regional conservation initiative structured around agreements between the nations of Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico, to preserve cultural, historical and biological resources in this vital landscape for Central America and the world.
Project background
In 2014, the governments of Belize, Guatemala and Mexico chose IUCN Regional Office for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean (ORMACC) as the organization responsible for the financial implementation and technical support of the Selva Maya Natural Resources Protection Project. Project implementation will be coordinated and co-executed by the institutions responsible for protected areas in the region represented by the Strategic Coordination Group (GEC) composed by:
Forest Department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries, Environment and Sustainable Development of Belize (MAFFESD).
National Council of Protected Areas of Guatemala (CONAP as per the Spanish acronym).
National Commission of Natural Protected Areas of Mexico (CONANP as per the Spanish acronym).
Project´s objective
To maintain the ecosystem functions and cultural values of the Selva Maya that promotes the welfare of its people and provides environmental services of global importance.
Expected results
In order to comply with the general objective of this project, the following results were defined and are expected to be achieved through the strategic measures established for each of them:
1. The protected areas of the Selva Maya have improved their management effectiveness
Control and surveillance intensification in protected areas
Improvement of the integrated monitoring of the protected areas
Development and implementation of the management plans of the protected areas
2. The protected areas of the Selva Maya have improved their connectivity
Development of fire prevention and control actions
Prevent deforestation and maintain the ecosystems health
Establishment of forest landscape restoration / agroforestry systems actions
The control and monitoring of the actions that cause land use changes and the degradation of the protected areas is strengthened, and economic alternatives and sustainable production methods are fostered, thus reducing the pressure on natural resources.
3. The coordination between Belize, Guatemala and Mexico is strengthened for conservation and sustainable management actions for the Selva Maya
Through continuous support to the Strategic Coordination Group (GEC as per the Spanish acronym) composed by CONAP, CONANP and MAFFESD, the work in the Selva Maya is strengthened as a block of continuous conservation under the regional coordinated work.
This project is commissioned by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ) to the KfW and implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), for a 4 years period (2017-2020). |
