Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala Present Plan to Protect 5.7 Million Hectares of the Great Maya Forest

ByDarylh Rodríguez

This article by Darylh Rodríguez originally appeared in the August 17, 2026 edition of Contralínea, an independent Mexican investigative journalism magazine.

One year after the Calakmul Declaration, Mexico, Belize, and Guatemala are moving forward with the construction of the Great Maya Forest Biocultural Corridor, a regional cooperation strategy whose purpose is to strengthen the conservation of one of the main forest territories of Mesoamerica.

To this end, the three countries this past weekend presented a Regional Action Plan that seeks to strengthen the territory comprising more than 5.7 million hectares, where several ecosystems, communities of more than 2 million people, and a broad biocultural heritage converge.

According to the Secretariat of the Environment (Semarnat), headed by Alicia Bárcena, the project starts from the premise that the ecosystems of the Maya Forest are part of a continuous territory, so that their conservation faces problems that do not stop at borders.

In that context, the three countries opted for the Regional Action Plan as an instrument with which they seek to establish a joint path to improve management of the territory, strengthen monitoring systems, recover forested areas, and expand the institutional capacities aimed at protecting biodiversity.

“This instrument will make it possible to strengthen management and monitoring, recover forests, protect biodiversity, and expand capacities and cooperation among the three countries. The Great Maya Forest is a living territory, where nature, communities, and biocultural heritage are deeply linked. Today, the three nations strengthen a shared vision of living forests, strong communities, and cooperation without borders,” Mexico’s Environmental Secretary stated on its social media.

The presentation took place this past August 15 in Caracol, Belize, held during the commemoration of the first Great Maya Forest Day, in which the commissioner of the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp), Pedro Álvarez Icaza, took part; along with Belize’s Minister of Sustainable Development, Climate Change, and Solid Waste Management, Orlando Habet; and the executive secretary of the National Council of Protected Areas of Guatemala, Igor de la Roca.