Mexico Showcases Trinational Maya Forest Plan at COP30Mexico Showcases Trinational Maya Forest Plan at COP30

During the second week of COP30 in Belem, Brazil, Mexico’s Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Alicia Bárcena outlined its trinational conservation initiative, the Biocultural Corridor of the Greater Maya Forest (CBGSM), one of the world’s largest remaining tropical ecosystems. The initiative, signed by Mexico, Guatemala and Belize in August, seeks to safeguard 5.7 million hectares of forest while placing Indigenous and local communities at the center of long-term conservation and financing strategies. The Maya Forest contains more than 7,000 species and represents an estimated 12% of global biodiversity, located at the ecological intersection of the Nearctic and Neotropical regions. The forest is also home to 57 recognized native maize varieties. According to Bárcena, communities with historical and cultural ties to the forest will lead the preservation of CBGSM’s vast genetic diversity. She identified traditional knowledge, community-based governance and locally driven ...