Belize Hosts Trinational Summit to Protect Greater Maya Forest

Belize is currently hosting a landmark Trinational Workshop of the Council of Protected Area Authorities under the Greater Maya Forest Biocultural Corridor, running from yesterday through to Saturday in Placencia Village, Stann Creek District. Organized by the Ministry of Sustainable Development, Climate Change and Solid Waste Management through the Belize Forest Department, the workshop brings together delegates from Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico, including representatives from Guatemala’s Consejo Nacional de Áreas Protegidas (CONAP) and Mexico’s Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas (CONANP). The gathering is anchored in the trinational commitments established under the Declaration of the Greater Maya Forest Biocultural Corridor, a shared framework aimed at advancing biodiversity conservation and sustainable development across the three nations. Throughout the week-long event, participants are working to develop a formal trinational governance structure, identify priority conservation areas at multiple levels, and advance a coordinated Trinational Action Plan, while also exchanging best practices in protected areas management. The agenda features a field visit to two of Belize’s most ecologically significant landscapes, the Mountain Pine Ridge and the Chiquibul Forest Reserves, giving delegates a firsthand look at Belize’s conservation efforts on the ground. The workshop highlights the collective resolve of the three countries to protect the Greater Maya Forest, one of Mesoamerica’s largest remaining tropical forest systems, celebrated for its extraordinary biodiversity and deep cultural heritage.