The Maya Forest is the northernmost tropical rainforest in the Americas and has lost over 50% of its original canopy cover.
This project will support the Mayan Forest in becoming the wildlife sanctuary it once was, sequester carbon to help fight climate change, and will empower local communities to transform their land into a thriving forest that also benefits them.
The project will include mangrove and terrestrial reforestation projects. Primarily indigenous Maya communities are being hired to implement the restoration work.
The project will pay community members to restore their community land, will benefit the community through sustainable agroforestry programs, improved fishing through increasing mangrove habitat, and will include ecotourism opportunities.
We are grateful to have the terrestrial component of this site fully covered, but there is space for millions of mangroves to be planted in the degraded estuary. The area is most suited for the planting of red mangroves. Some black and white mangroves will be planted as well. Changes in sea water levels and poorly designed roadways have changed the dynamics in the estuary killing of many mangroves and creating new areas that are suitable for the mangroves to be planted.
The community is primarily a fishing community and has seen their fish population decline over the last couple decades creating a lack of jobs for the communities. By restoring the mangroves we restore the habitat of the nesting grounds for fish and the home of shellfish that the community relies on.