Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean

In Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, the IUCN has promoted the conservation of natural areas, the empowerment of civil society, the generation of knowledge and legality in favor of people and nature.

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About Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean

Mesoamerica and the Caribbean are two of the world's biodiversity hotspots, including the world’s second largest reef and the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System. The region is home to a diversity of indigenous peoples that protect and coexist with natural resources. With less than 2% of the world's territory, Mesoamerica accounts for 12% of the world's biological wealth, 8% of the world's mangroves and 31% of its surface declared as Natural Protectead Areas, while the Caribbean islands are one of the largest endemic biodiversity centers in the world, including the uniqueness of 50 per cent of its plant life due to its geography and climate.

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112

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IUCN Member organizations in the region

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12%

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of the biodiversity of flora and fauna lives in Central America, in just 2% of the emerged territory of the planet

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The Caribbean

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islands are of global importance for biodiversity conservation as large percentages of species groups are endemic to the region, and often to particular islands

Catalyzing Nature-based Solutions

Nature-based Solutions (NbS) aim to protect, sustainably manage, and restore ecosystems to address societal challenges, simultaneously providing human well-being and biodiversity benefits. As climate change impacts increasingly affect people and livelihoods, nature is a powerful ally in proving adaptation solutions through Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) strategies. NbS also include strategies to prevent climate disasters and mitigate their impact.

Our Work in ORMACC

For 35 years, the IUCN’s Regional Office for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean (ORMACC) implements and executes projects alongside Members and allies mostly from countries in the region, either in specific local communities and indigenous peoples or in work areas that include more than one country or even terrestrial, coastal or marine zones.

ORMACC demonstrates a consolidated trajectory in terms of biodiversity, forest governance, water governance, institutional strengthening, skills development and empowerment of peasant, indigenous and local organizations, political advocacy within the national and regional biodiversity framework, climate change, water resources, disaster risk reduction and protected areas, local environmental management and local development, coastal management, adaptation to climate change based on ecosystems, small donations management, and productive environment-friendly initiatives (for example, forest management, eco- and ethno-tourism, community restoration works,  water management,  agrosilvopastoral practices, etc.).

IUCN’s work in this region covers 7 countries in Central America (Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama) together with Mexico, in addition to the Caribbean, which spans insular states and European overseas territories.

IUCN Regional Office for Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean works jointly with 112 Members and strategic allies in the region, to build together a fair world that values ​​and conserves nature through the implementation of projects related to biodiversity conservation, management of protected areas, community forestry, enforcement of rights, climate change, and water.

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Milena Berrocal/IUCN

Meet our members and partners in the region

The region of Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean is a special area where different cultures and geographies that stand out in the planet’s environmental scene converge and where there is a relevant common commitment to face the main environmental challenges in the isthmus and the insular States. Currently, 112 Members are ascribed, between non-governmental organisations, government agencies, affiliated organisations and States.

Registro de especie de coral duro para El Salvador, no registrado para el país, identificada en el sitio Ramsar Complejo Barra de Santiago
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Identifican especie de coral duro reportado por primera vez en zonas de bosques…

Se trata del coral duro (Astrangia cf equatorialis), identificado dentro del sistema estuarino del Sitio Ramsar Complejo Barra de Santiago en el occidente del país. La investigación es liderada…