The Great Forests of Mesoamerica are the last chance of surviving climate change in the region


Mesoamerica is a biodiversity hotspot; with only 0.5 percent of the world's land area, the region is home to 7 percent of the world's biological diversity, including rare and endangered species. Natural forests such as the 5 Great Forests of Mesoamerica contain more than six times the carbon of the most degraded forests and hold approximately half of the region's forest carbon stocks. They also provide essential ecosystem services to five million people.

The 5 Great Forests of Mesoamerica are Selva Maya in Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize; La Moskitia in Nicaragua and Honduras; Indio Maíz-Tortuguero in Nicaragua and Costa Rica; La Amistad in Costa Rica and Panama; and El Darién in Panama and Colombia.

Mesoamerica's most vulnerable populations to climate change, women and men in indigenous and local forest communities, manage and protect half of the remaining forested area in the five forests, depending on their resources for cultural identity, food security, income, and more.

Forests managed by indigenous peoples with secure tenure have much lower deforestation rates than forests outside indigenous lands.

The 5 Great Forests Alliance which includes governments, NGOs, academia,  Indigenous Peoples, and local communities partners, has announced its commitment to protecting the 5 Great Forests of Mesoamerica — the last remaining intact forests from Mexico to Colombia critical for wildlife, carbon sequestration, clean water, and food security to five million people.

 

The Facts

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News

October 18, 2025

Innovation and traditional knowledge unite for the Great Forests of Mesoamerica

Representatives from community and Indigenous organizations across Mesoamerica gathered in Petén, Guatemala, from October 8 to 10, to share experiences and results from the EU DeSIRA project: The Five Great Forests of Mesoamerica, an initiative for climate, biodiversity, and people. 

October 14, 2025

Communication and social life of the spinner dolphin in the waters of the Guatemalan Pacific

In terms of feeding behavior, spinner dolphins feed at night on small fish, shrimp, and squid found between 200 and 300 meters below the water’s surface.

October 11, 2025

Migration, monitoring, and joined hands: Progress for birds in the Maya Forest

Over the past two years, we have seen major progress in local techniques and capacities to study migratory birds in Guatemala’s Maya Forest, as well as new collaborations between the communities connected by these birds.

October 3, 2025

Youth Exhibit Artwork on Shorebirds at USAC’s Natural History Museum 

An art exhibition highlighting the importance of migratory shorebirds along Guatemala’s Pacific coast opened on October 3 at the Natural History Museum of the University of San Carlos (USAC). 

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