World Wetlands Day celebrated with ACCIÓN in the Yucatán Peninsula

• It is a priority to promote actions that strengthen mangrove restoration and preserve their legacy.
• Through ACCIÓN, sustainable financing will be provided for 20 Protected Areas (PAs), increasing the resilience of coastal communities in the Yucatán Peninsula.

The National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp, in Spanish), the Secretariat of Sustainable Development (SDS, acronym in Spanish) of Yucatán, the Secretariat of Environment, Biodiversity, Climate Change and Energy of Campeche (SEMABICCE, in Spanish), the Secretariat of Ecology and Environment (SEMA, acronym in Spanish) of Quintana Roo, Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature (FMCN, acronym in Spanish), and Sureste Sostenible A.C. (SSAC) commemorated World Wetlands Day in Progreso, Yucatán, and launched the ACCIÓN project, “Sustainable Communities for Climate Action in the Yucatán Peninsula.”

In this context, Conanp recognized the importance of wetlands as strategic ecosystems for biodiversity conservation and community well-being. It highlighted its commitment to the protection, sustainable management, and awareness-raising of the importance of Mexico’s wetlands.

It noted that this Comission promotes actions to strengthen mangrove restoration and to preserve their legacy for present and future generations living in local communities.

Likewise, the environmental authorities of Yucatán, Quintana Roo, and Campeche, together with Conanp, launched the ACCIÓN project, which will contribute to sustainable financing for 20 PAs and increase the resilience of coastal communities in the Yucatán Peninsula through environmental and productive restoration.

ACCIÓN was approved in 2025 with financing from the Green Climate Fund and was presented internationally at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025.

During the event, Juan Carlos Romero Gil, Regional Director for the Yucatán Peninsula and the Mexican Caribbean at Conanp, highlighted the importance of the 2026 theme, “Wetlands and traditional knowledge: celebrating cultural heritage,” as an opportunity to reflect on the invaluable biocultural legacy represented by these ecosystems. He underscored the historical link between wetlands and Indigenous and local communities, whose ancestral knowledge is essential for their conservation and sustainable use. He affirmed that Conanp reaffirms its commitment to integrating this knowledge into conservation strategies, strengthening community participation in order to safeguard both biodiversity and cultural identity, and to build a future in which both can thrive together.

Neyra Silva, head of the SDS, noted that “ACCIÓN is a strategic tool for Yucatán, as it strengthens, over the long term, the territory’s climate resilience and the well-being of coastal communities. This project complements and enhances the actions promoted by the State Government in mangrove and wetland restoration, ecosystem-based adaptation, and the strengthening of sustainable livelihoods, by translating the vision of the Mayan Renaissance into concrete actions that consolidate organized groups committed to the care of Yucatán’s natural capital.”

Jocelyn Durán, head of SEMABICCE, emphasized that “ACCIÓN seeks to protect local communities and their biodiversity by strengthening the work of state and federal governments, as well as that of communities themselves, in the restoration, conservation, and sustainable use of ecosystems. It is a project that contributes to climate justice.”

Óscar Rébora Aguilera, head of the Secretariat of Ecology and Environment of Quintana Roo, stressed that “adaptation to climate change in marine and coastal ecosystems requires regional coordination and collective action. In Quintana Roo, we have promoted actions to protect and restore mangroves and wetlands, as well as to strengthen the management of our PAs, always with community participation. Likewise, together with the states of the Yucatán Peninsula, we have consolidated joint efforts to promote nature-based solutions, and ACCIÓN is a key ally in articulating these efforts and strengthening the climate resilience of our communities and PAs.”

Renée González, Chief Executive Officer of FMCN, stated that “with ACCIÓN, Mexico reaffirms its commitment to biodiversity protection and sustainable development for future generations. This initiative lays the financial and institutional foundations for the country to achieve the Kunming–Montreal 30x30 target and to ensure sound management of 30% of the country under conservation.”

María Eugenia Arreola, Executive Director of Sureste Sostenible, A.C., affirmed that “ACCIÓN is a commitment to strengthening local capacities and supporting communities in the Yucatán Peninsula in the conservation of their territory. This project recognizes that biodiversity protection is only possible when it is built from the local level, generating social, environmental, and economic benefits for those who live in and care for these ecosystems.”

For more information:

ACCIÓN, Sustainable Communities for Climate Action in the Yucatán Peninsula, is a strategic response for the states of Campeche, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán, where marine and coastal ecosystems, as well as their communities, are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The project seeks to strengthen climate resilience through ecosystem-based adaptation, supporting sustainable livelihoods and local populations—especially fishers and coastal communities—committed to conserving and restoring their territory. This effort, supported by the environmental authorities of the three states, aims not only to mitigate climate change impacts but also to place well-being, the local economy, and community voices at the center of our collective response. https://fmcn.org/en/proyectos/accion