The Central American region has 8% of the world’s biological diversity, distributed in 206 ecosystems, 33 ecoregions, 20 life zones and 12% of the coasts of Latin America and the Caribbean, including 567,000 ha of mangroves and 1,600 km of coral reefs.

This ICI subproject has a regional focus for an integrated intervention in Mesoamerica, which works in Indigenous territories in two countries – Guatemala and Panama – in landscapes that form important ecoregions in Central America, including the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, the Ecoregion of Montane Forests, the Association of Pine-Oak Forests of Central America and the Mesoamerican Reef System.

These ecosystems are interconnected for the purpose of conserving ecological processes, facilitating genetic exchange, evolution, migration, and repopulation of species and are consistent with Indigenous Maya, Garifuna, and Guna territories. The Kaqchikel Volcanic Chain and K’iche’ are part of the broadleaf, cloud, pine and oak forests and grasslands that are part of the Zunil, Atitlán and Balam Juyu Biocultural Corridor, which are rich in endemic faunal biodiversity. Lachuá, Q’eqchi territory, is an ecoregion of broadleaf forests and a Ramsar site, of 100,000 hectares. It links to the Blue Mountains of Chiapas Mexico, is the second model forest of Guatemala and is part of the Ibero-American model forest network. It represents more than 50% of Guatemala’s biodiversity, the majority of which are endangered species. The Río Dulce region has biological connectivity and is home to species of regional endemic importance. The Guna Yala region covers 751,300 hectares of continental and marine areas. It is a high priority ecoregion for the conservation of global diversity and functions as a biocultural corridor in the Isthmus, with about 70% forest coverage, 30 species of reptiles, 440 species of birds, and other tropical forest species. It also has coral reefs, mangrove ecosystems, extensive networks of reefs and shallow water seagrass beds of the continental platform, of importance in the biographical coast of the Northwest Atlantic and the central Caribbean bioregion.

The areas in this subproject are under different modalities of use, management and conservation of natural resources. In the case of the Mayan (Kaqchikel, K’iche’, Q’eqchi’) and Garifuna peoples they are under a system of collective Indigenous management and shared management. The Guna case involves management by an Indigenous system led by regional congresses. Central America has 948 terrestrial and marine protected areas, with an extension of 245,857 km2, of which approximately 39% is located in Indigenous territories, such as the Mayan forest, parks in municipal regions, Guna Yala biosphere reserve, resulting in a shared management and governance between protected area systems and indigenous territories. Indigenous governance in each region is based on their own traditional forms of organization and governance, local committees, ancestral brotherhoods, organization of spiritual guides, Indigenous community, territorial councils, development councils or county congresses.