Mesoamerica and the Caribbean welcome five new IUCN Members

San José, Costa Rica, May 4, 2026. In its first session following its election at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi, the new IUCN Council approved the admission of 48 new Members globally, five of which belong to the Mexico, Central America and Caribbean region.

Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación y Desarrollo Alternativo U Yich Lu'um is an Indigenous organisation from the Maya community of Sanahcat, Yucatán, Mexico. Since 2009, it has promoted holistic well-being processes aimed at strengthening autonomy and care for the territory, with a focus on restoring the biocultural diversity of Indigenous Peoples.

Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A. C. (GECI) is a Mexican non-profit civil association. Since 1998, its multidisciplinary team has worked towards the conservation, sovereignty, knowledge and sustainable development of Mexico’s island territories.

The Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future is a private conservation trust fund established in March 2022 as a sustainable financing mechanism derived from Belize’s sovereign blue bond. The Fund channels resources to support conservation and the sustainable management of the ocean, while also backing scientific, conservation and climate change adaptation activities in Belize’s marine space.

Asociación de Comunidades Forestales de Petén (ACOFOP) is a community-based organisation made up of 24 peasant and Indigenous organisations. It develops an inclusive conservation model through the sustainable and comprehensive management of natural resources across more than 480,000 hectares of forest in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Guatemala.

Fundación Segundo Montes is a civil society organisation with more than 30 years of experience working in communities in the department of Morazán, El Salvador. It focuses on strengthening the capacities of women and men in areas such as agriculture, entrepreneurship, human rights advocacy and soil conservation practices, among others.

Globally, IUCN, the world’s oldest and largest environmental network, has more than 1,500 Member organisations, including States, government agencies, subnational governments, national and international non-governmental organisations, and Indigenous Peoples’ organisations.

Currently, 123 organisations make up IUCN’s Membership in the Mexico, Central America and Caribbean region, including 4 States, 7 government agencies, 4 subnational governments, 96 non-governmental organisations, and 12 Indigenous Peoples’ organisations.