Herencia Maya PFP Launched
Historic initiative will protect 560,000 hectares of lands and waters in Yucatán State and honor Maya culture.
This marks the first Project Finance for Permanence initiative in Mexico, and the first led by a state rather than a national government.
May 13, 2026: Today, Mexico launched Herencia Maya, the first statewide Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) initiative led by a state government, marking a major step for conservation at scale. This is the seventh PFP supported by Enduring Earth since it launched in December 2020.
Led by the Government of Yucatán alongside a coalition of partners, this effort will conserve more than 560,000 hectares of lands and waters, conserving critical freshwater systems that sustain over one million people, and protect over 170 miles of mangrove-rich coastline. In a region defined by its cenotes (underwater springs) and deep ecological heritage, this is about securing both nature and life itself.
Herencia Maya is more than conservation at scale. It is a model rooted in culture, community, and continuity. Nearly 40% of people living in these landscapes are Indigenous peoples. This initiative recognizes that durable conservation means securing long-standing sustainable practices, farming systems, and community values rooted in the Maya worldview, from beekeeping, sustainable fisheries, the practice of the Mayan milpa system of agroforestry, and ecotourism. At the same time, this effort delivers critical habitat protection for species like jaguars, flamingos, and sea turtles, while strengthening climate resilience across Yucatán’s forests and coasts.
The work that we do in our communities is an effort to preserve our heritage, the knowledge our families have passed down to us. From those who grow crops in the Milpa to our group of women who practice meliponiculture, everything we do preserves local livelihoods. We want future generations to learn and value this knowledge so that, in time, they can carry them out and pass them on.
Importantly, Herencia Maya demonstrates how subnational leadership can drive national and global ambition. As Mexico advances its 30×30 commitment, this is the first statewide PFP contributing directly to the country’s conservation targets—helping turn ambition into durable, financed action.
Herencia Maya is a five-year, $12.6 million initiative supported by a broad coalition of public and private partners. It employs the transformational Project Finance for Permanence (PFP) approach, in an important collaboration that unifies governments, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, public and private sector donors, NGOs, and others around a shared conservation vision.
By binding ambitious conservation policies and commitments to rigorous financial management, PFPs ensure that conservation areas function effectively with sustainable financing for the benefit of communities that rely on them.
As a woman from the Puuc region, I know that the forest is not just a resource: it is living memory, livelihood, our roots. Conserving it means defending our identity, the water we drink, the air we breathe, and the future of our daughters and sons. The Puuc region is not only home to biodiversity, but it also safeguards ancestral knowledge. Caring for the forest through Herencia Maya is an act of love, resistance, and collective responsibility in a world that cannot afford to lose it
Today’s announcement reflects the efforts of multiple partners in collaboration with the State Government of Yucatán, the Municipality of Mérida, Natural Spaces and Sustainable Development (Endesu), WWF México, and World Wildlife Fund, including Bepensa Corporation, The Coca-Cola Company Foundation, EnduringEarth, Marshall Field, Global Environment Facility, HP Inc., Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, Mexican Federal Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), CONANP -Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas, Richard and Anna Marie Rosen, The Nature Conservancy, Pronatura Yucatan Peninsula, A.C. (PPY), and Jeff and Laurie Ubben.
