We, the people of the Maya Bioregion
Unidos bajo los auspicios divinos de Hunab-Ku, el Espíritu Primordial; Ixazalvoh, la Primera Madre, entre los mayas de la región Quiché y otros grupos étnicos de estas zonas sagradas mayas; y Madre Ixchel, diosa de la luna, los mares y todas las aguas, proclamamos nuestro solemne compromiso con la custodia de nuestra Madre Tierra . Inspirados en el legado de nuestros ancestros y la sabiduría natural que nos ha sido otorgada, declaramos nuestra sagrada intención de fomentar una comunidad que viva en armonía con la Naturaleza, sostenida por los principios de paz, salud y bienestar espiritual.
The Maya Bioregion encompasses 324,000 square kilometers, extending across the Mexican states of Yucatán, Quintana Roo, Campeche, parts of Tabasco, Chiapas, the Republics of Guatemala and Belize, and areas of Honduras and El Salvador. This expanse, rich in biodiversity and biocultural heritage, represents the cradle of the Maya civilization, a civilization distinguished by its deep connection to both the cosmos and the natural world.
We commit to protecting the vibrant life forms and natural elements provided to us by our Mother Earth. We aspire to restore our animal populations, their ecosystems, and biodiversity, We recognize their rights for their intrinsic value, recognizing the natural wildlife and ecosystems as an integral part of our ecological and spiritual kinship with Mother Earth.
The rules of conduct within the Maya Bioregional Sanctuary will reflect our deep respect for Mother Earth. These standards will meet or exceed global practices in the management of terrestrial and marine sanctuaries, ensuring that our actions contribute to the preservation, rescue, restoration and enrichment of Nature. We consider ourselves sacred beings because we are part of the entire web of life on the planet and in the cosmos.
We call upon all communities in the Bioregion to apply this Proclamation in collaboration, commitment, respect and seriousness, ensuring a full and prosperous future for our peoples, sons and daughters, and for all future generations.
We commit to be an example, by consistent conscience action to reduce the pollution of land, air and water by more than 70% that our own communities generate. We will take advantage of solar energy and implement self-sustaining and responsible energy sources with Mother Earth; to mitigate climate change, to harvest rainwater, and to adopt organic and ethical food production methods that revive and honor our ancestral practices. We are determined to improve the management of our lands and waters, prioritizing the habitats of our native fauna and flora.
The waters and lands of the Maya Bioregional Sanctuary are hereby declared a refuge for the myriad species that inhabit them, including the jaguar, quetzal, tapir, spider monkey, white-lipped peccary, yuk deer, howler monkey, giant anteater, scarlet macaw, rainbow toucan, hawksbill turtle, whale shark, ceiba and sapote trees, among other revered species, ensuring their protection from the encroachments of modernity, species trafficking, and the dangers of environmental degradation.
From now on, within the boundaries of the Maya Bioregional Sanctuary, we strictly prohibit the privatization of water sources, the plundering and exploitation of our territories, the desecration of sacred sites, the use of genetically modified organisms, the application of harmful chemicals, and plastic pollution in our lands and waters. These actions are antithetical to our ancestral laws and the biocultural heritage of our Maya peoples.
We recognize the mangroves that have a surface area of more than one million hectares throughout the bioregion and that contribute to coastal protection, water filtration, and carbon capture. We also recognize the Mesoamerican Reef, the second largest barrier reef in the world, as an essential component of our ecological system.
