A Chiapas community is protecting 1,398 hectares of rainforest for 99 years, by its own choice
Nobody required it: it's voluntary conservation. The area acts as a corridor between patches of forest and links to the Montes Azules reserve.
The community of the Las Nubes ejido, in Chiapas (Mexico), has decided to protect 1,398 hectares of rainforest for 99 years. The area is called La Caverna, and Mexico’s National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp) has certified it as a Voluntary Conservation Area.
By its own choice
Nobody required it: it is a form of voluntary conservation, in which the community itself commits to caring for its land. About 400 people of Tojolabal, Chol and Mame origin live in the ejido, which is known for the turquoise waterfalls of the Santo Domingo River and for its community tourism.
A corridor for wildlife
La Caverna lies at the edge of the Lacandon Jungle. According to Conanp, it is a key biological corridor: it links patches of forest so animals can move, and it connects to the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve. It also helps recharge the area’s aquifers.
What lives there
- Birds: scarlet macaw, mealy parrot, royal flycatcher and the red-capped manakin, the bird on the area’s logo.
- Trees: mahogany, cedar, breadnut, sapodilla, guanacaste and amate, with many palms and epiphytes.
Around it, neighbours grow shade cacao, traditional milpa and keep low-impact livestock.
What isn’t known
Conanp’s announcement gives no species or tree counts, and doesn’t explain whether the ejido will receive money or how illegal logging will be monitored.
Another American natural area cared for with local communities: Tayrona park, which closes so nature can rest.
Sources and references
- Conanp – La Caverna, Voluntary Conservation Area, in Spanish (13/10/2026)
- ECOticias – Chiapas rainforest protected for 99 years, in Spanish (06/11/2026)
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