Puerto Morelos, Q.R. — The National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp) has designated 5,000 hectares as protected. The land was voluntarily designated by Yun Kaax edjdos.
“Puerto Morelos once again demonstrates its vocation as a green municipality dedicated to the protection and conservation of nature, with the certification of the Yum Kaax Natural Protected Area,” stated José de Jesús Espinosa Payán, City Council General Secretary.
He made the comment Thursday during the ceremony on behalf of Mayor Blanca Merari Tziu Muñoz.
The Dr. Alfredo Barrera Marín Botanical Garden’s open-air theater was the venue where the “Yum Kaax Voluntarily Designated Conservation Area (ADVC) Certificate” was presented to the Puerto Morelos Ejido. The Ejidos willingly designated 5,000 hectares of common-use land to be marked as a Protected Natural Area.
The municipal official thanked the members of the Puerto Morelos Ejido for their willingness to safeguard the land which have invaluable ecological value, as well as the authorities in charge of environmental protection in Quintana Roo.
In the statement, the Regional Director for the Yucatan Peninsula and the Mexican Caribbean of Conanp, Fernando Orozco Ojeda, said that Yum Kaax, or Lord of the Jungle, is key to the passage and stay of migratory birds and 27 species at risk and protected by NOM059 Semarnat 2010.
In recognition of the ecological value of these lands, Conanp Certificate 605/2025 was issued on March 4, 2025 for what would be the 10th conservation zone and the most important in the state, with a land area of 5,000 hectares.
Prior to receiving Yum Kaax’s certification as an ADVC, the President of the Puerto Morelos Ejido Commissariat Rubén Montoya Mex highlighted the importance of protecting this area which is the source of a water and forest system in Quintana Roo.
He said this will allow for continued protection of the water and contribute to the conservation of more than 166 species. The certificate was presented to the members of the ejido Rubén Montoya Mex, Martha Alicia Álvarez Tostado, Mirza Margarita Peña Povedano and Juan Pablo León Pinto.
