Sian Ka’an Reserve Wins Top Nature Award

Tulum, Mexico — The Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve was honored during the International Green Destinations 2025 Conference, which was held before more than 360 delegates from over 40 countries. The reserve, located along the coast of Tulum and Felipe Carrillo Puerto, received the distinction in the "Nature and Landscape" category, one of the most prominent awards of the event.

The award was presented during the event's gala dinner, where the reserve's commitment to preserving biocultural heritage and promoting responsible tourism was highlighted. The Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve encompasses more than 528,000 hectares of highly diverse ecosystems, including jungle, wetlands, mangroves, and coastal systems of high environmental value.

A Model of Community Management

The distinction not only recognizes the area's natural wealth but also the community management model that sustains it. Within the reserve, 15 local cooperatives operate—11 dedicated to tourism and four to fishing—which work in a coordinated manner with the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp) to ensure that economic activities are developed with low environmental impact.

The work of the communities has been made especially visible through "Community Tours Sian Ka'an," an initiative that has taken a leadership role in promoting this sustainable scheme, accompanied by the strategies of Riviera Maya Sostenible. This model has allowed tourism to directly benefit the local inhabitants, mostly of Mayan origin, who have assumed the role of custodians of their territory.

The cooperatives have built a tourism offer based on respect for ecosystems and cultural rescue, which has made Sian Ka'an an international reference for low-impact tourism.