Regeneration rainforest Maya

El Hortelano del Sureste SA de CV

Regeneration rainforest Maya

Silvomeliponiculture: An opportunity for sustainable regeneration of the Maya rainforest in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo

Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Q.R., México

MEX

For-profit, including B-Corp or similar models

Deforestation in the Maya rainforest of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, is caused by practices such as slash-and-burn agriculture for subsistence crops and illegal logging. These activities degrade the soil and biodiversity, threatening species like the jaguar and the Melipona bee (Melipona beecheii). It affects millions of people by contributing to climate change. Locally, 50,000 people depend directly on forest resources. This area is part of the Calakmul and Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserves corridor. Over the past two decades, Quintana Roo has lost more than 150,000 hectares of rainforest (INEGI, 2020), and Mexico has the highest deforestation rate in Latin America, with 200,000 hectares lost annually (FAO). Globally, rainforests absorb 2.4 billion tons of CO₂ per year, but deforestation contributes to 10% of global emissions (World Resources Institute, 2021). Factors such as poverty, marginalization, lack of sustainable technologies, and insufficient policies worsen the problem.

Solution Components: 1. Silvomeliponiculture: A sustainable model to produce organic honey from the endemic Melipona beecheii bee, using certified practices to obtain a high-value economic product. 2. Rainforest regeneration and conservation: With native honey-bearing species, increasing honey production from 0.5 liters to 2.5 kg per hive, ensuring economic viability. 3. Job creation: Permanent jobs are created for mothers in the production of honey-bearing plants in greenhouses and the management of meliponaries, raising their income from less than $5 USD daily to $17.5 USD daily, exceeding the value of the basic food and non-food basket established by CEPAL. 4. Capacity building: Technical assistance and training are provided to participants, promoting the sustainable use of natural resources and strengthening social cohesion. 5. Supplier Development Program: Implemented with El Hortelano del Sureste SA de CV as an anchor company to secure financing, technology, long-term contracts, and a stable market for this and future replicated projects. This comprehensive approach combines environmental conservation, economic development, and social equity, benefiting Indigenous communities living in poverty and marginalization.

The project benefits 250 Mayan mothers in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Quintana Roo, who live in conditions of extreme poverty and marginalization, engaging in unsustainable forest exploitation practices (62 in the first phase, 108 in the second, and 80 in the third). It involves implementing a silvomeliponiculture system, which combines the breeding of the endemic Melipona beecheii bee with a certified organic technological package and the restoration of the rainforest using 36 endemic honey-bearing forest species. The business model is viable and sustainable, based on a value proposition incorporating ESG criteria (environmental, social, and governance). El Hortelano del Sureste SA de CV participates as an anchor company in a Supplier Development Program and establishes alliances to secure financing, technical assistance, technology, and long-term contracts, ensuring equity in economic relationships and a stable market for the products. This approach not only restores the ecosystem but also generates economic and social benefits for the Mayan communities. Additionally, the project serves as a demonstration unit to replicate the model in larger neighboring Mayan communities such as Tihosuco, Tepich, Chunhuhub, X-pichil, Señor, Tuzik, Tixcacal, and Chunhuas, which are home to 50,000 Mayan inhabitants.