The National Commission of Protected Natural Areas has launched a cultural program to strengthen the conservation of natural heritage in Mexico. “Culture is a fundamental component of environmental education and of the conservation of cultural and natural heritage. The cultural wealth represented by protected natural areas is not always recognized,” Luis Fueyo, the national commissioner of Protected Natural Areas, told Tierramérica.

The program includes the publication in Spanish and Lacandón – one of the 364 distinct dialects spoken in Mexico – of a book of stories about the Lacandón Jungle in southern Mexico, and the organization of a contest for indigenous legends about endangered species.

There are 174 protected areas in Mexico, which account for almost 13 percent of the country’s total area and encompass a wealth of biological diversity.