Merida was host to Wild 9 Yucatan from November 6 til the 13 with delegates from around the world and keynote presentations by Dr. Jane Goodall, Nick Nichols, Amory Lovins.

The Yucatan peninsula is famous worldwide for its Mayan heritage and the numerous remnants of their splendor. But centuries of history of this outstanding civilization have eclipsed the wild side of a region that hosts an extraordinary diversity of species and that treasures one of the last essential wilderness in Mexico: the Mayan Jungle, a vast track of forest that is accounted as the second largest extension of tropical forest in the Western Hemisphere and recognized worldwide as the one of the cores of the Mesoamerican hotspot.

Moreover, Yucatan hosts one of the biggest unexplored wildernesses on Earth: the underground system of freshwater channels that arise on surface creating the cenotes. In addition, numerous ecosystems are found in the peninsula, each one hosting a treasure of biodiversity. Nesting colonies of flamingos are found in vast wetlands and mangroves that burst with other birdlife –over 540 species of birds can be found in Yucatan–. Manatees float in the coastal lagoons formed by the Mesoamerican Reef, largest in the Atlantic and second largest in the world and an explosion of marine life. Pristine white sand beaches limit the end of the thick lowland jungle that is home for howler monkeys, tapirs, anteaters and the biggest abundance and diversity of wild felines in the country –accounting all species in Mexico except the bobcat—, and above all, the hidden presence of the magnificent jaguar, the iconic top predator of the region.