El Eden Ecological Reserve
History
The Ecological Reserve El Edén A. C. (EREE) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization based in Cancun, Quintana Roo and Xalapa, Veracruz. Founded by Dr. Arturo Gómez --- Pompa and a group of recognized conservationists in 1993. It is the first private ecological reserve dedicated to research on conservation, management and restoration of biodiversity in Mexico.
In 2003 an agreement was established with the University of Veracruz (UV) through the Tropical Research Center (CITRO), to receive financial, administrative and technical - scientific support for the environmental services derived from the biodiversity offered by the Reserve Ecological El Edén AC
EREE in 2005 received the Nature Conservation Award by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (CONANP). Recently, EREE has been supported by CONAFOR as part of the Payment for Environmental Services program for unique biodiversity in the region.
The main goal is to turn the EREE into a low-cost, non-governmental protected area Natural Reserve model that supports experimental research, environmental education, technical extension and specialized ecotourism so that it can be replicated in other tropical areas. Now, more than twenty years after its creation, it has become the first private ecological reserve dedicated to research on the conservation and management of biodiversity in Mexico.