Sian Ka'an

Made a Biosphere Reserve in 1986 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987, Sian Ka'an — where the sky is born, in Maya — is the largest protected natural area in the Mexican Caribbean. It combines rainforest, mangroves, wetlands and a stretch of the second largest barrier reef in the world (the Mesoamerican Reef System), on land the Maya lived on and moved through for centuries, with more than twenty minor archaeological sites scattered within its boundaries. Its management combines strictly protected core zones with local fishing communities that depend on using its resources sustainably.