The Peninsular Maya milpa is a traditional agroforestry system, formed by a polyculture that makes for a dynamic living space full of genetic resources. It is also the foundation of a production and sociocultural system characterized by its knowledge and cultural adaptations that farmers have developed through millennia.

Indeed, in ancient times, the milpa was the basis of all Mesoamerican societies and cultures. Nowadays, it is the biocultural base of the cultural communities in which it still evolves particularly in the Peninsular Maya milpa where this system has a proven sustainability of at least 3500 years providing food and livelihood to the milperos and milperas.

The Ich Kool Milpa is a highly diversified system relying on the sustainable use of biodiversity where the triad – maize, beans, and squash – found in all milpas, are also accompanied by Lima beans making a distinctive feature. Besides, since the system depends on the forest, its conservation has been indispensable and reflects one of the core elements of this GIAHS based on forest-friendly practices that are anchored in technical management and the milperos’ identity.