El Colegio de la Frontera Sur (ECOSUR) is the most important research center, southeast Mexico, with presence in all states bordering Guatemala and Belize. The institution covers topics from social to natural sciences, in order to generate an interdisciplinary approach, suitable to the sustainable development of the region. With ca. 150 scientists and the same number of master and PhD students, it constitutes a leading force to understand the challenges for the people in the region and contribute to public policies intended to support development.

Informal links between Ecosur and FT organizations are 20 years old, and formal links have been established 5 years ago. These links are mostly related to coffee and honey production. GIEZCA, the Ecosur research group on coffee areas, has established a formal collaboration with CLAC and Coordinadora Mexicana de Comercio Justo. One of the main products has been the design of guidelines for coffee producers to fit climate change effects on their productive system. In a different topic, the Bee Team of Ecosur has been collaborating with PAUAL, that became later on the honey network of CLAC. One of the products of the collaboration has been the determination of honey production cost, in 2008, supporting the current minimum price honey in FLO standards. More recently, the team designed together with CLAC and INTA (Argentina) a guide for the adaptation of beekeeping to climate change.