The reserve includes wetlands along the north shore of the Yucatán Peninsula and adjacent Isla Holbox and has been designated as a protected Ramsar site since 2004.

Yum Balam Flora and Fauna Protection Area is located near the northeastern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula in Quintana Roo's Lázaro Cárdenas and Isla Mujeres Municipalities, northwest of Cancún and the Riviera Maya.

[2] The area provides a habitat for jaguars, Baird's tapirs, crocodiles, sea turtles, American manatees, Caribbean spiny lobsters and ocellated turkeys, as well as Everglades palms and mangroves.

[3] The northern Yucatán Peninsula experienced significant destruction from Hurricane Gilbert in 1988, followed by a drought and severe wildfires in 1989.

[3] In 2018 a series of federal inspections led to the temporary closure or cancellation of a number of proposed or partially completed development projects on Isla Holbox that were found to be in violation of the regulations governing the protected area.