Are evictions the future of the Maya Biosphere Reserve?
On July 16, when Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom presented the Cuatro Balam plan for increased tourism and environmental protection within the Maya Biosphere Reserve, he showed the following video:
The video invokes the wisdom of the ancient Maya, their superior knowledge of the heavens and the natural world. It goes on to paint a picture of [...]
A visit to Beef National Park
LAGUNA DEL TIGRE NATIONAL PARK, Guatemala — The sign announcing the entrance to Laguna del Tigre National Park is large and impressive. The problem is, that’s about the only visible sign that you’re entering a “core protected area” of a massive national wilderness preserve.
We traveled about five hours by four-wheel-drive pickup truck on drenched dirt [...]
Peteneros descend on the capital, dubious of another presidential initiative
GUATEMALA CITY — This morning I flew to Guatemala City with half a dozen officials and NGO representatives from the Guatemalan state of Petén. They were all rushing to the capital for an impromptu meeting with President Álvaro Colom, who is unveiling a proposal that he says will promote forest conservation on a grand scale.
Making concessions
FLORES, Guatemala — Today we interviewed Juan Trujillo of Rainforest Alliance, current acting mayor of Carmelita, former president of the Carmelita forest concession. Trujillo describes himself as a skeptic-turned-believer in the concessions concept over the 11-year evolution of Carmelita’s concession. The concession, with its assembly, committees and elected leaders, is a much a [...]
What if there were no eco to tour
Today head archaeologist Richard Hansen continued our tour of monumental architecture, while discussing his plans for the development of ecotourism at El Mirador. Hansen is convinced that the only way to stop deforestation is to create a legally protected 810,000-acre no-cut area around the archaeological sites here, bounded by the natural borders of the [...]