The Future of Petén

Agricultural Polygons - Government-defined areas of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, in the multiple use zone of the Reserve, where communities have been granted the legal right to farm.

Arrieros - Mule drivers. The overland journey to El Mirador is usually let by arrieros from local communities who serve as guides and transport supplies to the site.

Bajos - Muddly lowland swamp areas of Petén. During the rainy season, these make the path to El Mirador difficult to hike. Unlike the soils closer to El Mirador, the bajos are mineral-rich. According to Richard Hansen and other scientists, the ancient Maya used to fertilize their fields by importing mud from the bajos.

Carbon Sequestration - The uptake and storage of carbon to prevent its release into the atmosphere. Carbon is traded in the form of “offsets” meant to sequester as much carbon as is released by a specific activity, such as a plane flight. Carbon sequestration schemes have been suggested as a way generate income that would pay communities in Petén not to log.

Carmelita - Town in northern Petén within the Maya Biosphere Reserve, which is the starting off point for the hike to El Mirador. Carmelita has one of the oldest sustainable logging concessions. Other economic activities include the collection of xate, chicle, and pimienta from the forest.

Chicle - Manilkara chicle, a tree native to northern Guatemala whose sap is harvested for the production of chewing gum. Chicleros, or chicle workers, slash the tree trunks at an angle to extract the sap, but the trees are not damaged. Chicle production has declined dramatically since the introduction of synthetic substitutes in commercial chewing gum but is still an important industry.

Chiquimula - Ranching town in eastern Guatemala and home of Kara’s family. Chiquimula is a departmental capital located about 174 km east of Guatemala City, near the borders of Honduras and El Salvador.

CONAP - Consejo Nacional de Areas Protegidas (National Council of Protected Areas), Guatemala’s government agency in charge of parks and protected areas policy and enforcement.

Concessions - Government-defined tracts of land where community-based organizations have the legal right to perform sustainable logging within multiple use zones of the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Initiated in the 1990s, the concessions have been granted for a 25-year period. Communities are allowed to harvest a limited number of trees per acre. In exchange, they are charged with protecting the land from illegal logging, poaching, and slash-and-burn farming.

Cuatro Balam - A plan by Guatemalan president Alvaro Colom to make part or all of the Maya Biosphere Reserve a protected area. On July 16, 2008 Colom held a meeting expressing his intention to consult with communities about the development of the plan, details of which remain vague.

El Mirador - Pre-classic Mayan city located in northern Petén, Guatemala. Head archaeologist Richard Hansen has been excavating the site over the past 30 years. The site is currently accessible only by a 2-day hike or by helicopter.

Ecotourism - Some define ecotourism simply as tourism focused on the natural environment. Others such as Dra. Sandra Urioste of Universidad del Valle, say it requires local community engagement and is intended to have a minimal impact on ecosystems and on local cultures.

Laguna Del Tigre National Park - National park in western Petén which, despite its protected status, has been severely deforested in recent years. Experts debate whether the area is at all salvageable.

Maya Biosphere Reserve - Created in 1990, the Maya Biosphere reserve encompasses 6 million acres of the Maya Forest in northern Petén. It contains 8 national parks, as well as biotopes and “multiple use zones” where certain logging and harvesting activities are permitted.Petén - Guatemala’s northernmost department, comprising roughly a third of the national territory. Petén is bordered to the west and north by Mexico and to the east by Belize.

Mirador Basin - region of northern Petén, Guatemala and southern Mexico which is home to a large concentration of ancient Mayan cities, including El Mirador, Nakbe and Tintal. According to archaeologist Richard Hansen, the basin is defined by natural borders and home to the earliest Maya state-level societies. The rainforest within the Basin is largely intact to date.

Pimienta - Pimenta dioica, or allspice is sustainably harvested from Peten’s forests.

Slash-and-burn farming - The practice of cutting down forestland, then burning the stumps and undergrowth in order to farm. In Petén, where soils are poor and the humus layer is thin, slash-and burn-farmers often move to new plots every few years, expediting deforestation.

Sustainable logging - The practice of logging trees at a rate that the forest can regenerate the trees lost. Sustainable logging usually requires a low rate of cutting per acre and large tracts of land. Sustainable logging enterprises are often certified by outside organizations according to international standards.

Tikal - Guatemala’s most famous archaeological site, located in a national park of the same name within the Maya Biosphere Reserve. According to Prensa Libre Tikal is visited by 250,000 people annually and generates Q8.5 million or $1.13 million in annual income. Richard Hansen claims that the El Mirador site could rival or surpass Tikal in visitors and revenues.

Tintal - Ancient Maya city roughly halfway between Carmelita and El Mirador, where travelers and mule drivers typically camp along the way.

Uaxactún - Forest town of roughly 800 residents in Petén, 23 km north of Tikal National Park. The town is located on the site of an ancient Mayan city which has been excavated. Uaxactún received one of the earliest and largest forest concessions. Traditional economic activities are the harvesting of chicle, xate and pimienta. Sustainable logging was introduced with the consession.

Xate - Chamaedorea seifrizii, an ornamental palm plant used in floral arrangements. Like chicle, xate is harvested by workers who camp in the forests for months at a time and is considered a sustainable forest product.