The Future of Petén

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A new report by CONAP, Guatemala’s national parks agency, and the Wildlife Conservation Society, predicts an intense year to come for forest fires in northern Guatemala. Each year, forest fires burn large sections of old-growth tropical forest in Petén, Guatemala’s northernmost province. Some fires begin naturally. Others are set by farmers, ranchers, or drug traffickers [...]

It looks like the Guatemalan forest rangers from CONAP, the Council of Protected Areas, think they can make a dent in the eviction of ranchers who have staked illegal claims to the land in the Maya forest — if they get a lot more funding from the federal government. Claudia Santizo, CONAP’s secretary, said the [...]

SAN FRANCISCO — One of the strangest things about Guatemala is how close it is to the US. And how easy to leave. In our plane, we effortlessly crossed the border where Mexico tries to keep the Guatemalans out, then cleared the wall the US is building to keep the Mexicans out. Just four and [...]

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 [...]