- Thanks to national authorities and communities working together, illegal ranchers have been evicted, forest cover is returning, and local people are benefitting
- Guatemalan government through CONAP, has extended contracts to local communities for management of renewable natural resources in Maya Biosphere Reserve for up to 30 years
- Forest is home to incredible wildlife and sustains local communities
- Leonardo DiCaprio praises Guatemala for its conservation commitments and successes, as they extended these new contracts and increased the community concession model by 70,960 hectares
Watch the full video of the Maya Forest’s fight for existence
Listen to a WCS Wild Audio Podcast on Protecting Guatemala's Maya Biosphere Reserve
Mesoamerica’s Selva Maya, the epicenter of the ancient Maya Civilization and a vast protected area system covering parts of Guatemala, Belize, and Mexico, is making an inspiring comeback with forest cover returning and local people benefitting thanks to government, local partners and communities working together to curb illegal activities.
According to the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), which has worked in the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR) at the heart of Selva Maya for more than 25 years, the reserve gained back forest cover in 2020 and 2021 respectively. This milestone marks the only two years when forest cover has increased in the reserve since measurement of forest dynamics began in 2000. The majority of these increases are located in areas that were recovered from an illegal land grab more than a decade ago.
For decades, the Maya Forest has been under threat of destruction due to organized crime, rampant fires, and land grabbing. In the 2000s some community-managed areas of Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve were invaded illegally by ranchers - some linked to criminal organizations - who grabbed land to control territory. In response, the government initiated a multi-sectoral approach to recuperate the areas and return them to local communities.
After a decade of hard work, illegal ranchers were evicted and some with links to criminal organizations were even prosecuted. The existential threat of land invasion was held at bay, and it was finally possible to rebuild the legal standing and social fabric of the local communities. Today, active efforts are underway to remove remaining pasture grasses and restore the forest, with communities benefiting from new sustainable jobs and livelihoods.
The MBR recently increased the area available for community forest management that will benefit local communities living in this wildlife-rich forest for the next 30 years. The 21,000 square kilometer reserve (more than 8,000 square miles) is home to jaguars, peccaries, macaws and other species that have disappeared from much of Mesoamerica, as well as culturally significant historic sites from the ancient Maya civilization. The Maya Forest is one of the 5 Great Forests of Mesoamerica—the last remaining intact forests from Mexico to Panama critical for wildlife, carbon sequestration, clean water, and food security to five million people.
Guatemala’s Executive Secretary of the National Council for Protected Areas (CONAP), Carlos Martinez, signed two new concession contracts to the MBR’s management units “La Colorada - El Molino” and “San Bartolo”, for the use and integrated management of renewable natural resources in the Multiple Use Zone for the next 30 years. In addition, CONAP celebrated the extension of the concession contract to the “Yaloch” Management Unit for 25 more years. This event took place on July 22nd with leadership from the National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP) and the Association of Forest Communities of Peten (ACOFOP).
The management model through Forest Concessions located in the Multiple Use Zone of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, are territorially defined areas administered by CONAP and co-administered by the concessionaire entities, through a special use regime for the harvesting and management of natural resources. These are one of the most successful models of conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity in Guatemala, given that various sectors participate directly in the conservation and sustainability of natural resources. With these permits, the communities get to live off of the resources from the forest, by extracting products like xate, breadnut, allspice, mahogany and cedar, as well as working on the lands by restoring and protecting them with community patrols. The concessions in Guatemala are globally recognized as successful community models that promote the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
Said Carlos Martínez, Executive Secretary of CONAP: “I am grateful for the important support provided by local communities, civil society, governmental and non-governmental organizations, the Petén Regional work team, professionals from different disciplines of CONAP for this work, who promote the conservation and protection of the biodiversity of the largest forest in Mesoamerica, the Maya Biosphere Reserve.”
Said Marcedonio Cortave, Executive Director of ACOFOP, “This has been a process of finding harmonization and balance between ecological, social, and economic issues, which I think is the big challenge our planet is facing today in the fight for true sustainability.”
Said Gabriela Ponce, Director of WCS’s Guatemala Program: “This news comes as a result of years of hard work from the communities, authorities, and partners on the ground, and represents a story of hope and an inspiration that could be replicated across Mesoamerica and beyond.”
The video shared by Leonardo DiCaprio congratulates the efforts of all the parties involved due to the renewal of the concessions and the granting of new concessions and highlights the challenges faced by the communities.
WCS congratulates the local communities of the Maya Biosphere Reserve represented by ACOFOP, the Guatemalan authorities, CONAP, MARN, Public Ministry and Judicial Branch, and partners; Foro de Justicia Ambiental, Fundación Naturaleza para la Vida, Asociación Balam, United States Agency for International Development (USAID), U.S. Department of the Interior (USDOI) - International Technical Assistance Program, the Government of Canada through the Federal Department of Environment and Climate Change, Fundación ProPetén, Center for Conservationist Studies of the University of San Carlos of Guatemala (CECON), The Cornell Lab of Ornithology and UK Aid. Additionally, WCS thanks the generous support from the European Union, Laguntza Foundation, Overbrook Foundation, Arcadia – a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and Peter Baldwin, Fund for the Conservation of Tropical Forests - FCA administered through the Foundation for the Conservation of Natural Resources and Environment in Guatemala - FCG who have worked alongside WCS Guatemala to protect and restore the Maya Biosphere Reserve for many years to come with these newly granted concessions. WCS is proud of the alliance we have maintained with CONAP over the past 25 years for the conservation and sustainable management of natural resources in Guatemala.
Source: WCS Newsroom