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Guatemala Preserves Its Teeming Natural Resources
FrontLines - March 2009
By Wende Duflon
Guatemala is among the world’s top 25 biodiversity “hot spots” with one of the planet’s richest regions, although highly threatened by degradation and deforestation. Yet many of its unique ecosystems are adequately
managed and provide sustained flow of resources essential to economic growth. 
Calixto López holds up a seedling with its protective sleeve at the Finca Buenos Aires where he is the farm manager.
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Loggers in a protected forest with their day’s work in San Lucas Tolimán, Sololá.
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Lizard in silhouette against a tropical elephant ear plant.
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The country contains the largest area of cloud forest and wetlands and the highest population of large cats in Central America. As an important point of convergence of species migrating from both North and South America, Guatemala plays a vital role in the conservation
of many migratory bird species
from the United States.
Rich biodiversity, cultural diversity, and a historic past easily
make Guatemala one of the world’s top tourism destinations. Investment and growth in natural-
resource sectors need to be managed carefully to conserve their environmental and economic
value.
A man at Finca Fahsen demonstrates how an organic coffee farm reuses plastic beverage bottles that are painted red and filled with honey sugar water to fend off insects rather than use insecticides.
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Two Mayan men display their handmade and packaged preserves sold under the brand name, La Nueva Era.
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Caterpillar in a tropical rainforest.
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USAID supports environmentally
sound management of natural resources in areas of high biodiversity,
including the Maya Biosphere Reserve in the Petén, the Motagua-Polochic system (which includes the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve), and the Atitlan Volcanoes Bioregion. The program helps create eco-friendly jobs for people living in and around protected
areas such as certified timber
production and tourism.
In the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Sierra Lacandón Park staff was trained in fire management,
fire breaks—gaps in vegetation
to slow the spread of fire—were implemented, and patrols were conducted. In the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve, 11 municipalities signed agreements that included a salary for one park guard per municipality. In the Atitlán Bioregion, work focused on park management and tourism. The municipality of San Pedro has constructed trails, a visitor center, and a geology museum.
USAID’s partners are protecting
nesting sites of the endangered
scarlet macaw and monitoring
frogs, horned guan, and bees as well as tropical plants known as bromeliads. Manatees also appear to be holding steady.
Also, with USAID assistance, Guatemala has become a world leader in certified community-managed forests, with over 400,000 hectares of community forest certified in 2005.
Beetle in the tropics.
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To deal with climate change, USAID is working in Guatemala to improve protected area management,
preserve carbon stocks, and help Guatemalans reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Furthermore, in the Petén region around the Maya Biosphere Reserve, USAID supports
mass popular education to encourage the use of family planning
and better environmental land management through a radio soap opera “At a Crossroads.”
A second popular program is the “Mobile Biosphere,” a cross-terrain vehicle that travels to remote communities across the Maya Biosphere Reserve to organize
informal education activities including talks, mini-workshops, skits, movies, and games.
Educational themes include natural pesticides and organic fertilizers,
crop diversification, family
planning and reproductive health, forest fire prevention, environmental
sanitation (trash collection
and disposal, latrines, drinking
water), education, improved nutrition, and medicinal plants.★
view of the Agua volcano just after sunset with the Acatenango and Fuego volcanoes in the distance, taken on descent from the Pacaya active volcano.
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FrontLines is published
by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
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Material should be submitted
by mail to Editor, FrontLines, USAID,
RRB, Suite 6.10, Washington, DC 20523-6100;
by FAX to 202-216-3035; or by e-mail to frontlines@usaid.gov
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