Conservation and Responsible Tourism in Guatemala/Planeta.com

Conservation and Responsible Tourism in Guatemala
by Richard Mahler

May/Mayo 1996

The quetzal, a brilliantly colored bird with a long swooping tail, is a fitting symbol for the ongoing campaign to protect Guatemala's rich and unusual natural environment. It is a rare creature, independent in spirit and resplendent in form. Quetzals have been prized and revered since ancient times, when the Maya collected and traded their bright feathers like money. Despite repeated attempts, modern zoologists have rarely been able to keep the quetzal alive in captivity, and human destruction of its mountain habitat seriously threatens the bird's survival in the wild. Its cloud forest range in Guatemala, once over 20,000 square miles, is now reduced to three percent of that original territory. In contrast to the hundreds of thousands of quetzals that probably flitted among the Maya during ancient times, today there are only an estimated 45,000 Guatemalan birds, mostly in the rugged Sierra de las Minas and Cuchumatanes Mountains.

In the paradoxical case of the quetzal, people profess one set of values but act out another. Guatemalans clearly love their national bird, but nonetheless they continue to cut down the dense foliage that provides its nesting sites and sustenance.

So it is with the conservation movement of Guatemala. The words from political leaders, industrialists, researchers, and bureaucrats sound good-professing a firm commitment to protection of the environment-yet much destructive activity is occurring each day, often in direct violation of laws and policies already on the books.

One example is the cutting of timber along riverbanks. Guatemala has wisely forbidden tree removal within a specified distance of any waterway because it greatly increases topsoil erosion and contributes to sedimentation, which in turn jeopardizes aquatic life and raises the likelihood of flooding. The practice also destroys critical wildlife habitat, especially for creatures that prefer a riparian environment. Yet a visit to any sizable river in Guatemala confirms that the law is being ignored, as peasant farmers and wealthy plantation owners are allowed to cultivate their ubiquitous corn, coffee, squash, and beans right down to the water line.

The people of Guatemala are at a crossroads. The population of their country could double from 1996's estimated 11 million by the year 2020. As a direct result of this unchecked growth, forests, wetlands, and other vital ecosystems are being destroyed at an alarming rate. Pollution of the nation's air, land, and water is almost completely unregulated. As one foreign aid official put it, "Trying to solve environmental problems here with out addressing population growth is like trying to mop up a flooded kitchen without first turning off the faucet." Fortunately, there are hopeful signs that Guatemala's alarming rates of ecological destruction and exploitation are at last being checked.

During the 1980s and 90s, a strong ecology movement has emerged among Guatemalan students, educators, and professionals, and its ideas have become more and more popular among all classes, ages, and ethnic groups. More decision makers in the Guatemalan government and industry seem to be paying attention to what the country's environmental activists are saying and doing. One indication is the growing commitment by the Guatemala Tourist Commission to ecoturismo-tourism that promotes a respectful appreciation of nature, indigenous culture, and archaeological sites. By actively supporting such efforts-with their dollars and "presence"-visitors can help solve the problems of environmental and cultural degradation.

Yet even areas that have been granted some degree of official protection, such as the Maya Biosphere Reserve, are suffering from unauthorized agriculture and cash extraction businesses. The capture and export of wild parrots, monkeys, and other exotic wildlife is a huge business in Guatemala, for example, with many more animals captured than nature can replace. While a limited number of economic activities are legal in the buffer zones surrounding Guatemala's parks, there is insufficient law enforcement and bribery is endemic.

Thankfully, more rural residents are turning toward sustainable harvesting of indigenous forest products, including chicle, rattan, rubber, allspice, xate(an ornamental palm used by florists), wild nuts, and wild fruits. Timber cutters are also more willing to select faster-growing "secondary" trees like rosewood, rather than such prized but slow-growing hardwoods as mahogany. Conservation International and other groups are following a model pioneered by the nonprofit organization Cultural Survival in Brazil, where rain forest products are being used in producing natural oils, carvings, sponges, bowls, gourds, and foodstuffs sold both domestically and overseas. Working with government and industry, environmentalists are also designing ways to increase local wages and manage selective timber harvesting.

Guatemaltecos have become aware that tens of thousands of nature lovers come to their country each year to see exotic birds and animals, marvel at orchids, float rivers, and explore Mayan ruins-spending much-needed dollars and creating many jobs in the process (more than the timber industry, in fact). Nobody comes to this part of the world to see a desert, as residents of the dry wastelands of Jalapa and El Progreso are well aware.

Under Guatemala's Protected Areas Law, enacted in 1989, more than 40 parks and preserves around the country now enjoy federally enforced legal protection. The government's National Council of Protected Areas (known by its Spanish acronym CONAP) is working with Conservation International, the Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund, Companeros de las Amiericas, the Peregrine Fund, LightHawk, and other environmental organizations to make ecological assessments of these areas, train forest rangers and caretakers, and develop strategies for sustainable development of selected portions of forests, savannas, and wetlands.

"We and the U.S. want to save our forests," former Environment Minister Jorge Cabrera told U.S. News & World Report in an interview, "but for us it is not just an ethical problem. We are not talking about quality of life for our people. . . We are talking about our survival."

Richard Mahler is the author of Guatemala: Adventures in Nature (formerly "Guatemala: A Natural Destination"). The author can be reached via email at 102010.2003@CompuServe.COM.

Conservation and Responsible Tourism in Guatemala by Richard Mahler

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Conservation and Responsible Tourism in Guatemala
by Richard Mahler