New Maya Forest Pact Saves Pre-Columbian Culture

GUATEMALA CITY — The recent agreement between Mexico and Belize to protect the Great Maya Forest will seek to safeguard pre-Columbian culture, Indigenous communities, and the sustainable development of the region for the benefit of approximately 2 million people, in addition to preserving 5.7 million hectares in the heart of Mesoamerica, stated Edwin Castellanos, Guatemala's Vice Minister of Natural Resources and Climate Change.

"The individual jungle reserves in each country already existed, but having this transnational coordination with the creation of the Great Maya Forest Biocultural Corridor makes conservation work between the countries more effective, because borders often prevented us from controlling what was happening," Castellanos said in an interview.

The area is divided into 11 protected areas in Belize, 27 in Guatemala, and 12 in Mexico. As the second-largest tropical rainforest in the Americas after the Amazon, the agreement will seek to confront the climate crisis, regulate the water cycle, and conserve regional biodiversity and ecological integrity in an area home to 7,000 species, 200 of which are at risk.

For example, a main point will be to reduce the carbon emissions concentrated in the jungle, the Vice Minister specified.

Among the established actions are: sharing information, technology, and training in matters of integrated fire management, illegal logging, and deforestation, as well as managing the utilization of timber and non-timber forest products in an inclusive manner for the benefit of the inhabitants.

The official noted that this cooperation will provide an opportunity to address security aspects, "as it is a very large area where there are many illicit activities." In Guatemalan territory, he indicated, there are "some invaded areas that still have illegal activities, such as drug trafficking. So, we have many challenges to address."

"Definitely, the important thing is to secure the territory, because it is an area, as you rightly say, rich in biodiversity, but it also offers much for regional tourism," he stated.

Castellanos emphasized that the cultural aspect will also be protected, not only in terms of the archaeological sites of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization but also the entire identity of the Indigenous peoples, Afro-descendants, and local communities that live there.

He highlighted that all this wealth will be attractive to visitors to the region, which will allow for the reactivation of the economy and tourism.

The initiative, he indicated, will also aim for the expansion of the Maya Train towards communities and sites of cultural importance in Guatemala and Belize, in order to trigger an economic zone through sustainable tourism development.

He detailed that some meetings have been held to discuss where the train could pass through without causing a greater environmental impact, such as deforestation.