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 Guatemala's Network of Municipal Nature Reserves
Atitlán, Guatemala
Challenge
Stretching 236 miles from Mexico to El Salvador, Guatemala’s breathtaking Sierra Madre harbors 37 active volcanic cones. The Atitlán Volcanic chain, with peaks reaching 11,000 feet- known as the “islands in the sky”- represents a major tourist attraction and sustains a globally outstanding array of biodiversity and sacred Mayan cultural sites. Unfortunately, widespread poverty, high population density, slash and burn agriculture, and uncontrolled, unsustainable tourism threaten the ecological and cultural integrity of the Atitlán region through increased deforestation, erosion, habitat fragmentation and pollution.
Initiative
To help communities in Atitlán preserve their natural resources in the face increasing pressure, the Parks in Peril program, a partnership between USAID and The Nature Conservancy, began working in 2001 to establish municipal nature reserves. The initiative builds on regional trends for national and state governments to devolve responsibilities for governance and conservation to local entities. Using the Conservancy’s Conservation Area Planning methodology to set priorities, develop strategies, and measure success, the project identified shade-grown coffee and ecotourism as two sectors where conservation and development could work compatibly together to generate funds which could then be reinvested in the municipal reserves. Working with Guatemalan NGO Vivamos Mejor and local municipalities to increase participation and provide technical assistance to communities, Parks in Peril has garnered significant support for conservation initiatives that generate income and manage natural resources locally.
Results
In 2005, four sites in the Atitlán region were consolidated to form the country’s first network of municipal nature reserves. Totaling approximately 1,200 hectares, three of the reserves have already implemented management plans, incorporating strategies to advance park protection, environmental education, wildlife monitoring and income generation. The Guatemalan Forestry Incentives program is providing funding to the network of reserves to advance the development of infrastructure such as trails, canopy walkways and interpretive signs and literature. In addition to safeguarding a host of rare and endemic fauna, including margay, horned guan and resplendent quetzal, the four reserves protect sacred cultural sites belonging to the Kiche’ Kakchikel and T’zutuhil Mayan Groups. By next year the municipal park network will expand to include a total of 9 parks where local governments have taken the initiative to manage biodiversity for the benefit of their citizens.
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