Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
1,000 and 2,500 meters. The forests essentially serve as a large sponge, retaining
waterthatislaterdistributedtosurroundingareasbymeansofevaporationorthe
formation of small streams.More than 60 small streams originate in Guatemala's
Sierra de las Minas, for example.
A distinct characteristic of these forests is the presence of low-lying cloud
banks forming on the mountains, under which the forest is immersed for much
of the time. Large amounts of water are deposited directly onto vegetation from
the clouds and mist, with the leaves of trees at higher elevations often dripping
water. Cloud forests serve as the habitat for many species of plants and animals,
including epiphytes, which grow on other plants. You'll see tree branches thick
with bromeliads, orchids, and tree ferns. As for wildlife, the forests support an
abundance of rare and endangered species, including quetzal birds, howler mon-
keys, jaguars, and wild boars.
The Verapaz Highlands still contain many of these forests, including the
largest protected cloud forest in Central America, the Sierra de las Minas Bio-
sphere Reserve. The cloud forests that once covered much of the Western High-
lands have been largely lost to subsistence agriculture by indigenous peasants
who seek to make a living by clearing the forests and cultivating crops on steep
hillsides. Outside of the Verapaces, there are still some patches of cloud forest
left in the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes as well as on the slopes of Guatemala's
volcanoes.
Considered by many to be the patriarch of Guatemala's environmental move-
ment, Mario Dary Rivera was a biologist who served as rector of the University
of San Carlos in 1981, the same year in which he was assassinated. Dary suc-
ceededingettingthemunicipalityofSalamátodonatepartofthelandforthecre-
ationoftheQuetzalBiotope,whichwassubsequentlynamedafterhim;heserved
asthenewpark'sdirectorfrom1977to1981.DaryalsofoundedtheUniversity's
CenterforConservation Studies(CECON)in1981,alongwithitssystemofpro-
tected areas known as biotopes, set aside for the protection and scientific study
of endangered plants and animals.
Today there are at least half a dozen of these biotopes throughout Guatemala.
Among the animals being protected and studied are the quetzal bird, sea turtles,
jaguars, bats, deer, and Petén turkey.
Although the urban militant wing of the leftist Guatemalan Workers Party
(PGT) has been attributed with Dary's assassination, some believe his conserva-
tion activities stirred the waters with local logging interests, who may have also
