Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
riculture can get out of hand and burn uncontrolled into protected areas. Many times fires
are set purposely inside park lands.
In addition to the activities of peasant farmers steadily encroaching on virgin forests, the
activities of contraband loggers, looters of unexcavated archaeological sites, and wildlife
poachers inside park boundaries constitute an additional threat to the forests. Adding in-
sult to injury, contraband loggers, wildlife poachers, and peasants from neighboring Mex-
ico have been scuttling the border separating their country from Guatemala to burn forest,
kill wildlife, and plant crops in cleared lands. A now-famous Landsat image appearing in
theOctober1989issueof
National Geographic
showstheoncerazor-sharpborderbetween
Mexico and Guatemala's Laguna del Tigre National Park. The border is now dotted with
burned-out land parcels along much of this boundary marker as a curious extension of the
wide-scale deforestation in Mexico.
A recent development is the clearing of forest to build clandestine landing strips for
drug-laden aircraft coming in from South America. With the virtual absence of local law
enforcement and the aid of poor peasants eager for extra income, drug lords have found
a haven for their illicit activities in Guatemala's remote parks. They have even gone so
far as to acquire property by buying lands from settlers and then registering them illeg-
ally in their own names. Whether through bribes or the falsification of documents,
narcos
have infiltrated Guatemala's protected lands to suit their illicit operations. The existence
of these “narco-farms” was brought to the attention of Guatemalan authorities after eight
park guards were kidnapped and held hostage by armed men in June 2005 in Sierra del
Lacandón National Park. The guards and members of a conservation group had decided to
verify reports of clandestine logging inside the park. They were later released unharmed.
The Public Ministry began a long process of expropriating the illegally titled lands while
lawyers and land surveyors working the case faced intimidations and death threats. Mean-
while, the narcos reportedly moved their operations south to the Petexbatún region after
a new military-trained environmental protection unit was created to destroy many of the
clandestine landing strips and prevent further illicit activity.
Water Resources
Access to safe drinking water is a widespread problem throughout most of Guatemala.
According to figures from the United Nations Development Program, roughly a quarter
of Guatemalans still lack this basic necessity. This figure becomes even more dramatic
in rural areas, where it is actually closer to 50 percent. The lack of potable water in turn
leads to many illnesses, including intestinal parasites and amoebic dysentery, among oth-
ers. Although most cities have sewer systems, wastewater treatment is virtually nonex-
istent with raw sewage often flowing into rivers, lakes, and oceans. Guatemala City's
sewage, for example, is responsible for polluting the nearby Motagua River with human
excrement, solvents, and metallic waste. Adding to Guatemala's water woes is pollution
