Sustainability & Forest Conservation in the Maya Biosphere Reserve
Details
Partner: Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies (MACP)
Location: The Maya Biosphere Reserve, Petén Region of Guatemala
Key Themes: Community | Conservation | Stewardship | Sustainable Forestry
CHALLENGE:
Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies (MACP), a philanthropic organization that directly supports forest conservation and community concessions in the Maya Biosphere Reserve in the Petén region of Guatemala, sought to incorporate authentic community voices and stories into their evaluative efforts to assess the progress and impact of the community concession program over the past 25 years.
MACP wanted to capture the voices, thoughts, and opinions of local workers, concession leaders, and community members, and to assess their hopes, fears, threats, and vision for the future. These voices will supplement the data collected by MACP and will be presented to board members and stakeholders involved in the project.
SOLUTION:
MACP partnered with GLP to create a documentary-style video to support the data collected about the impact and results of the concessionary model in the Petén.
GLP’s goal was to show the results of the past 25 years of work and highlight the challenges and the vision for the future as described by the people who are directly impacted and contribute daily to the work in the Petén. The video reflects the diverse voices of the communities: leaders, workers, students/trainees, families, and children. Ultimately this video will demonstrate proof of success of a community-led model of sustainable forestry developed to support conservation and socio-economic goals.
Video Storytelling
A powerful story of community-led forest conservation by the communities who live off the forest’s resources in the Maya Biosphere Reserve in the Petén region in Guatemala. The Maya Biosphere Reserve was created in 1990 by the Guatemalan government with no consultation amongst the local indigenous communities who rely on and live off the forest resources of this land. While the authorities in charge did not have confidence in the local communities' abilities to protect the land, the community organized themselves and fought for their rights as the original custodians of the Petén. They were awarded the first forest concession in history by the Guatemalan government. The film showcases the power of the local community to successfully manage, protect, and conserve the forests throughout the past 25 years of the concession and beyond
“Petén’s community forest concessions represent a model of forest governance that shows how granting long-term forest resource use rights to local communities can lead to substantial benefits for both forest conservation and local livelihoods."
— Dietmar Stoian, World Agroforestry
Media Coverage
Article: “Protecting the World’s Forests Takes a Village—and Then Some”
Learn more about the history of the concessions model in the Maya Biosphere Reserve and the challenges they are facing over the next 25 years.
Article: “Guardians of the Maya Biosphere”
Discover how indigenous local communities have stopped deforestation in the Maya Biosphere Reserve and have successfully and sustainably managed a flourishing forest.
Video: “A Forest Protection Association Emerges”
Take a look back over the past 30 years since the Mayan Biosphere Reserve was created in 1990 and discover how it became the largest protected area in Central America.