Environmental info

Guatemala has one of the most extensive and diverse forest systems in Central America. The country is home to over 1000 known species of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles, and over 8000 species of plants, of which 13.5 % are endemic (native to an area). The forests as well as the species are fast disappearing. Between 1990 and 2005, Guatemala lost 17 % of its total forest cover. The main threats to Guatemala’s forests are improper agricultural practices, natural disasters and large-scale development projects. These threats are all linked to deforestation.

Many tropical forest species are lost every day due to deforestation, species that are not only important for biodiversity, but that can also benefit humans with building and fabric materials, for medicinal purposes and in regulating global temperatures and the climate. It can be difficult to monitor the forests and enforce regulations, and population pressures around protected areas result in illegal timber harvesting and land clearing for agriculture in the areas that are supposed to be protected. In addition, fires used to clear land often spread into protected forest areas. For example, in 1998 fires burned more than 160,000 acres (65,000 hectares) of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, in El Petén, northern Guatemala.