WWF's Approved Projects
in Guatemala

WWF in Guatemala

Guatemala is one of the most important countries in Central America in terms of biological diversity. It owes this partly to its unusual physiographic variety, which includes numerous volcanoes (33), mountain ranges with elevations rising to over 4,000m, both Pacific and Atlantic coastlines, and an ecologically unique location on the northern portion of the Central America isthmus where neoarctic and neotropical biological assemblages overlap. Equally important are the country's 1,139 terrestrial vertebrate species and 258 freshwater fish, making its vertebrate fauna the most diverse in Central America. Moreover, the number of its endemic vertebrate species (45) is the second highest in the region.

Guatemala's floral diversity is as stunning. Seventy per cent of the mountain flora in the country is endemic, ten life zones harbour over 8,000 species of vascular plants, and 20 different species of conifer can be found here--more than any other country in Latin America. Guatemala also boasts the second greatest expanse of broad-leaved forest in Central America.

But the problem is conserving this rich heritage. One major hurdle is Guatemala's rugged landscape which renders most of the country unsuitable for farming. As a matter of fact, only four per cent of Guatemala's land surface is suitable for the intensive agriculture needed to feed its huge population which is the largest in Central America. Most small farmers have been forced to turn to steep mountain slopes and forests for cultivation, resulting in over a third of the country being seriously eroded or degraded.

Besides, forests have been cleared to make way for the oil industry, forest industries and hydroelectric projects. The result: Guatemala's deforestation rate (9,000 hectares per year) is now the second highest in Central America. Not surprisingly, more than 50 per cent of the country's original forest cover has disappeared, 30 per cent of it in the past 20 years.

The effect of this degradation is telling on Guatemala's ecosystems and wildlife population, which are already feeling the pressure of urbanization. Population in the cities and towns has grown by over 20 per cent in the past five years. Meanwhile, the lack of necessary legislation has led to mindless abuse of the country's environment, including deforestation and excessive use of pesticides (Guatemala is one of the world's top pesticide users).

A thriving wildlife trade has further affected both flora and fauna populations, and although laws have been passed to restrict the range of exportable species, illegal exports of parrots, iguanas and caiman skins continue. The situation has deteriorated to such an extent that Guatemala now has the second-highest number of endangered species in the region--133 compared to Costa Rica's 138.


A thriving wildlife trade has further affected both flora and fauna populations, and although laws have been passed to restrict the range of exportable species, illegal exports of parrots, iguanas and caiman skins continue.

Clearly, conservation efforts have been far from adequate. The number of protected areas in the country as a percentage of its total land surface is only 17 per cent. In fact, for almost the whole of the '80s, WWF was the only major conservation organization playing an active role in Guatemala. And even its efforts were restricted to providing financial and technical support due to the unstable political environment prevailing in the country. WWF's activities included developing a profile on Guatemalan conservation in 1984, and organizing a highly successful regional meeting of Central American conservationists in 1987.

It was a change in government in 1985 that led to a new era of openness. It also resurrected an environmental movement that had remained largely dormant during the violence of the first half of the decade. Since 1991 especially, when the government changed again, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have come to play a significant role in conservation.

WWF is focusing on the north-eastern regions of Sierra de las Minas and the western highlands. It is concentrating on community-based resource management, environmental education, developing environmental appraisal skills for evaluating new protected areas, and designing new approaches to financing conservation works.

It is largely a reflection of WWF's achievements that the Guatemalan government has increasingly begun to entrust private organizations with responsibility for raising funds and managing different sections of the country's protected-area system.

In another significant development, thanks to WWF's support and encouragement, private landowners in the country are beginning to set aside tracts of their land to protect wildlands and wildlife.

Besides these tangible changes, WWF has contributed to Guatemala in another significant way. It has greatly enhanced general understanding of the importance of environmental stewardship, particularly among decision makers in the country--mayors, congress members, judges, and the military. WWF has also helped the government look at policy making in the context of what NGOs and private individuals can actually do in the field. Together, WWF hopes, they can make a difference between extinction and survival.


Copyright 1996, The World Wide Fund For Nature