Where and Why?

The 5 million acres of northern Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve along with adjacent reserves in Mexico and Belize comprise the Selva Maya, the largest tropical rainforest in the Americas outside of the Amazon. The Maya Biosphere Reserve’s highly diverse ecosystems also harbor one of Guatemala’s most remarkable attractions, Tikal National Park. This UNESCO World Heritage Site’s namesake Tikal Mayan Ruins are among the most impressive ancient ruins complexes in the world and are set amid expansive primary growth rainforest, home to threatened wildlife including jaguar, Baird’s tapir, scarlet macaw, Morelet’s crocodile, white-lipped peccary, among others. The seemingly endless view of rainforest canopy and ancient pyramids seen from the top of Tikal’s Temple IV is so otherworldly that in 1977 George Lucas’s Star Wars camera crew summited its peak to film scenes of Planet Yavin 4 featured in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope.

Sadly, the Maya Biosphere Reserve is suffering dramatic forest loss. The edge of the reserve, called the Buffer Zone, averages over 5% deforestation per year. Though the Reserve is protected in name, the Guatemalan National Council for Protected Areas which administers the Reserve lacks the funding and resources for protection enforcement. 

This deforestation and environmental degradation is largely attributed to 7-10% annual regional population growth and the unplanned human settlements and activities that support this population such as subsistence farming (slash-and-burn agriculture), cattle ranching, and hunting-and-gathering activities as well as industrial threats such as land clearing for palm oil plantations and mining.

Below is a map of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, demonstrating the deforestation within the Reserve from 2000-2015. Every red dot marks a fire that destroyed rainforest. Nearly all fires were man-made and used for agricultural purposes.