Environmental policies

in the conquest, and it has been reborn in every subsequent generation (1988: 284).

The experienced history of exploitation, exclusion and repression that created a cul-ture of mistrust still shapes the dynamics between the nation-state and civil society and affects the relations between indigenous communities and official agencies, in-cluding institutions involved in environmental policies. Nevertheless, in view of the concessions formally established in the peace accords and taking into account the in-creasing importance of local governance in current trends towards decentralisation as well as relevant constitutional and institutional reforms, the negotiations and efforts may contribute to overcoming the long-standing ignorance of the indigenous people and enhance their participation in decision-making processes at all levels of society.

4.1.4 Environmental policies

The recent past of political instability has seriously impoverished the country and at the same time encouraged an ongoing process of deterioration in environmental terms. Until the mid-1980s, the military-dominated governments supported a devel-opment policy designed to exploit the natural resources for export purposes. The ef-fects of this approach included the expansion in the fields of agro-export, cattle ranch-ing, mining and oil drillranch-ing, which all contributed to a high rate of deforestation. As a consequence, some 65 percent of the country's original forests have been destroyed in the past three decades (Berger 1997: 99f.).¹⁹ Amidst these circumstances, a small and urban-based environmental movement emerged that achieved substantial success. In 1989, the Congress created a national system of protected areas, the Sistema Guatemal-teco de Areas Protegidas.²⁰ Founded on the concept of sustainable development, the framework acknowledges that »the state of natural resources and the environment in general in Guatemala have risen to such critical levels of deterioration that it is directly affecting the quality of life of the inhabitants and ecosystems of the country, obliging us to take immediate action in order to guarantee a favourable environment for the fu-ture« (Berger 1997: 103).

19 Deforestation, ranging from 1,080 to 1,620 km² per year, principally occurred in the country's north, in the departments Petén, Izabal and Alta Verapaz. According to CONAP (1999: 88), the for-est cover declined between 1992 and 1998 from 31.3 to 26.6 percent of the national territory, which is a decrease of 15 percent in just five years. The cutting of rain forests is partially the result of macro-economic forces such as transnational corporations that export timber and drill for oil. How-ever, the level of deforestation caused by slash-and-burn farming and in firewood production has scarcely been examined (Hallum 2003: 60).

20 The system of protected areas in the north of Guatemala provides protection for more than 25,000 km² of tropical forest. The Maya Biosphere Reserve incorporates numerous pre-existing reserves and biotopes into a more comprehensive conservation programme. The volume Timber, Tourists, and Temples. Conservation and Development in the Maya Forest of Belize, Guatemala, and Mexico by Primack et al.

(1998) discusses ecological, social and political issues as encountered in the area. Consider also Strate-gies for Authenticity, Space, and Place in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Petén, Guatemala by Sundberg (1998), who examined how conservation projects are being articulated in the discourses at the local level and how relationships between NGOs and local people transform landscapes and identities in the strug-gle for control over the reserve and its natural resources.

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Moreover, the return to civilian rule in the mid-1990s created a new space for political activism and led to significant accomplishments in environmental policies. Beyond of-ficial recognition at the national level, the global proceedings informed by the UN-CED in Rio led to the emergence and strengthening of further conservational initiati-ves. Since the country ratified the CBD in 1995, a national biodiversity strategy has been formally established that also includes considerations relating to article 8(j).²¹ The strategy is mainly based on the establishment of protected areas, but also includes landscapes and natural sites of social, cultural and spiritual importance to be conside-red in the frame of in situ conservation.²² In addition, the need to establish mecha-nisms to protect indigenous knowledge relating to natural resource use has been po-litically acknowledged in the aforementioned Agreement on Identity and Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In this document, attention is also drawn to the protection and sustainable use of the country's biological resources. The agreement underlies the need to guarantee the rights of indigenous peoples to participate in the use, administration and conserva-tion of the resources existing in their lands, including the regulaconserva-tion of land tenure, the restitution of communal lands, the compensation for dispossession and the acquisiti-on of land for the development of indigenous communities (Stavenhagen 2003: 11).²³

Providing legal mechanisms for environmental conservation and local participa-tion is a first step in the long-term protecparticipa-tion of natural resources. The more difficult task follows in the effective management of designated areas of conservational impor-tance. Despite official announcements and formal directives, Lehnhoff and Nuñez (1998: 137) mention shortcomings in the development of essential aspects of national strategies. More specifically, they refer to the governmental funding for environmental agencies, which has been insufficient in the past.²⁴ Due to the lack of national funds, international and national conservation organisations have supported a variety of pro-tected area operations throughout the country, but this does not sufficiently ensure

21 See Estrategia Nacional para la conservación y uso sostenible de la Biodiversidad y Plan de Acción Guatemala by CONAP (1999). For an account of the importance of biodiversity in Guatemalan society, consider Castañeda Salguero et al. (1995).

22 Apart from the numerous protected areas throughout the country, Guatemala also forms part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, which is one of the world's largest transboundary conservation ini-tiatives focusing on all Central American countries. The initiative aims to create ecological corridors that facilitate the movement of animals and the genetic exchange of species, which is essential to their survival. Covering only 0.5 percent of the world's terrestrial area, Central America contains 5 percent of all known biodiversity. Thus, the forests from southern Mexico to Panama have been in-cluded in the list of the 25 global biodiversity hotspots (Mittermeier & Konstant 2001: 18).

23 For details on the emergence and implementation of the AIDPI, which also urges academic institu-tions and agencies working in the field of rural development and environmental conservation to promote contributions of the indigenous peoples and to encourage the dissemination of their spe-cific customary notions and practices, consider Amry (1999).

24 In general, the protected areas are administered by the government agency CONAP, under the auspices of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. A total of 172 protected areas, including national parks, wildlife reserves and multiple-use reserves making up 25.3 percent of the national ter-ritory (World Resources Institute 2003). An analysis of the Guatemalan conservation policy and na-tional institutions charged with the management of natural resources and conservation programmes has been provided by Berger (1997).

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appropriate long-term financing for the protected areas. Just as in the context of rural development, private sector organisations increasingly play an important role in the planning and implementation of conservational ventures.²⁵ Although a wide network of protected areas has been created, which also includes numerous private nature re-serves playing an important role in maintaining the integrity of landscapes and ecosys-tems throughout the country, the threats to the survival of the natural abundance are numerous. In particular, high rates of deforestation resulting from the expansion of the agrarian sector and land colonisation as well as legal and illegal timber harvesting have increased seriously the process of environmental degradation.

Discussing the case of the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve, Lehnhoff and Nuñez (1998: 135) argue that the slash-and-burn practice places the most direct pressure on forested areas. This is a practice of those who are marginalised, poor and lacking in social and economic development opportunities. The problem is exacerbated by the lack of land tenure clarity and legal security. The authors also refer to the more indi-rect lack of clarity regarding jurisdiction and authority among governmental agencies and local authorities, which is a general problem faced by indigenous communities throughout the country. An estimated 80 percent of the officially declared protected areas overlap with land inhabited by indigenous communities. No significant provi-sions were made by the agencies charged with their management to address the im-pacts for the local population. Nature conservation strategies were usually drawn up without formal consultation with or information of the communities concerned. Al-though existing authority structures inhibit widespread participation in decision-making, local communities are currently recognised as decisive stakeholders for initia-tives aimed at the conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. In compari-son with other Mayan groups, the rural Q'eqchi' have the highest number of protected areas on their ancestral lands; 23 percent of the protected areas in Guatemala have been established on lands that are inhabited by Q'eqchi' peasants (Secaira 2000).²⁶

25 For an example, see Delegating Protected Area Management to an NGO. The Case of Guatemala's Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve by Secaira et al. (2000).

26 Map 4.2 in the Appendix indicates the spatial distribution of protected areas in Guatemala.

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