Guatemala: Deliberate fires raze tropical forest and serve logging interests

Thousands of hectares of forest were razed by the flames in a series of forest fires, which during March and April swept uncontrollably through the Maya Biosphere Reserve in the north of Guatemala. The fires reached the Tikal National Park, declared World Heritage site by UNESCO although they were controlled before seriously affecting the area. However, the national parks of Sierra del Lacandón and Laguna del Tigre were razed by the flames, while in the central part of the reserve, the uncontrolled flames advanced in the virgin forest.

As a reaction to the declarations made to the press by environmental organizations, Guatemalan government officials confirmed that many of the fires were intentional, although they did not mention who was responsible for them. Meanwhile, the environmental organization "Tropico Verde" stated that there were indications that the fires were caused by strong economic interests. The devastation of national parks "opens up the possibility of logging, mining and oil exploitation in these areas," affirmed a report carried out by this organization. "The magnitude and number of fires exceeded our capacity to control them," explained to the press in mid-April the director of the Guatemalan programme for the fight against forest fires.

For its part, Tropico Verde repeatedly denounced the incompetence of the authorities to the press. "There has been no programme for prevention and those responsible for the Integrated System for the Prevention and Control of Forest Fires (Sistema Integrado de Prevención y Control de Incendios Forestales - SIPECIF) have squandered the scant resources they had available" concluded the environmentalists following a meeting held in the Guatemalan Congress last 12 May.

The Guatemalan Government has been seriously questioned by environmental organizations, who affirm that the officials acted late and insufficiently. "The lack of governance in the most affected national parks is mainly responsible for the fires. The institutions have been unable to curb the major interests behind the destruction of Sierra del Lacandon and Laguna del Tigre" concluded Tropico Verde in a report submitted to the National Council for Protected Areas mid-May. In April, a Government official made a desperate request through the press, asking for "help from all the sectors of (Guatemalan) society." However, the environmentalists state that the Government never delivered the funds allocated to the prevention of forest fires since January. At the middle of last month, they denounced to the press that "The army has helicopters but cannot fly due to lack of a fuel budget." During a summons for questioning by the Guatemalan Congress last 12 May, the director of the fight against fires affirmed that the funds were available but that they had lacked the capacity to implement. "This would seem more like an excuse to avoid affecting the electoral possibilities of the Government party," stated to the press Carlos Albacete, spokesman of the Tropico Verde ecologist organization.

The situation was out of control for over two months. In the Tikal National Park, several fire seats were controlled in the northeast and southeast of the area. Various fires surrounded the archaeological site el Peru, where David Freidel, an internationally recognized archaeologist due to his studies on this culture and his numerous publications, is presently working. The relict oak (Quercus oleoides) grove protected in the Laguna del Tigre National Park disappeared in the flames. This park suffered generalized fires in the whole area, while the south and southeast half of the Sierra del Lacandon National Park was affected by fires caused in reiteration. While writing this article, there are still some active fires, although the largest have already been controlled. Official statistics stated that less than 10,000 hectares of forest had been burnt. However, the ecologists claim that fires have razed various hundreds of thousands of protected areas. "The National Forest Institute must revise its method of measuring burnt areas," concluded a deputy at the Guatemala Congress after listening to the official statistics and confronting them with independent information.

The Maya Biosphere Reserve is in the north of Guatemala, on the border with Mexico and Belize. It is part of the Selva Maya, the most important tropical forest in Mexico and Central America. With over three million hectares under protection it is a relatively dry tropical forest which contains numerous endemic species (which only live in this area), such as the howler monkey (Alouatta pigra) a primate in danger of extinction.

Disappearance of the Selva Maya would involve the extinction in nature of 11 species of mammals, 20 species of birds, 39 reptile and 11 amphibian species, exclusive to this forest. The abundant cloud cover and proximity of the rainy season forecast that, once more, it will be the natural phenomena that form an alliance with the survival of the tropical forest in Guatemala.

By: Carlos Albacete, Tropico Verde, e-mail: mailto@tropicoverde.org

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- Panama: Kuna People denounce a development model that has divested them of their natural resources

On 13, 14 and 15 April, coinciding with the celebration of the First Centenary of the Republic of Panama, the Kuna People feel that their ancestral rights have not yet been accepted nor contemplated by a major part of Panamanian society. They gathered and made the following statement:

"The Kuna Nation, represented by its highest leaders, the Saila Dummagan of the Kuna Regions of Madungandi, Wargandi, Kuna Yala and Dakarkunyala, comprising a total of 68 communities, gathered in the community of Ibedi, Madungandi region on 13, 14 and 15 April, wish to declare to the Kuna People and to national and international public opinion our happiness over this meeting of brothers and sisters and our determination to walk together in the construction of the Kuna Nation.

After centuries of colonial aggression, which has led to the separation and dispersion of our peoples along rivers and in forests, and after 100 years of the Republic which has politically widened this division with national and provincial frontiers, we, the Saila Dummagan of the different Kuna regions have met to share our problems and to initiate a process of linking and unity in the defence of our rights.

In Ibirdidiuar, we have become more aware that we have the same roots; that we are brothers and sisters from the same pot; that Nana Gabayi was swallowed by Olotinakilele and his people and we have decided to gather her bones scattered over a multitude of rivers and revive them.

We are sorry that our brothers and sisters from Arquia and Caiman Nuevo were unable to attend due to the situation in Colombia. After listening to each other, we denounce that we have been and continue to be, the victims of a development model based on ambition, the plundering of natural resources and contempt for peoples' lives, for peoples and their cultures. The people and the names of systems change, but the philosophy is the same, the philosophy which led the Spaniards to invade our lands, murder our grandparents, destroy our culture and civilization to appropriate gold and other riches, is the same philosophy that today moves the George Bush administration to raze Iraq and massacre the Iraqi people in order to appropriate the black gold. The same philosophy that is behind the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas, the Puebla-Panama Plan and the Colombia Plan, continues to have its eyes on our resources for the satisfaction of powerful peoples' interests, where there is no room for the rights of the legitimate owners and the dispossessed.

Gathered in the Kuna Region of Madungandi, we see how nearly three decades after having flooded 35,000 hectares of their territory with the construction of the Ascanio Villalaz hydroelectric power plant, our brothers and sisters continue to wait for the promises made to be fulfilled and how, instead of enjoying the benefits of the dam, they have seen malaria and other diseases increase.

This same philosophy is the one that wants to reform the Mining code and win over our minds and our hearts to implement misery in our Regions and the rest of the country.

It hurts us and we reject the fact that the lives of our brothers and sisters from Paya, Pupur and Arquia continue to be threatened and submitted, in this twenty-first century, to murder and displacement.

The declaration by the presidents of Colombia and Central America in Panama causes us indignation and we condemn the fact that there was no mention of the massacre of 4 Kuna brothers by the Colombian para-military forces, and that they only mentioned the attack on the exclusive club "El Nogal" in Bogota.

We condemn the irresponsibility of Mrs. Mireya Moscoso's government in getting involved in the Colombian conflict, placing the lives of those of us who live on the frontier in greater danger.

In the midst of the celebration of the First Centenary of the Republic, we feel that a major part of Panamanian society does not understand nor accept our rights, existing before the 100 years of the Republic and the 500 years of conquest and colonization.

We demand recognition of the Dakarkunyala Region for our brothers and sisters from Paya and Pupur and compliance with the promises made by the President of the Republic following the January massacre and that are still at starting point.

The Regions recognized by law, such as Madungandi, Wargandi and Kuna Yala continue to go unprotected and threatened by the invasion of more settlers and corporations. The national authorities turn a deaf ear on our claims, they are reluctant to receive our Saila Dummagan and do absolutely nothing to enforce the law and evict the illegal invaders.

Educational programmes continue to ignore our culture, cosmo-vision, history, spirituality and religion.

ILO convention 169 continues un-ratified.

As leaders of the Kuna Regions, we express our will to continue struggling to strengthen and develop our people. A development based on the principles of our culture: respect for people, Mother Earth and dialogue and solidarity among peoples.

We live in different Regions, but we are a single people. For this reason, we affirm our right and obligation to join our hands in achieving our objectives.

Given in the Community of Ibedi, Madungandi Region, on this 14th day of April of the year 2003."

Sent by Equipo de Redacción EcoPortal.net , Ambiente y Sociedad, Nº 129, 23 April 2003, e-mail: info@ecoportal.net , www.ecoportal.net

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