Maya Biosphere Reserve - Humans Activity

Humans Activity

The Maya Biosphere Reserve is divided into several zones, each with a different protected status. The core zones are formed by several national parks and biotopes (wildlife preserves), in which no human settlement, logging, or extraction of resources are allowed. These include Laguna del Tigre National Park, Sierra del Lacandón National Park, Mirador-Río Azul National Park, Tikal National Park, El Zotz Biotope, Naachtún-Dos Lagunas Biotope, Cerro Cahuí Biotope, Laguna del Tigre Biotope, and El Pilar Natural Monument. The core zones cover an area of 7670 km², which is 36% of the Maya Biosphere Reserve.

In multiple-use zones (8484.40 km²; 40%) and the buffer zone (4975 km²; 24%), which comprises the southern portion of the Reserve, certain regulated economic activities are allowed. These include the sustainable harvesting of wood and traditional forest products which include chicle, a sap used in the manufacture of chewing gum, xate, an ornamental palm plant used in floral arrangements, and pimenta or allspice. The Guatemalan government has granted forest concessions to local communities, giving them the right to practice sustainable forestry in delineated areas for 25 years. International monitoring groups such as the Forest Stewardship Council certify logging activities as sustainable. In 2005, 1.1 million acres (4500 km²) were certified. In other parts of the multiple-use zone, farming communities have been granted the right to continue farming in so-called agricultural polygons.

On July 16, 2008, Guatemalan president Alvaro Colom announced the Cuatro Balam plan to develop mass ecotourism around archaeological sites in the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Plan objectives include the development of tourist infrastructure, the installation of a small tourist train from the town of Carmelita to El Mirador, and the creation of a new university for the study of regional biodiversity, genetics, and Maya studies.