May 1999

This month, 32 Guatemalan families in the village of Vega Larga will move to another location in the northern part of the country.  They are leaving so that their land can be used in an environmental reserve

In 1990, the Guatemalan government created the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve, which now covers 2.2% of the country.  The reserve stretches from just east of Guatemala City out to the nation's Caribbean coast.

Map of Guatemala.  Image Credit: CIA.

Today, the reserve is the most important environmental location in the country, containing 70% of its biodiversity.

The families that are moving own farms in the cloud forest part of the reserve area.  The reserve has the largest cloud forest area in all of Central America.  Guatemala's national symbol, the quetzal bird, lives in this area and other parts of the reserve.

The reserve is managed by the conservation group Defensores de la Naturaleza (Defenders of Nature).  The group first contacted the families of Vega Larga in 1991.

At first, the families were reluctant to move, despite the generally poor living conditions in the area.  Working with other community members, Defenders of Nature eventually convinced the villagers that relocation would bring a better life.

Now, the Defenders of Nature will plant native trees in the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve, finally restoring it to its natural condition.