How one community in Guatemala lives off the forest, while protecting it for the future
The sound of chainsaws rips through the air. A tree falls to the ground.
This may sound like the usual destruction of our environment, but this time, it's not what it seems. These loggers at work actually live in the forest — and want to protect it.
Within the Maya Biosphere Reserve, part of one of the largest tracts of rainforest in Central America, are more than 80,000 hectares of land cared for by the villagers of Uaxactún.
This clip from the "Forest" episode of Shared Planet, a series from The Nature of Things, Uaxactún mayor Erwin Maas shows how the community lives off the forest, while protecting it for the future.
A member of the Q'eqchi', Maas sees the forest as a part of himself.
"For me, the forest is part of who I am," he says. "When you go into the forest, you connect with nature."
Walking through the underbrush, Maas and his team of loggers are looking for a tree they can cut down. Uaxactún relies on the forest's resources for its exports — sustainable lumber, palm fronds for floral arrangements, tree nuts sold as a superfood — and One mahogany tree, for example, can fetch roughly $23,000 — a significant sum in a country where the annual income is close to $10,000. But it's not just humans that rely on the forest.
Looking up at one prospective tree, Maas notices a flash of red. The canopy is a refuge for the fewer than 200 scarlet macaws left in Guatemala.
Lacking the beautiful plumage of its parents, a baby macaw is nestled in a hollow high above the forest floor. This fledgling is the future. To protect the trees is to protect the species.
Maas designates this tree as a "seeder." It will be left standing to propagate other trees while also providing a home for wildlife.
In doing so, Maas and his community are thinking long-term. "What do you gain from clear cutting?" he said. "In one year, it can be very lucrative. But you are stealing from future generations."
Not everyone agrees. On the edge of the community's forest, a pile of leaf litter is set alight, threatening extensive damage to the community's forest. Drug cartels want to clear the land for illegal cattle ranching — a way of laundering money.
In this part of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, designating an area as a national park is not the most effective way of safeguarding the forest. It's Maas and his community, who live and work there and are committed to protecting it.
Watch the video above for the full story.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
06-03-2025
- CBC
How wiping out buffalo was a strategy to bring Indigenous people under colonizer control
In the 16th century, it's believed that between 25 and 30 million wild buffalo lived across North America. By 1890, according to some estimates, those once-great herds dwindled to fewer than 300 animals. During the industrial age, buffalo were a valuable commodity — their bones became fine china and fertilizer, while their hide became military boots and machine belts. Diseases passed on from cattle also contributed to their rapid decline. But the actions of governments and the military were also a key factor in the removal of the buffalo from the land, says Cree filmmaker Tasha Hubbard in the video above, an extended clip from Singing Back the Buffalo, a documentary from The Nature of Things. Indigenous people depended on the buffalo for food and vital materials. Without them, people starved and became dependent on the colonizers. "It was genocide of the Buffalo people, done to clear us both off the land and replace us with cattle and settlers," she says. In Singing Back the Buffalo, Hubbard delves into the history of the buffalo in North America, how their eradication affected the Indigenous groups that relied on them, and how Indigenous nations including the Blackfeet, Kainai (Blood Tribe) and Siksika Nations are working to return the buffalo to their ancestral territories through the unique Buffalo Treaty. The video above outlines the history of the buffalo hunt and how the Indigenous Peoples of North America's Great Plains experienced trauma, genocide and loss of independence. "We stopped singing when the buffalo were gone," Hubbard says in the clip. "But our stories and prophecies say the buffalo will come back to us one day."
CBC
04-03-2025
- CBC
How your choices at the checkout can affect wildlife at home and abroad
Have you ever enjoyed your morning coffee while considering the plight of migratory birds? Sipped a glass of Pinot Noir while thinking about Pacific salmon? The products we buy have impacts on the natural world, including wildlife, that we might not think of. And with limitless consumer choice, it's easy to overlook where these items come from. But whether it's coffee that protects the habitats of migratory birds in Latin America and Africa, or vineyards that implement practices to help restore salmon habitats in the Pacific Northwest, there is a growing market for wildlife-friendly products. The four-part series Shared Planet highlights the benefits that come from working with nature, including the more ethical consumer goods that make their way to you. Can palm oil be orangutan-friendly? Versatile and inexpensive, palm oil is in about half of the products on store shelves — everything from lipstick and chocolate to laundry detergent. But palm oil is highly unsustainable. Indonesia and Malaysia produce more than 80 per cent of the world's palm oil, and millions of hectares of tropical rainforest have been cleared for palm plantations — destroying the habitat of wildlife like the orangutan. It's estimated that tens of thousands of orangutans have died over the last 20 years because of palm oil production. In the heart of oil palm country on Borneo, the Shared Planet team met Mariana (Dadai) Singgong. Born and raised in the Kinabatangan district, she has witnessed first-hand the massive scale of deforestation there. Now, she's working for a local conservation group, Hutan, and leads a reforestation team, in tandem with the Malaysian government's ambitious plan to replant 100 million native trees across Malaysia. Hutan has planted more than 220,000 trees in the Keruak Wildlife Corridor along the Kinabatangan River. It reconnects two areas of protected forest, transforming the landscape from a vast monoculture into a mosaic of palms and native species. The results speak for themselves, as orangutans have moved back into these smaller patches of forest. The palm oil produced from the plantation that provided some of the land for the corridor is certified as sustainable, and the reforestation efforts are good for business as well. Orangutans can cling on with the help of native trees 19 days ago Duration 1:26 Don't just drink responsibly — drink ethically Mexican biologist Rodrigo Medellín is one of the world's top bat experts. He is on a mission to rehabilitate the animal's public image while supporting one of his country's most beloved exports. Bats are often portrayed as vicious bloodsuckers or carriers of disease. And their PR problem only got worse with COVID-19. But in Mexico, bats are the main pollinators of the agave plant, which is used to make tequila and mescal. However, the industry is threatened. Many producers maintain fields of genetically identical plants, leaving entire crops vulnerable to disease. Additionally, the distillers don't allow the plants to flower as it drains the plant of the sugars that are converted to alcohol to make mescal and tequila. And the bats that would introduce pollen — and much-needed genetic diversity — from wild-growing agaves won't visit flowerless agave farms. In Shared Planet, Medellín advises mescal producer Don Emigdio Jarquín Ramirez on how to attract bats to his property by allowing a small number of plants to flower. With Medellín's help, bats are returning to Jarquín Ramirez's agave fields and the mescal brand he distills for, Mezcal Vago, can sell bottles with a bat-friendly label. Farming mezcal with the help of bats 1 month ago Duration 4:58 Bats aren't bad - just ask this Mexican farmer, who's agave farm now relies on the small flying mammals to help protect his mezcal business for the future. Watch Shared Planet on CBC Gem. What you can do From palm oil and coffee to mescal and wine, there are a number of wildlife-friendly products you can incorporate into your pantry. Look for certification: Seek out products that carry recognized wildlife-friendly certifications, such as Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade and Bat Friendly. Research brands: Are the brands you're considering committed to wildlife conservation? Are they transparent about their supply chain? The clearer they are about their manufacturing process, the better. Read labels: Look closely at ingredient lists to see if they mention sustainable sourcing and wildlife-friendly farming methods. Shop at a farmers' market: Buying directly from small-scale producers is a great way to learn more about the food you're buying. Smaller operations typically have more wildlife-friendly operations.
CBC
13-02-2025
- CBC
How one community in Guatemala lives off the forest, while protecting it for the future
The sound of chainsaws rips through the air. A tree falls to the ground. This may sound like the usual destruction of our environment, but this time, it's not what it seems. These loggers at work actually live in the forest — and want to protect it. Within the Maya Biosphere Reserve, part of one of the largest tracts of rainforest in Central America, are more than 80,000 hectares of land cared for by the villagers of Uaxactún. This clip from the "Forest" episode of Shared Planet, a series from The Nature of Things, Uaxactún mayor Erwin Maas shows how the community lives off the forest, while protecting it for the future. A member of the Q'eqchi', Maas sees the forest as a part of himself. "For me, the forest is part of who I am," he says. "When you go into the forest, you connect with nature." Walking through the underbrush, Maas and his team of loggers are looking for a tree they can cut down. Uaxactún relies on the forest's resources for its exports — sustainable lumber, palm fronds for floral arrangements, tree nuts sold as a superfood — and One mahogany tree, for example, can fetch roughly $23,000 — a significant sum in a country where the annual income is close to $10,000. But it's not just humans that rely on the forest. Looking up at one prospective tree, Maas notices a flash of red. The canopy is a refuge for the fewer than 200 scarlet macaws left in Guatemala. Lacking the beautiful plumage of its parents, a baby macaw is nestled in a hollow high above the forest floor. This fledgling is the future. To protect the trees is to protect the species. Maas designates this tree as a "seeder." It will be left standing to propagate other trees while also providing a home for wildlife. In doing so, Maas and his community are thinking long-term. "What do you gain from clear cutting?" he said. "In one year, it can be very lucrative. But you are stealing from future generations." Not everyone agrees. On the edge of the community's forest, a pile of leaf litter is set alight, threatening extensive damage to the community's forest. Drug cartels want to clear the land for illegal cattle ranching — a way of laundering money. In this part of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, designating an area as a national park is not the most effective way of safeguarding the forest. It's Maas and his community, who live and work there and are committed to protecting it. Watch the video above for the full story.
