Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Indians in Dispute over Deforestation

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

GUATEMALA CITY, Dec 26 2005 (IPS) - Residents of the indigenous villages of Canchún and Mangales are resisting the deforestation of an extensive pine forest by the people of Chitucán, located in the northern Guatemalan department of Baja Verapaz. The Chitucán residents say that cutting down the trees will open a way to the urban area, and promote development in the region, given that there are no institutions or organizations concerned with the zone's progress, says Valerio Tista, who is in favor of the project.

But the initiative will be harmful and leave them without a water source, Juan Sic Sanchez, who is anti-deforestation, told Tierramérica.

In addition to creating a road, the people of Chitucán hope to sell the lumber produced by cutting down the trees.