Ecobreves – GUATEMALA: Lake in Final Throes

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

GUATEMALA CITY, Jan 14 2006 (IPS) - Guatemalan lake could disappear Chichoj lake, located in the the middle of the northern Guatemalan indigenous community of San Cristóbal, is on the verge of disappearing, due to contamination caused by the local population and by private businesses, charges Mayor José Humberto Suc.

Two centuries ago, the lagoon covered 107 hectares, but human activities have reduced it to 47 hectares, Suc told Tierramérica. To halt the destructive process, water treatment plants will be built, he said.

Lawmaker Lucrecia de Palomo, president of the legislative environmental commissions, said that one of the initiatives to stop the contamination and begin recuperation of the lagoon is to declare the zone a protected area, as it is considered one of the country's 13 main water bodies.

She also called for immediate treatment of solid waste, and to begin a program to educate the local population so that they stop dumping dirt in the lake.