The Guatemalan capital's municipal government approved the “Metropolitan Ecological Corridor Conservation” project, to preserve the forests that surround the city. The project also aims to ensure a minimum of 20 square meters of green space for each of the capital's nearly 2.5 million inhabitants, city spokeswoman María José Salas told Tierramérica. The World Health Organizations calls for nine square meters per person for a “healthy city”.

In the metropolitan area's forests and ravines there are some 1,500 types of plants, 750 kinds of insects and 115 species of birds, Salas said, in addition to 76 amphibian, 50 butterfly, 40 mammal and 12 spider species.

In the city's ravines alone, there are 5,000 hectares of forest, according to a report by the Foundation for Eco-Development and the Conservation of Nature (FUNDAECO), she added.