Technicians at Guatemala's Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, along with the National Geographic Institute and other national entities, have drawn up the first Map of Vegetation Coverage and Land Use, for better planning of productive projects and to monitor deforestation. The map, which collects information gathered between 2003 and 2005 and is based on satellite photos, cost 665,000 dollars, financed by the Inter-American Development Bank.

Released on July 5, it is part of a package that will include another map of land ownership, and another of the country's infrastructure, ministry official José Miguel Duro told Tierramérica.

The study shows that Guatemala is 37.26 percent forest, 27.53 percent farmland, 1.84 percent wetland, 1.59 percent water bodies, and 1.08 percent infrastructure.