La conservación de la naturaleza, el pueblo y movimiento Maya, y la espiritualidad en Guatemala: Implicaciones para conservacionistas

Given the multicultural, multilingual and profoundly religious reality of the country, nature conservation in Guatemala is both a challenge and an opportunity. This study promotes a conceptual, institutional and personal approach to the Mayan movement and its spirituality from a conservationist perspective.

The methodology employed consists of interviews with leading conservationists and indigenous and religious leaders, as well as fieldwork in protected – or to be protected – natural areas in the predominantly Mayan regions in the west and north of the country. Via the sharing of experiences and opinions, and participation in related processes, a number of recommendations and projects are proposed aimed at enriching conservation work and making it more efficient and fulfilling.

Examples of the recommendations made include proposals to acknowledge, study and strengthen community forest rights, to review current forestry and conservation  legislation in order to take into account the demands and realities of the Mayan people. Likewise, it is proposed to deepen, understand and promote basic concepts regarding nature conservation existing in both Mayan and Christian spiritualities.