Guatemala: Peten
Projects supported by CARE Guatemala, under the leadership of Edgar Palma in 1993, operated in a number of areas in Guatemala’s Petén, the large mostly lowland province in the north of the country. Several projects addressed sustainable environmental development: tourism, animal husbandry and agriculture, health, and environmental education.
Since 1993, deforestation has increased, due to illegal ranching, oil palm plantations, and timber and oil extraction. Petén is a major route for drug trafficking through Mexico to the USA. Along with organized crime this has precipitated more violence. A number of NGO efforts are working to protect Petén’s forests and to support the people who have lived there for generations. Most of these projects are still dependent on foreign financial aid.