GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – A controversial bill that would merge Guatemala’s protected areas council and lake watershed management agencies into the country’s environmental ministry has sparked sustained pushback from environmental organizations, while affected institutions have highlighted significant legal gaps in the proposed law. The potential takeover of the National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP) by […]
ASUNCIÓN MITA, Guatemala – Cecilia López and Luz Elena González were in good spirits as they left, walking beneath blue and white plastic streamers strung across the school property in the community of Tiucal. The 24-year-old friends had just voted in a referendum on mining in the municipality of Asunción Mita, home to more than […]
CASILLAS, Guatemala Evelin Cante got involved in the protest camp right from the start. Her village isn’t far from the Escobal silver mine in southern Guatemala, and she was worried about its impacts on the environment and local homes, especially from the detonations at the mine site. Indigenous Xinka communities and other area residents […]
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala – An Indigenous community engaged in a decades-long struggle for land rights in Guatemala is bringing its battle to an international court this week in a case that could have far-reaching implications for Indigenous rights and mining activity. The Maya Q’eqchi’ community of Agua Caliente Lote 9 is presenting its case against […]