Peronia City, a marginalized community in Guatemala that fought to protect their forest

Guatemala is a country of contrasts. Or that is what many of its inhabitants tell themselves to justify the fact that development in one of the unequal countries in Latin America – where six out of 10 people face deprivation of health, food safety, and education, among others—does not reach everyone equally, regardless of how close they live to the country’s capital, the largest and most populous in all of Central America.

In countries as centralized as Guatemala, the development of cities only sometimes translates into an equitable benefit for their peripheries. On the contrary, these areas are an example that city growth disregards the state of conservation of natural resources or the quality of life of the people who inhabit them.

Peronia City does not escape this. But, with every rule comes an exception. 

There, for years, the possibility of new urban settlements, deforestation, and the settlement of a sand mine were real threats, which would deepen the social problems plaguing this metropolitan area.

The murals on the walls of Ciudad Peronia serve as a reminder about the importance of water for people’s lives and to keep in mind that the fight for its protection is constant. Photo: Jorge Rodriguez

Against marginalization

Peronia, located about 12 miles southwest of Guatemala City, was created in 1986 as a housing area for families that migrated from the country’s rural regions, fleeing the civil war that was taking place at the time. It was born with the “dangerous zone” birthmark due to the presence of criminal gangs and also because there has always been a lack of access to essential services and the absence of municipal authority.

Before the arrival of its new inhabitants, Peronia was a rural area with just two or three small villages, surrounded by mountains, woodlands, and several private farms. Among them was the 90.5 hectares of San Jose Buenavista farm, owned then by the Ministry of Defense of Guatemala (MINDEF).

According to Guatemala’s land type of lands, San José Buenavista is a mixed forest of pine and oak. Four water springs supply 1,500 families; through it, 12 rights of passage provide 38 other communities in Peronia. Since before the arrival of the new human settlements, San José Buenavista has always been relevant as a source of water collection of great importance for the area.

Under the administration of the Guatemalan Ministry of Defense, Finca San José Buenavista was the headquarters of a military detachment, which was later abandoned by the personnel of said ministry. Photo: Jorge Rodriguez

However, in 2009 the MINDEF intended to cut down the forest to make way for a new housing settlement. “They came to talk to us about their ideas for the farm. What we did not imagine was that, within those ideas, there was the one of cutting down the forest to sell land for the construction of low-income housing,” says René Ríos, president of the Community Development Council (COCODE) of Ciudad Peronia.

The community’s concern was about access to drinking water, since the demographic increase, without effective municipal plans, brought the first supply problems with it. “San José Buenavista is a significant water recharge area here in Peronia; furthermore, it was the last redoubt of forest left. We had to protect it,” adds Ríos.

The challenges were enormous and even seemed insurmountable. The socioeconomic characteristics of most of Peronia’s new tenants made the illegal extraction of wood for energy purposes a daily reality. “Many people don’t have a job and have to cook with firewood. You can’t say anything to these people, but you must find a way to help them,” Ríos laments.

In addition to this, in the surroundings, the extraction of sand was also added to the equation to be solved: To keep their forest standing, what was needed was an action plan.

“La Casona,” as this building is known, was the place where, more than ten years ago, the inhabitants of Ciudad Peronia signed an act in which they claimed ownership of Finca San José Buenavista, due to its ecological importance. . Photo: Jorge Rodriguez

The community organization in defense of the forest

Father Elías Ruíz, the town’s priest between 2008 and 2013, was a strong social and environmental activist. “He threw himself in front of the trucks and yelled at them that he wouldn’t move and that if they wanted to pass, they had to do it on top of him,” says Joaquín Culajay, another community leader. At each mass, he urged the population to “not give in” and to fight against the advance of the sand companies.

At the entrance to the farm, there is a chapel, where Father Elías allowed the representatives of the COCODES to meet to outline their strategy: request the declaration of San José Buena Vista as a protected area. But achieving it would not be easy. According to the Protected Areas Law of Guatemala, they needed a series of technical studies and other requirements to declare an area as protected.  

“We sent requests for support to the University of San Carlos (USAC), the Center for Conservation Studies (CECON), and other entities. They didn’t even answer us,” Ríos sighs. Then, another option arose: to transfer property from the Ministry of Defense to the National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP). This state entity is in charge of managing the System of Protected Areas of Guatemala. Although less bureaucratic, it would not be easy either. “The first problem: the army did not want to release the land,” emphasizes the president of COCODE.

René Ríos (second from left to right), was one of the community leaders who has been present from the beginning, in the fight for the protection of the Peronia forest. Together with the participation of the Catholic Church, civil movements, and CONAP, they carry out protection and maintenance activities in the area. Photo: Jorge Rodriguez

The MINDEF’s refusal to transfer land ownership, the lack of economic capacity to carry out technical studies, and the extreme pressure from the sand mines left the community with no alternative. “We decided to take over the farm. We took turns sleeping there. Already in 2010, an act was done, and we declared the farm as property of the community”, recalls Ríos.

After several meetings at the Presidential House, Government Agreement 244-2012 was issued, which granted the property title of the farm to CONAP. So, the whole community of Peronia was happy. Finally, the problems would end, and the area would be free of threats. Or so they thought.

From the community to multisectoral work

The sweet smell of success did not last long. After avoiding the disappearance of the forest, some folks within the communities called for exploitation projects for their benefit. “People wanted to cut down trees for firewood. They wanted productive agricultural projects to generate income. They wanted everything except to conserve”, comments Ríos. In 2013, the idea of assigning the figure of a conservation area by CONAP came up, “and they (CONAP) declared it immediately,” he adds.

Later, Finca San José Buena Vista came under the Conservation Unit regime, which is, in short, a specially protected area whose ecosystemic services to the population are likely to be covered. “That is the beautiful story of this area because it was the community that took it to CONAP. So, we owe a lot to its conservation and those community assets,” exclaims Fabrizi Juárez, a park ranger, and CONAP employee.

The sign reads in Spanish: There is not only firewood in the forest. There is life. One of the significant threats the Conservation Unit faces is the illegal extraction of wood by community members with limited resources. However, a series of participatory projects are carried out so that this is a regulated and sustainable activity. Photo: Jorge Rodriguez

The next step was to spread its importance at all levels of society. With the support of CONAP and the Catholic Church, the COCODES of Peronia promoted environmental education policies focused on the teaching staff. For eight years, the state university collaborated with courses aimed at the teachers on topics such as forest types, water recharge, microclimates, and biological biodiversity. “There was a lot we didn’t know. By acquiring this knowledge, it was easier for us to transfer it to the children”, says Tatiana Serrano, director of one of the local schools.

The impact was almost immediate. As Serrano recalls, between 2012 and 2013, this intersectoral work began to promote reforestation days within the recently created conservation area. In 2016, The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and private companies joined the school reforestation days. “Being part of these processes helps children, not only at a pedagogical level but also emotionally and socially. It allows them to develop a sense of belonging, which is vital to caring for our resources,” said Serrano.

TNC also initiated a technical and financial process to maintain and improve the farm’s infrastructure. The protected area now has a visitor center and an interactive tour for visitors within the Conservation Unit.

As part of this process, in conjunction with the communities, Juárez comments that they plan to implement an awareness program next December. “We will try to pay a visit to all the inhabitants of Peronia, with the idea of talking to them about all the ecosystemic services that the forest provides them. We also want to resume and strengthen the dialogue tables and involve the Municipality of Villa Nueva, a large community on the southern outskirts of Guatemala City, the educational supervision, students of all educational levels, the COCODES, and the residential leaders, to try to join efforts together,” he says.

To provide more sustainability options, a visitor center was built within the farm, displaying information related to the ecosystem services that this Conservation Unit provides to the community. Photo: Jorge Rodríguez

Constant vigilance

Victories are often poor advisers if not appropriately managed. Although most residents are committed to not cutting down trees, this continues to be the greatest threat that the Finca San José Buena Vista Conservation Unit faces. “We know about the needs of the people, and we are working to offer them sustainable alternatives so that the forest is not affected,” says Juárez.

The pandemic forced them to stop the environmental education courses aimed at educators, school reforestation activities, and days of coexistence with the forest. Now that the worst of the crisis caused by COVID-19 has passed, according to Juárez, there’s hope to resume most of what they did before 2020, but now with the support of new entities, such as the Municipality of Villa Nueva.

The plan is to talk to the people who extract wood and convince them to be involved in forest maintenance tasks, making fire breaks, rounds and patrols, and reforestation of degraded areas. “Now we have two reforestation areas where there was no coverage. And, since 2018, with community participation, including some firewood extractors, we have recovered them,” says Juárez.

For this drive to be maintained, the active participation of all the sectors involved, particularly the community sectors, through the COCODES, must be constant. But, whether it is because of the exhaustion of keeping people interested, the pandemic, or the day-to-day, both Ríos and Culajay admit that the meetings and assemblies no longer have the same spirit they had back in 2009. “It is a constant vigilance,” they assure, and they trust that the possibility of meeting again will allow them to draw up new strategies to maintain community participation at a high and committed level.

One of the strategies to protect the Conservation Unit has been to involve the educational community of Peronia. For eight years, environmental education diplomas were taught, aiming to later replicate this knowledge in schools in the area. Photo: Jorge Rodriguez

“We have to make them (wood extractors) see that if they cut down trees for their consumption, they must plant four or six new ones of the same species so as not to damage the forest,” says Culajay. The reforestation sessions helped to settle a “multipurpose area and an energy forest, which will allow people to access wood, but in an orderly manner,” Juarez details.

Another strategy is to make the farm a self-sustaining tourist destination for the residents of Peronia and other surrounding areas. As it is “one of the last forests in Villa Nueva,” as Ríos points out, it can be vital to becoming a point of reference for rest and reconnection with the natural world.

Most importantly, community engagement, pandemic or not, has been sustained. Since 2018, Juárez and his team have recovered a hectare of forest. Also, there is an agreement with the Association of Private Reserves of Guatemala to raise community awareness about the forest’s services. “We will reach each community in Peronia that uses the resource. We want them to know about the importance of all the wildlife that lives there and their role in the biological balance of life”, comments Juárez.

From the community, the pride for having obtained all the current achievements serves as an impetus to continue with the efforts that began more than 12 years ago. “We are qualified to continue defending the resources. The threat is constant, and we don’t know when they will say, ‘let’s continue with the deforestation.’ We have to make these people aware and make them see that if they cut down trees, it is also fair that they plant new ones”, concludes Culajay.

This article is part of COMUNIDAD PLANETA, a journalistic project led by Periodistas por el Planeta (PxP) in Latin America. To read the original, tap the link.

The advance of the sandboxes is evident, and it is another of the great threats. Although the farm is not in this danger, the loss of biological connectivity increases the risk of survival of the different wild species that inhabit the area. Photo: Jorge Rodriguez