Residents of Melchor de Mencos will continue to manage their forest for another 25 years

“The main gain (with the extension of the forestry concession contract) for the residents of La Unión is that we ensure that the 21,000 hectares of forest under their responsibility are preserved. For more than 20 years, they have shown that (in the area) there has been zero forest loss, and therefore ecosystem services have been maintained.”

This was said by Carlos Martínez, Executive Secretary of the National Council for Protected Areas (CONAP), when announcing the extension of the forest concession contract granted to the residents of La Unión, in Melchor de Mencos, Petén, in northern Guatemala.

The community organization Custodios de la Selva (CUSTOSEL) is currently made up of 85 members (26 women and 59 men), who benefit directly and approximately 425 people who benefit indirectly through the sustainable management of timber and non-timber forest resources and the generation of more than 10,200 daily wages per year, representing a flow of more than 1.6 million quetzales that enter families, generating a spill of cash that stimulates economic cycles at the local and even national level.

The La Unión Management Unit is located in Melchor de Mencos, on the border between Guatemala and Belize. Photo: CONAP

“This is an inter-institutional work of several actors, where we coordinate for the prevention and combat of forest fires, fire breaks and biological monitoring of the species found within the concession area,” said Rudy Canales, representative of CUSTOSEL.

The first time that the community of La Unión received the right to protect the forest was in 2002, and since then they have made use of timber resources (species of high commercial value and secondary) and non-timber resources (xate), that have not represented a negative impact on the state of conservation of the 21,176.34 hectares that make up the concession.

“The La Unión Management Unit has carried out good management throughout these 21 years of having the area in concession, since there are studies that show that this conservation strategy has served to maintain wildlife and large areas of forest, To date, there have been no forest fires, and it has also been determined with certainty that the forest cover is maintained compared to the year in which the concession area was granted (year 2002),” CONAP said in a statement announcing the extension of the forest concession.

“This model generates an important contribution to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), improves the quality of life of the local population and allows the conservation of the protected area and biological diversity through sustainable management; Likewise, it contributes to the fulfillment of the international commitment assumed by Guatemala when signing the 2030 Development Agenda”, the document concluded.