| Fast Facts |
location
Atitlán region of the Sierra Madre; three hours' drive northwest from Guatemala City
ecoregions
Central American Montane Forest, Central American Pine / Oak Forest, and Sierra Madre de Chiapas Moist Forest
project size
236-mile long volcanic chain
land tenure
mainly municipal, communal and privately owned lands
partners
Universidad del Valle, Vivamos Mejor, National Protected Areas Council, local municipalities, community groups
natural events
five active volcanos year round | |
 | |
 |
|
|
| With greater pressure being placed on the remaining forested areas of the majestic Sierra Madre volcanic chain its future depends on careful planning to ensure local culture and forests are not lost. |
|
 |
Mount Atitlan, a dormant volcano, rises from the southern shore of Lake Atitlan.
© Galen Rowell/Corbis |
|
| Thirty-seven volcanic peaks, some reaching heights of 12,500 feet above sea level, stretch the length of Guatemala's southern border from El Salvador into Mexico. Isolated and rugged, the Sierra Madre harbors many rare plants and animals. The last remaining population of highland margay survives here as a result of widespread destruction of its arboreal habitat elsewhere. On the slopes of the chain predominantly broadleaf forests contain some 750 plant species, forming a textured green mosaic that provides a habitat for rare and endemic species such as the resplendant quetzal, horned guan, and the azure-rumped tanager. |
Resplendent quetzal.
© Steve Winter
/National Geographic Image Collection |
|
At the same time, the largest indigenous population in all of Central America lives among the mountains of the Sierra Madre. But unsustainable agriculture and other activities such as unplanned tourism are taking their toll on Mayan culture as well as on the forests that have sustained local communities for centuries. And the Sierra Madre volcanic range requires legal enforcement and planning to orient development and prevent the fragmentation of villages and forests. | |
Near the center of Guatemala's Sierra Madre range, cradled among the three towering volcanic cones called Atitlán, Tolimán and San Pedro, lies a vast crater lake reflecting the sky and summits: Lake Atitlán. This water body was formed about 84,000 years ago by an enormous volcanic eruption that spewed ash as far away as the southern United States. In early 2002 The Nature Conservancy began providing financial and technical support through the Parks and Peril program to plan for the future of this popular tourist destination. As part of the Conservancy's long-term plans to protect Guatemala's unique western highlands it is expanding its work beyond Atitlán and throughout the Sierra Madre volcanic chain.
Learn more about The Nature Conservancy's work in Guatemala. |
|
|
 |
| Conservation Profile |
targets
broadleaf cloud forests, pine-oak forests, tropical pine forests, azure-rumped tanager, resplendent quetzal, horned guan, golden cheeked warbler, neotropical migratory birds, highland margay, howler monkey, cougar, northern naked-tailed armadillo
stresses
inappropriate land use, unsustainable forest products extraction, forest fires, uncontrolled development, mismanaged tourism, illegal hunting
strategies
help establish and strengthen private, communal and municipal protected areas, build conservation alliances, influence land-use planning, promote ecologically compatible land-use practices, engage community in natural resource management
results
Lake Atitlán Watershed Protected Area incorporated into Parks in Peril program and completed a conservation plan for entire Atitlán area; collaborated with partner, Vivamos Mejor , to establish three new municipal parks and developed management plans for two of them; ongoing certification of small farm organic coffee plots, aided private lands conservation efforts by providing technical and financial support to a local private reserves association | | | | |
