Two nations and two policies face off across the Mexico-Guatemala border
(facing page [the above picture, my comment]). In the 1970s the Mexican
government sponsored a homestead
program here, giving forestland to settlers to clear for corn. As the
soil gave out, they turned to cattle - and to the forests of Guatemala.
Crossing the unpatrolled border, Mexicans harvasted trees, grazed their
herds, and burned milpas.
The Landsat sequence of the border, arrowing north from the San Pedro
River, reveals little intrusion into the Guatemalan forest, shown in
red, in 1986 (above, at left [no picture here, my comment]). Lakes and
rivers are dark blue; fields are white and light blue. In the 1990
image, at center, yellow indicates changes detected - cleared forest.
NASA archaeologist Tom Sever, the team leader, isolated the yellow areas
of the 1990 image for emphasis, at right. Measuring the change by
computer, he estimates that 10 percent of this strip along the border
has changed in four years; 1,130 acres of forest have been felled.
As the forest goes, so go its treasures. Wildlife vanishes, and
archaeological sites lie exposed to looters. Thus whole chapters of
natural and human history are erased. Standing against the tide of
destruction is the Guatemalan government's National Council of Protected
Areas. So far, this youthful corps of dedicated environmentalists has
persevered in the face of death threats and the burning of their guard
posts by loggers and those who would profit from the depredation.
"With the satellite images we can monitor the region as never before,"
says James Nations of Conservation International. "Knowing the extent of
the problem is the first step."
(National Geographic, November 1992, p 100-101)