Maya Biosphere Reserve

Coordinates: 17°25′48″N 90°53′26″W / 17.43000°N 90.89056°W / 17.43000; -90.89056
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Maya Biosphere Reserve
CONAP

The Maya Biosphere Reserve (Spanish: Reserva de la Biosfera Maya) is a nature reserve in Guatemala managed by Guatemala's National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP). The Maya Biosphere Reserve covers an area of 21,602 km², one-fifth of the country's total land area.[1][2]

The park is home to a large number of species of fauna including

Bucida buceras, Haematoxylum campechianum, Rhizophora mangle, and Pimenta dioica. The area ranges from wetlands, to low mountain ranges, and has several bodies of water, including lakes, rivers, streams and cenotes.[3]

The Reserve was created in 1990 to protect the largest area of American tropical forest remaining north of the Amazon. The biosphere reserve model, implemented by UNESCO, seeks to promote a balance between human activities and the biosphere by including sustainable economic development in conservation planning.[3]

Human activity

The Maya Biosphere Reserve is divided into several zones, each with a different protected status. The core zones are formed by several national parks and biotopes (wildlife preserves), in which no human settlement, logging, or extraction of resources are allowed. These include Laguna del Tigre National Park, Sierra del Lacandón National Park, Mirador-Río Azul National Park, Tikal National Park, El Zotz Biotope, Naachtún-Dos Lagunas Biotope, Cerro Cahuí Biotope, Laguna del Tigre Biotope, and El Pilar Natural Monument.[4][5][6] The core zones cover an area of 7670 km2, which is 36% of the Maya Biosphere Reserve.[6]

In multiple-use zones (8484.40 km2; 40%) and the

sustainable forestry in delineated areas for 25 years. International monitoring groups such as the Forest Stewardship Council certify logging activities as sustainable. In 2005, 4,500 km2 (1,700 sq mi) were certified.[7] In other parts of the multiple-use zone, farming communities have been granted the right to continue farming in so-called agricultural polygons.[8]

Archaeology

The Tikal plaza in December 2010

The Maya Biosphere Reserve is home to a large concentration of ancient Maya cities, many of which are under excavation. Tikal is the most famous of these, attracting about 120,000[9] to 180,000[4] visitors per year.

The Mirador Basin, in the northern part of the Reserve, contains numerous interconnected Maya cities. The project is directed by Richard Hansen, an archaeologist at El Mirador, the largest of the sites, dating from the preclassic Maya period. Other cities in the region include El Tintal, Nakbe, and Wakna.[10]

In 2018, 60.000 uncharted structures were revealed by archaeologists with the help of the revolutionary technology lasers called 'lidar' in northern Guatemala. The project was mapped near the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Unlike previous assumptions, thanks to the new findings, archaeologists believe that 7-11 million Maya people inhabited the Petén Basin during the late classical period from 650 to 800 A.D. Lidar technology digitally removed the tree canopy to reveal ancient remains and showed that Maya cities like Tikal were bigger than previously thought. Houses, palaces, elevated highways, and defensive fortifications were unearthed because of the lidar. According to the archaeologist Stephen Houston, it is overwhelming finding in over 150 years of Maya archaeology.[11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]

Environmental threats

Ecosystems in Maya Biosphere Reserve face numerous threats from human activities, including

drug traffickers clear dozens of hectares which are rectangular, have long straight lines and tractor tyre marks may be seen.[2]

References

  1. ^ CONAP. "Listado de Áreas Protegidas (enero, 2011)" (in Spanish). conap.gob.gt. Archived from the original (xls) on 8 October 2011. Retrieved 14 June 2011.
  2. ^ a b Wright, Andrew (11 July 2020). "Drug cartels fuelling loss of tropical forests". New Scientist. No. 3290. p. 17.
  3. ^ a b "Biosphere Reserve Information". www.unesco.org. UNESCO. 8 March 2011. Archived from the original on 22 March 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  4. ^ a b UNESCO. "MAB Biospheres Reserves Directory: Guatemala – Maya". Archived from the original on 3 July 2009.
  5. ^ "Estado Actual de la Reserva Biosfera Maya en Enero 2000". ProPeten. Archived from the original on 5 July 2007.
  6. ^ a b Ferretti, J. (2007). "Project Executive Summary Request for Council Work Program Inclusion under the GEF Trust Fund" (PDF). gefweb.org. Archived from the original (pdf) on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2009.
  7. ^ Danna Harman. "At a store near you: eco-friendly lumber". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 8 May 2006.
  8. ISSN 1534-7389. Archived from the original
    (pdf) on 16 January 2016.
  9. ^ "Tourism as an Ally in the fight to save Peten". Inter-American Development Bank.
  10. ^ "Mirador Basin Project". www.miradorbasin.com. Mirador Basin Project. 2010. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  11. ^ "Archaeologists Find Ancient Lost Cities Using Lasers". www.msn.com. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  12. ^ "This Ancient Civilization Was Twice As Big As Medieval England". National Geographic News. 1 February 2018. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  13. ^ "Sprawling Maya network discovered under Guatemala jungle". BBC News.
  14. ^ "Archaeologists Find Ancient Mayan Lost Cities in Guatemala Using Lasers". Newsweek.
  15. ^ Little, Becky. "Lasers Reveal 60,000 Ancient Maya Structures in Guatemala". HISTORY. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  16. ^ "Hidden Ancient Mayan 'Megalopolis' With 60,000 Structures Discovered in Guatemala Using Lasers". www.yahoo.com. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  17. ^ "Archaeologists found thousands of hidden structures in the Guatemalan jungle — and it could re-write human history". Business Insider.
  18. ^ "Hidden Ancient Mayan 'Megalopolis' With 60,000 Structures Discovered in Guatemala Using Lasers". Newsweek.
  19. ^ Chukwurah, Precious (30 September 2018). "Archaeologists Discover Ancient Mayan Lost City In Northern Guatemala Using Lasers". Nigeria’s Entertainment News, Music, Video, Lifestyle. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  20. ^ "This major discovery upends long-held theories about the Maya civilization". The Washington Post.
  21. ^ "Archaeologists discovered an ancient Mayan megacity hidden in a Guatemalan jungle". BER.
  22. ^ Elbein, Saul From Cocaine Cowboys to Narco-Ranchers Archived 14 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine Foreign Policy. 13 July 2016
  23. ^ Michael Stoll. "A Visit to Beef National Park". Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.[permanent dead link]

External links

17°25′48″N 90°53′26″W / 17.43000°N 90.89056°W / 17.43000; -90.89056