GUATEMALA CITY (AP) — Mexico, Guatemala and Belize have announced plans to create a huge reserve of tropical forest spanning across the three countries. Protecting it from ranchers, miners and loggers, and pushing out criminal gangs, won’t be easy. Environment ministers from Mexico and Guatemala have emphasized the need for security to combat organized crime and illegal activities. They plan to increase security forces and involve local communities as allies. Economic alternatives, like Mexico’s “Planting Life” program, are proposed to support residents. The three governments have agreed to avoid destructive projects and formed a committee to manage the reserve’s future.
By Sonia Pérez and María Verza
Banner image: Tourists climb a Mayan temple at the archeological site of Coba, in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, Aug. 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo, File)
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