- Fans hail Trump's 'guts' as he returns to site of rally shooting
- Lebanon state media says 'very violent' Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Guardians maul Tigers, miracle Mets rally in MLB series openers
- Lebanon state media says Israeli strikes hit south Beirut
- Miami on track for MLS record points after win in Toronto
- Madrid beat Villarreal but Carvajal suffers knee injury
- Madrid beat Villarreal to move level with Liga leaders Barcelona
- Monaco take top spot in Ligue 1 with win at Rennes
- French rugby player on rape charge whistled but 'serene' on return
- Madrid beat Villarreal to level Liga leaders Barca
- Thuram treble fires Inter past Torino and up to second
- 'Fight': defiant Trump jets in to site of rally shooting
- Toddler among 3 dead in migrant Channel crossings
- Mexico City's new mayor sworn in with pledges on water, housing
- Israel on alert ahead of Hamas attack anniversary
- Guardians maul Tigers in MLB playoff series opener
- Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- French rugby player whistled but 'serene' on return amid ongoing rape case
- Kovacic stars as Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- Retegui hat-trick fires five-star Atalanta to hammering of Genoa
- Heavyweights Australia, England off to World Cup winning starts
- Visiting UN refugee agency chief decries 'terrible crisis' in Lebanon
- Spinners come to party as England defeat Bangladesh at T20 World Cup
- Search continues for missing in deadly Bosnia floods
- Man City sink Fulham to get title bid back on track
- France's Auradou whistled on Pau return in Perpignan loss amid ongoing rape case
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Arsenal hit back in style after Southampton scare
- Thousands march for Palestinians ahead of Oct 7 anniversary
- Hezbollah heir apparent Safieddine out of contact after strikes
- Liverpool stay top of Premier League as Arsenal, Man City win
- In dank Tour of Emilia, Pogacar shines in rainbow jersey
- DR Congo launches mpox vaccination drive, hoping to curb outbreak
- Trump returns to site of failed assassination
- Careless Leverkusen held to Bundesliga draw
- O'Brien's 'superstar' Kyprios posts landmark win on Arc weekend
- Toddler crushed to death in migrant Channel crossing
- Liverpool suffer Alisson injury blow
- Habosi helps Racing beat Vannes before Auradou's playing return
- Thousands march in London in support of Palestinians, 1 year after Oct 7
- Israel readying response to Iran missile attack
- Schutt, Mooney help Australia beat Sri Lanka in Women's T20 World Cup
- Liverpool extend Premier League lead with win at Palace
- Djokovic 'shakes rust off' to make third round of Shanghai Masters
- 'Imperfect' PSG fighting on all fronts - Luis Enrique
- Struggling Pakistan look to thwart adaptable England
- Child 'trampled to death' in asylum seekers' Channel crossing: minister
- Gauff fights back to set up Beijing final against Muchova
- Guardiola claims Premier League won't delay season for Man City
- Israel to mark October 7 attack as Gaza war spreads
Colombia, Guatemala learn from each other in rainforest preservation
In the lush jungle of northern Guatemala -- in the largest protected area in Central America -- 30 leaders from Colombia's Amazon basin region are swapping strategies with local ethnic Maya farmers on how to live off this dense forest without destroying it.
Under the soaring, leafy mahogany and cedar trees in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, the visiting group discusses ways to ensure the rain forest remains healthy, while studying the reserve-type model Guatemala has been developing since 1994.
Guatemala's vast sustainability project aims to achieve a balance in which communities reforest, cut down trees for timber in a controlled way, grow grains and vegetables, collect ornamental plants, and even develop low-impact tourism.
"That ensures that our communities are getting the economic resources that are also invested here for conservation," Sergio Balan, regional director of the National Council of Protected Areas (CONAP), told AFP in the village of Melchor de Mencos, near the border with Belize.
The Maya Biosphere Reserve sprawls over 2.1 million hectares (5.2 million acres) and borders Mexico and Belize.
Every year, its flora and fauna are threatened by fires, deforestation for agricultural and livestock purposes, and even drug traffickers.
Hundreds of archaeological sites are located in this territory, such as the ancient Mayan city of Tikal, one of the main tourist sites in Guatemala and the site hosting the visitors from the Forest Development and Biodiversity Centers of the Colombian Amazon.
In the reserve and near Tikal, there is also the pre-Hispanic park of Uaxactun, where both groups participated in a Mayan ceremony with a fire stoked with candles and tree resin.
The Colombian leaders, whose visit lasted a week, highlighted the achievements in reducing deforestation in the Colombian Amazon between 2021 and 2023, by 61 percent, according to data from Colombia's environment ministry.
- Farmer to farmer -
There are currently 16 active concessions that help conserve nearly 619,000 hectares of forest, CONAP says. Controlled logging permits, meanwhile, let private companies work for 25- or 30-year periods.
Concessions and reserves "not only provide employment, but also training for different jobs," says Erwin Maas, a Guatemalan tourist guide who is also familiar with forestry.
CONAP estimates that the concessions, a kind of activity grant, create about 150,000 direct and indirect jobs in the reserve.
Along one part of the path, visitors find a row of cut logs that are stacked to be taken to the sawmill. The wood comes from trees selected for felling in a controlled process that will allow the forest to regenerate.
Nearby, the sound of birds and monkeys fluttering through the branches, mixes with group's chatter.
"One of the great ideas we took away is the form of organization they have had (in Guatemala) to really last over time," says Aristides Oime, president of a Colombian farm group, Asojuntas de Cartagena del Chaira.
"From farmer to farmer, we see how we can really improve," he said. "We want to show how we truly believe that deforestation is not the way, the real route is environmental conservation."
The coordinator of the Colombia-based NGO Heart of the Amazon, Luz Rodriguez, believes that though there are differences with the Guatemalan communities, they learned lessons about how other people control land sustainably.
D.Cunningha--AMWN