The Mayan Jungle is changing and satellite data shows that, like the Amazon, large areas of this forest have been cut down in recent decades, according to NASA data. And he adds that this forest loss is visible from space through satellite photos.
“The expansion of livestock farming has been the main driver of deforestation in Guatemala in recent decades,” said Diego Incer, an expert at the Universidad del Valle de Guatemala.
- The Mayan Jungle extends for 150 thousand square kilometers in southern Mexico, northern Guatemala and Belize. It is the largest rainforest in Mesoamerica, second only to the Amazon in America.
NASA satellite photos that reveal the devastation of the Mayan Jungle
The first image was captured on March 27, 2000.
The second image (right) shows the same area on February 11, 2024.
Guatemala lost 23% of its forest cover between 2001 and 2023, according to data from NASA’s Landsat program, processed by the University of Maryland.
Why are they cutting down the Mayan Jungle?
Incer said livestock farming is often the main reason for logging. Mayan Jungle. However, he stressed that the situation is “dynamic”, since first the fauna is destroyed for this purpose, but then the land is converted into plantations of Oil palm”.
“The oil palm expansion source of the most consumed vegetable oil in the world and ingredient of many packaged products, has been particularly rapid in Guatemala,” he warned.
The land dedicated to oil palm in the region increased from approximately 30 square kilometers in 2001 to 860 square kilometers in 2017, NASA said.
The oldest losses of the Mayan Jungle appear in purple, while the most recent losses are in yellow.
Forest losses are evident even in protected areas, such as the Mayan Biosphere Reservein Guatemala.
NASA explained that the two national parks that have experienced the most rapid losses of their forest are:
- Tiger Lagoon
- Sierra del Lacandón
In it Laguna del Tigre National Park The damage appears to be near roads built for oil and gas exploration projects.
In this same region, cattle ranches with “unusual characteristics” were found, according to Jennifer Devine of Texas State University.
- They have isolated pastures
- livestock shortage
- Presence of clandestine clues
“Much of the deforestation in Laguna del Tigre National Park since 2000 is the product of illegal activities.”
Jennifer Devine of Texas State University.
However, experts highlighted that despite the challenges, there are collective actions that could help stop the destruction of the jungle. And they added that, even in this last decade, logging has decreased.
The improvement is largely due to community forestry projects, NASA said on its website. Earth Observatory.
over the jungle
The jungle has a rural population of around 600 thousand people with high cultural diversity, according to the selvamaya.info page.
The area is inhabited by different ethnic groups such as:
- choles
- Tzeltales
- Tzotziles
- Mayans
- Garifuna
- Mestizos
- Mennonites
It also houses a high biological diversity:
- Highly endangered species, such as the scarlet macaw, jaguar, and tapir
- Endemic species, for example the white turtle, the temazate, the black howler monkey and the ocellated turkey.
