Lacandon Jungle
Encyclopedia
The Lacandon Jungle is an area of rainforest
which stretches from Chiapas
, Mexico
into Guatemala
and into the southern part of the Yucatán Peninsula
. The heart of this rainforest is located in the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas near the border with Guatemala in the Montañas del Oriente region of the state. Although most of the jungle outside the reserve has been partially or completely destroyed and damage continues inside the Reserve, the Lacandon is still the largest montane
rainforest in North America
and one of the last ones left large enough to support jaguar
s. It contains 1,500 tree species, 33% of all Mexican bird species, 25% of all Mexican animal species, 44% of all Mexican diurnal butterflies and 10% of all Mexico's fish species.
The Lacandon in Chiapas is also home to a number of important Mayan archeological sites including Palenque
, Yaxchilan
and Bonampak
, with numerous smaller sites which remain partially or fully unexcavated. This rainforest, especially the area inside the Biosphere Reserve, is a source of political tension, pitting the EZLN or Zapatistas and their indigenous allies who want to farm the land against international environmental groups and the Lacandon Maya, the original indigenous group of the area and the one who has legal title to most of the lands in Montes Azules.
to north. The core of the Chiapas forest is the Montes Azules Biosphere reserve, but it also includes some other protected areas such as Bonampak, Yaxchilan, Chan Kin, Lacantum and the communal reserve of La Cojolita. Dividing the Chiapas part of the forest from the Guatemalan side is the Usumacinta River
, which of the largest in Mexico and the seventh largest in the world based on volume of water. The area has a mostly hot and humid climate (Am w" i g) with most rain falling from summer into fall, with an average of 2300 to 2600 mm per year. There is a short dry season from March to May when as little as thirty mm falls. The average annual temperature s 24.7C. The abundance of rain supports a large number of small rivers and streams many of which are fast moving and have waterfalls, such as the Agua Azul and the Lacanja waterfalls. The soils of the area are mostly clay and lacking phosphorus
but sufficient to support a large diversity of plant species.
Despite the fact that much of the area has been reduced to a patchwork of clearings for cattle ranches and peasant communities, the Lacandon contains some of the most extensive and best preserved remnants of lower montane rainforest in Mexico and Central America
. The best conserved area is within the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve, which has about 290,000 hectares of the Reserve in good condition. The Lacandon is the best known of Mexico’s rainforest areas because of the attention it has received in the press and efforts by international organizations to protect what is left of it. The Lacandon is one of the most biodiverse rainforests in the world, with as much as 25% of Mexico’s total species diversity. The predominant native vegetation is perennial high rainforest with trees that can grow to an average height of thirty meters and often to fifty or sixty including Guatteria anomala
, Ceiba pentandra, Swietenia macrophylla
, Terminalia amazonia and Ulmus mexicana
. Mammoth Guanacaste trees shrouded in vines and bromeliads among clear running streams, enormous firms, palms and wild elephant’s ear plants can still be seen. It has 1,500 tree species, 33% of all Mexican bird species, 25% of all Mexican animal species, 44% of all Mexican diurnal butterflies and 10% of all Mexico's fish species. The jungle contains many endangered species such as the red macaw
, the eagle, the tapir
, the spider monkey
, the howler monkey
s, and the swamp crocodile. It is one of the last jungles in North America big enough to support jaguar
s. Jaguars are also reported, though rare, in Selva Zoque
.
Its size and biodiversity has designated it as a “biodiversity hotspot” by the Washington DC based environmental group Conservation International
and under the Puebla-Panama Plan. It is part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor
, which aims to link similar sites from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
down through Central America for conservation purposes. This is especially true for those “hotspots” located in remote trans-border tropical forests.
There are two major attractions within the Chiapas portion of this rainforest, the El Chiflón Waterfall and the Gruta de San Francisco cave. El Chiflón is located 53 km west of Comitán de Domínguez formed by the San Vicente Rivers. The water fall from a height of over seventy meters surrounded by steeply sloped hills. El Chiflón is preceded by two smaller falls called Suspiro and Ala del Angel, which are about six meters in height. A cascade after it is called the Velo de Novia. The Gruta de San Francisco is located in the La Trinitaria municipality near the community of Santa María. The cave has a number of chambers filled with stalactites and stalagmites with capricious shapes, formed by the dripping of water through the cavity. These caves were considered sacred in the pre Hispanic period as passages to the underworld. The cave is also home to millions of bat which emerge at night to feed in the surrounding jungle.
. The most important of these sites are Palenque
, Bonampak
and Yaxchilan
, but there are many more sites and ruins that still lie unexcavated under the vegetation. Palenque lies on the edge of the Lacandon, where the Eastern Mountains meet the Gulf Coast Plains. It is not the largest Mayan archaeological site, but it has some of the finest sculpture and architecture the culture produced. Major structures include the Temple of Inscriptions, the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Cross
; however, only a small fraction of it has been excavated. Away from the ceremonial center and on the way to the site museum are smaller buildings around the Otolum stream with a small waterfall.
Yaxchilan flourished in the 8th and 9th centuries. The site contains impressive ruins, with palaces and temples bordering a large plaza upon a terrace above the Usumacinta River
. The architectural remains extend across the higher terraces and the hills to the south of the river, overlooking both the river itself and the lowlands beyond. Yaxchilan is known for the large quantity of excellent sculpture at the site, such as the monolithic carved stelae and the narrative stone relief
s carved on lintel
s spanning the temple doorways. Over 120 inscriptions have been identified on the various monuments from the site. The major groups are the Central Acropolis, the West Acropolis and the South Acropolis. The South Acropolis occupies the highest part of the site. The site is aligned with relation to the Usumacinta River, at times causing unconventional orientation of the major structures, such as the two ballcourts
. The site is relatively natural with howling monkeys, bats, toucans and other wildlife to be seen in and around the buildings.
The city of Bonampak features some of the finest remaining Maya murals, depicting Mayan clothing, rituals, games, food and other aspects of life from that time. The realistically rendered paintings depict human sacrifice
s, musicians and scenes of the royal court. The name means “painted murals”. It is centered on a large plaza and has a stairway that leads to the Acropolis. There are also a number of notable stele
s.
Although these three sites are promoted for tourism by the state as the "Maya Route", the area is still isolated with minimal tourism infrastructure such as hotels, gas stations and places for provisions. Travelers are advised to be prepared for this and to stock up on needed items before beginning the trip.
Toniná
is a set of progressively smaller terraces going up a mountain instead of a cluster of buildings. Many of the stones are carved including those of residences belonging to various social strata. The site was only discovered in the 1980s and it is still being excavated, with tourists still outnumbered by archaeological workers. However, there is a site museum including photographs of what it looked like before discovery, completely covered in jungle and hidden.
Tenam Puente is on the west side of the Lacandon near Comitán de Domínguez. The site was initially built on a hill overlooking the area as a fortification. It contains about 160 buildings with thick stone walls with access by ramps which act as buttresses. The main areas in the site are the Mesoamerican ballcourt
and the Acropolis.
Lagartero is located 74 km south of Comitán in La Trinitaria. The site contains various mounds covering eight hectares with the largest containing burials. Excavations of burials have yielded clay figures, multicolored pottery shards and musical instruments. One area has been determined to be a Mesoamerican ball court and another as the Acropolis, for the ruling elite. About two-thirds of the buildings have been determined to be for government or religious purposes. Religious structures contain a number of stelae and low reliefs of figures with detailed faces. The site is surrounded by the Lagos de Colón or Columbus Lakes.
Other ruins include those at Lacanja.
, Ch'ol, Tojolabal and Lacandon Maya as well as non- indigenous. However, except for the Lacandon Maya, almost all of the population has migrated to the Lacandon, especially during the 20th century on.
The Lacandons are descendents of the ancient Maya. Since the 16th century, they have been able to survive as a culture by living deep in the rainforest, with many communities out of contact with the rest of the world until the 20th century. Before the Conquest, the Lacandon dominated about a million hectares of these lands, but since then they have been encroached upon, mostly by indigenous from other areas of Chiapas since the early 20th century. This has dramatically altered their lifestyle and worldview. Today the Lacandon Maya are primarily found in three villages called Naja, Lacanja Chansayab
and Metzobok. near the ruins of Bonampak and Yaxchilan. Local lore states that the gods resided here when they lived on earth.
The traditional dress an undyed tunic called a xikul. Some Lacandon still wear traditional clothing but other use modern clothes and conveniences as well. Traditional Lacandon shelters are huts made with fronds and wood with a earthen floor, but this has mostly given way to modern structures. The Lacandon Maya have supported themselves for centuries practicing a method of “agro-forestry” in which they rotate areas in which they plant crops. This features a fallow period to allow for soil regeneration.
In the mid 20th century, the Lacandon had all but disappeared. In the mid 20th century, Franz and Trudy Blom were one of the first Europeans to make sustained contact with the Lacondons since the Spanish conquest. For the rest of their lives, the Bloms worked to publicize the plight of these people and by the time she died in 1999, Trudy Blom had created a collection of over 55,000 photographs of both the people and the Lacandon Jungle. The couple’s efforts, along with those of Lacandon activist Chan Kin, have spurred the Lacandons to work to preserve their land and culture. This has included developing ecotourism with cabins, rafting, horseback riding and more. While there are concerns that ecotourism will make the jungle a commodity and cause changes in Lacandon culture, it also helps to keep younger generations from migrating out of the area. Today, the Lacandon Maya numbers have increased and are estimated to be anywhere from 600 to 1000 people in about a dozen villages.
This deforestation began in the mid 19th century by loggers and “chicleros” who tapped trees for sap to make chewing gum. By the 1940s, much of the old growth forest had already been destroyed. Illegal loggins is still a serious concern. Twenty one municipalities in Chiapas have significant problems with illegal logging, most of which are in or near the Montes Azules Reserve. While migration of people into the lowland rainforests had been going on since the 1930s, it accelerated in the 1960s and 1970s, as there was high population growth in the highlands areas. The government encouraged people, especially the indigenous, to move to the lowlands and claim lands there. During the 20th century, the population of municipalities in this area, such as Altamirano
, Las Margaritas
, Ocosingo
and Palenque
has risen from 11,000 in 1920 to over 376,000 in 2000. In 1990, a World Bank
study declared that the following decade would make or break the Lacandon Selva's chances for survival as the rainforest had been "reduced to the minimum size essential for the integrity of its ecosystem." The destruction of the jungle has been such that satellite photos show the Mexico-Guatemalan border where the deforestation on the Mexican side stops.
Much of the destruction of the rainforest has occurred through slash and burn farming, which allows for little to no fallow time and creates soil erosion. It also depletes what little nutrition there is in the soil, which is then also polluted by the use of fertilizers and pesticides. As of the first decade of the 21st century, it is estimated about two thirds of the Lacandon outside the main biosphere reserve has been converted into pasture or cropland. Once this land has been cleared and used, it is very difficult to revert it to rainforest, even after it has been abandoned. Grass for pasture is particularly problematic because after it takes hold, does not allow natural vegetation to compete with it. In addition, the soil becomes compacted by the trampling of livestock. This degradation causes streams to dry up as evaporation rates rise from the lack of shade.
In the latter 1970s, the government changed its policies in regards to the Lacandon, establishing the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve. It evicted some squatters, and granted the tiny group of Lacandones ownership of huge tracts in the reserve. That caused resentment in some indigenous communities, and would be a factor in the Zapatista uprising two decades later. However, even with the establishment of the reserve, the government did not sufficiently protect it, and many squatters made their way onto the lands, creating patchworks of squatter camps. Even today, there are only about twenty forest rangers for the entire reserve.
It was financed in 1994 by the World Bank’s Global Environmental Fund. It is recognized by the UN Environment Program for its global biological and cultural significance. Its management plan endeavors to strike a balance between habitat conservation
and the demand for research into its vast genetic resources.
There is a significant difference in vegetation between the reserve areas and the jungle outside of it. However, areas of the Reserve have been damaged as it is carved in disconnected patches. In many areas, tapir
s, howler monkey
s and parrot
s are already gone. Reserve managers say even small-scale development within the conservation area is a threat, since its natural balance has been altered over the centuries. According to Conservation International
, there are 140 peasant settler communities in the Biosphere Reserve and 225 including those in other protected areas in the Lacandon. All but thirty two of these have a certain amount of legal protection as they were registered as ejido
s before the Reserve was created.
Since the Reserve was created, the thirty two have been in limbo, which some efforts by the government to force them to move with promises of other lands in Chiapas. However, these farmers have resisted with support of the EZLN. EZLN believes the evictions are a pretense to dislodge them from their base of support and the turn over the Lacandon to “corporate exploitation” as the area is still rich in timber with oil, hydro electric and even genetic resources.
The Zapatistas claim that as indigenous farmers, they are the best protectors of the rainforest, and that they want to turn Montes Azules into an “Indian Farmers’ Reserve”, a patchwork of farms and jungle.
This pits them against the Lacandon Maya and environmentalist groups who state that the jungle cannot take any more farming. They also state that the agricultural methods do not help alleviate the migrants’ economic system as they can farm a plot for a couple of harvests before the soil is depleted.
The Zapatistas have accused the environmentalists of siding with the government and corporate interests, and the Lacandons are too small in number to challenge the other groups, despite being the legal owners of much of the reserve. There were some attempts to evict settlers from the Reserve, especially from the thirty two undocumented settlements, but it was met by fierce resistance by the Zapatistas and their allies.
In 2005, some Zapatista allied communities decided to relocate on their own, while still opposing forced resettlement. These included the settlements of Primero de Enero, Santa Cruz, Ocho de Octubre and San Isidro, with all moved to areas outside the Reserve. Since then in a communiqué, EZLN leader Subcomandante Marcos warned against trying force the removal of any Zapatista allied community.
In 2008, Zapatistas and allied prohibited the entrance of federal police and army into ejidos such as La Garrucha, San Alejandro and Hermenegildo Galena to search for marijuana fields. It claims that these forces are outside their jurisdiction to do so. However, as late as 2010, illegal settlements, new and old, were being dislodged by police and military forces and moved to areas outside the conservation zones. In 2011, EZLN issued another warning that operations against these settlements pose a threat to indigenous people in the state. They and certain NGOs such as Maderas del Pueblo de Sureste oppose programs such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) as it “commodifies” indigenous culture, giving a commercial value to it vis-à-vis the environment. One aspect of the REDD program is to pay local ejido or other communal land owners to keep parts of their lands in a wild state and/or participate in reforestation of them.
Various groups with cultural and environmental interest in the area have generally opposed research into the rainforest’s biodiversity. In 2002 a coalition of traditional Maya healers called Chiapas Council of Traditional Indigenous Midwives and Healers (COMPITCH) managed to get a U.S. funded program into indigenous herbal cures canceled. In the same year, a venture between the Mexican government and the U.S. firm Diversa
was cancelled as well due to public pressure, causing the Mexican attorney general to state that the agreement with the national university UNAM
was invalid.
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
which stretches from Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
into Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and into the southern part of the Yucatán Peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel...
. The heart of this rainforest is located in the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas near the border with Guatemala in the Montañas del Oriente region of the state. Although most of the jungle outside the reserve has been partially or completely destroyed and damage continues inside the Reserve, the Lacandon is still the largest montane
Montane
In biogeography, montane is the highland area located below the subalpine zone. Montane regions generally have cooler temperatures and often have higher rainfall than the adjacent lowland regions, and are frequently home to distinct communities of plants and animals.The term "montane" means "of the...
rainforest in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and one of the last ones left large enough to support jaguar
Jaguar
The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
s. It contains 1,500 tree species, 33% of all Mexican bird species, 25% of all Mexican animal species, 44% of all Mexican diurnal butterflies and 10% of all Mexico's fish species.
The Lacandon in Chiapas is also home to a number of important Mayan archeological sites including Palenque
Palenque
Palenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruins date back to 100 BC to its fall around 800 AD...
, Yaxchilan
Yaxchilan
Yaxchilan is an ancient Maya city located on the bank of the Usumacinta River in what is now the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states along the course of the Usumacinta, with Piedras Negras as its major rival...
and Bonampak
Bonampak
Bonampak is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The site is approximately south of the larger site of Yaxchilan, under which Bonampak was a dependency, and the border with Guatemala...
, with numerous smaller sites which remain partially or fully unexcavated. This rainforest, especially the area inside the Biosphere Reserve, is a source of political tension, pitting the EZLN or Zapatistas and their indigenous allies who want to farm the land against international environmental groups and the Lacandon Maya, the original indigenous group of the area and the one who has legal title to most of the lands in Montes Azules.
Environment
The Lacandon has approximately 1.9 million hectares stretching from southeast Chiapas into northern Guatemala and into the southern Yucatán Peninsula. The Chiapas portion is located on the Montañas del Oriente (Eastern Mountains) centered on a series of canyonlike valleys called the Cañadas, between smaller mountain ridges oriented from northwest to southeast. It is bordered by the Guatemalan border on two sides with Comitán de Domínguez to the southwest and the city of PalenquePalenque, Chiapas
Palenque is a city and municipality located in the north of the state of Chiapas, Mexico. The city was named almost 200 years before the famous nearby Mayan ruins were discovered in the 18th century. The area has a significant indigenous population, mostly of the Ch'ol people, a Mayan descendent...
to north. The core of the Chiapas forest is the Montes Azules Biosphere reserve, but it also includes some other protected areas such as Bonampak, Yaxchilan, Chan Kin, Lacantum and the communal reserve of La Cojolita. Dividing the Chiapas part of the forest from the Guatemalan side is the Usumacinta River
Usumacinta River
The Usumacinta River is a river in southeastern Mexico and northwestern Guatemala. It is formed by the junction of the Pasión River, which arises in the Sierra de Santa Cruz and the Salinas River, also known as the Chixoy, or the Negro, which descends from the Sierra Madre de Guatemala...
, which of the largest in Mexico and the seventh largest in the world based on volume of water. The area has a mostly hot and humid climate (Am w" i g) with most rain falling from summer into fall, with an average of 2300 to 2600 mm per year. There is a short dry season from March to May when as little as thirty mm falls. The average annual temperature s 24.7C. The abundance of rain supports a large number of small rivers and streams many of which are fast moving and have waterfalls, such as the Agua Azul and the Lacanja waterfalls. The soils of the area are mostly clay and lacking phosphorus
Phosphorus
Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. A multivalent nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus as a mineral is almost always present in its maximally oxidized state, as inorganic phosphate rocks...
but sufficient to support a large diversity of plant species.
Despite the fact that much of the area has been reduced to a patchwork of clearings for cattle ranches and peasant communities, the Lacandon contains some of the most extensive and best preserved remnants of lower montane rainforest in Mexico and Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
. The best conserved area is within the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve, which has about 290,000 hectares of the Reserve in good condition. The Lacandon is the best known of Mexico’s rainforest areas because of the attention it has received in the press and efforts by international organizations to protect what is left of it. The Lacandon is one of the most biodiverse rainforests in the world, with as much as 25% of Mexico’s total species diversity. The predominant native vegetation is perennial high rainforest with trees that can grow to an average height of thirty meters and often to fifty or sixty including Guatteria anomala
Guatteria anomala
Guatteria anomala is a species of plant in the Annonaceae family. It is found in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Mexico. It is threatened by habitat loss.-Source:* World Conservation Monitoring Centre 1998. . Downloaded on 21 August 2007....
, Ceiba pentandra, Swietenia macrophylla
Swietenia macrophylla
Swietenia macrophylla, commonly known as big leaf mahogany, is a species of plant in the Meliaceae family. It is one of two species that yields genuine mahogany timber, the other being Swietenia mahagoni....
, Terminalia amazonia and Ulmus mexicana
Ulmus mexicana
The Mexican Elm Ulmus mexicana Planch. is a large tree endemic to Mexico and Central America. It is most commonly found in cloud forest and the higher elevations of tropical rain forest with precipitation levels of between 2 m and 4 m per annum, ranging from San Luis Potosi south to Chiapas in...
. Mammoth Guanacaste trees shrouded in vines and bromeliads among clear running streams, enormous firms, palms and wild elephant’s ear plants can still be seen. It has 1,500 tree species, 33% of all Mexican bird species, 25% of all Mexican animal species, 44% of all Mexican diurnal butterflies and 10% of all Mexico's fish species. The jungle contains many endangered species such as the red macaw
Ara (genus)
Ara is a Neotropical genus of macaws with eight extant species and at least two extinct species. The genus name was coined by French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799. It gives its name to and is part of the Arini, or tribe of Neotropical parrots. The Ara macaws are large striking...
, the eagle, the tapir
Tapir
A Tapir is a large browsing mammal, similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. There are four species of Tapirs: the Brazilian Tapir, the Malayan Tapir, Baird's Tapir and the Mountain...
, the spider monkey
Spider monkey
Spider monkeys of the genus Ateles are New World monkeys in the subfamily Atelinae, family Atelidae. Like other atelines, they are found in tropical forests of Central and South America, from southern Mexico to Brazil...
, the howler monkey
Howler monkey
Howler monkeys are among the largest of the New World monkeys. Fifteen species are currently recognised. Previously classified in the family Cebidae, they are now placed in the family Atelidae. These monkeys are native to South and Central American forests...
s, and the swamp crocodile. It is one of the last jungles in North America big enough to support jaguar
Jaguar
The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
s. Jaguars are also reported, though rare, in Selva Zoque
Selva Zoque
The Selva Zoque , which includes the Chimalapas rain forest, is an area of great ecological importance in Mexico. Most of the forest lies in the state of Oaxaca but parts are in Chiapas and Veracruz....
.
Its size and biodiversity has designated it as a “biodiversity hotspot” by the Washington DC based environmental group Conservation International
Conservation International
Conservation International is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, which seeks to ensure the health of humanity by protecting Earth's ecosystems and biodiversity. CI’s work focuses on six key initiatives that affect human well-being: climate, food security, freshwater...
and under the Puebla-Panama Plan. It is part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor
Mesoamerican Biological Corridor
The Mesoamerican Biological Corridor is a large habitat corridor in Mesoamerica, stretching from Mexico southeastward through most of Central America, connecting several national parks. It was started in 1998 to keep 106 critically endangered species from going extinct...
, which aims to link similar sites from the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
Isthmus of Tehuantepec
The Isthmus of Tehuantepec is an isthmus in Mexico. It represents the shortest distance between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean, and prior to the opening of the Panama Canal was a major shipping route known simply as the Tehuantepec Route...
down through Central America for conservation purposes. This is especially true for those “hotspots” located in remote trans-border tropical forests.
There are two major attractions within the Chiapas portion of this rainforest, the El Chiflón Waterfall and the Gruta de San Francisco cave. El Chiflón is located 53 km west of Comitán de Domínguez formed by the San Vicente Rivers. The water fall from a height of over seventy meters surrounded by steeply sloped hills. El Chiflón is preceded by two smaller falls called Suspiro and Ala del Angel, which are about six meters in height. A cascade after it is called the Velo de Novia. The Gruta de San Francisco is located in the La Trinitaria municipality near the community of Santa María. The cave has a number of chambers filled with stalactites and stalagmites with capricious shapes, formed by the dripping of water through the cavity. These caves were considered sacred in the pre Hispanic period as passages to the underworld. The cave is also home to millions of bat which emerge at night to feed in the surrounding jungle.
Archeological sites
The jungle is also home to some of Mexico’s most numerous and impression archaeological sites, all of which belong to the Mayan civilizationMaya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
. The most important of these sites are Palenque
Palenque
Palenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruins date back to 100 BC to its fall around 800 AD...
, Bonampak
Bonampak
Bonampak is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The site is approximately south of the larger site of Yaxchilan, under which Bonampak was a dependency, and the border with Guatemala...
and Yaxchilan
Yaxchilan
Yaxchilan is an ancient Maya city located on the bank of the Usumacinta River in what is now the state of Chiapas, Mexico. In the Late Classic Period Yaxchilan was one of the most powerful Maya states along the course of the Usumacinta, with Piedras Negras as its major rival...
, but there are many more sites and ruins that still lie unexcavated under the vegetation. Palenque lies on the edge of the Lacandon, where the Eastern Mountains meet the Gulf Coast Plains. It is not the largest Mayan archaeological site, but it has some of the finest sculpture and architecture the culture produced. Major structures include the Temple of Inscriptions, the Temple of the Sun and the Temple of the Cross
Temple of the Cross
The Group of the Cross is a complex of temples at the Maya ruins of Palenque in the state of Chiapas in Mexico. It is located in the south-east corner of the site and consists of three main structures, the Temple of the Sun, the Temple of the Cross and the Temple of the Foliated Cross.-History:The...
; however, only a small fraction of it has been excavated. Away from the ceremonial center and on the way to the site museum are smaller buildings around the Otolum stream with a small waterfall.
Yaxchilan flourished in the 8th and 9th centuries. The site contains impressive ruins, with palaces and temples bordering a large plaza upon a terrace above the Usumacinta River
Usumacinta River
The Usumacinta River is a river in southeastern Mexico and northwestern Guatemala. It is formed by the junction of the Pasión River, which arises in the Sierra de Santa Cruz and the Salinas River, also known as the Chixoy, or the Negro, which descends from the Sierra Madre de Guatemala...
. The architectural remains extend across the higher terraces and the hills to the south of the river, overlooking both the river itself and the lowlands beyond. Yaxchilan is known for the large quantity of excellent sculpture at the site, such as the monolithic carved stelae and the narrative stone relief
Relief
Relief is a sculptural technique. The term relief is from the Latin verb levo, to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is thus to give the impression that the sculpted material has been raised above the background plane...
s carved on lintel
Lintel (architecture)
A lintel can be a load-bearing building component, a decorative architectural element, or a combined ornamented structural item. It is often found over portals, doors, and windows.-Structural uses:...
s spanning the temple doorways. Over 120 inscriptions have been identified on the various monuments from the site. The major groups are the Central Acropolis, the West Acropolis and the South Acropolis. The South Acropolis occupies the highest part of the site. The site is aligned with relation to the Usumacinta River, at times causing unconventional orientation of the major structures, such as the two ballcourts
Mesoamerican ballcourt
A Mesoamerican ballcourt is a large masonry structure of a type used in Mesoamerica for over 2,700 years to play the Mesoamerican ballgame, particularly the hip-ball version of the ballgame. Over 1,300 ballcourts have been identified, 60% in the last 20 years alone...
. The site is relatively natural with howling monkeys, bats, toucans and other wildlife to be seen in and around the buildings.
The city of Bonampak features some of the finest remaining Maya murals, depicting Mayan clothing, rituals, games, food and other aspects of life from that time. The realistically rendered paintings depict human sacrifice
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
s, musicians and scenes of the royal court. The name means “painted murals”. It is centered on a large plaza and has a stairway that leads to the Acropolis. There are also a number of notable stele
Stele
A stele , also stela , is a stone or wooden slab, generally taller than it is wide, erected for funerals or commemorative purposes, most usually decorated with the names and titles of the deceased or living — inscribed, carved in relief , or painted onto the slab...
s.
Although these three sites are promoted for tourism by the state as the "Maya Route", the area is still isolated with minimal tourism infrastructure such as hotels, gas stations and places for provisions. Travelers are advised to be prepared for this and to stock up on needed items before beginning the trip.
Toniná
Tonina
Tonina is a pre-Columbian archaeological site and ruined city of the Maya civilization located in what is now the Mexican state of Chiapas, some 13 km east of the town of Ocosingo....
is a set of progressively smaller terraces going up a mountain instead of a cluster of buildings. Many of the stones are carved including those of residences belonging to various social strata. The site was only discovered in the 1980s and it is still being excavated, with tourists still outnumbered by archaeological workers. However, there is a site museum including photographs of what it looked like before discovery, completely covered in jungle and hidden.
Tenam Puente is on the west side of the Lacandon near Comitán de Domínguez. The site was initially built on a hill overlooking the area as a fortification. It contains about 160 buildings with thick stone walls with access by ramps which act as buttresses. The main areas in the site are the Mesoamerican ballcourt
Mesoamerican ballcourt
A Mesoamerican ballcourt is a large masonry structure of a type used in Mesoamerica for over 2,700 years to play the Mesoamerican ballgame, particularly the hip-ball version of the ballgame. Over 1,300 ballcourts have been identified, 60% in the last 20 years alone...
and the Acropolis.
Lagartero is located 74 km south of Comitán in La Trinitaria. The site contains various mounds covering eight hectares with the largest containing burials. Excavations of burials have yielded clay figures, multicolored pottery shards and musical instruments. One area has been determined to be a Mesoamerican ball court and another as the Acropolis, for the ruling elite. About two-thirds of the buildings have been determined to be for government or religious purposes. Religious structures contain a number of stelae and low reliefs of figures with detailed faces. The site is surrounded by the Lagos de Colón or Columbus Lakes.
Other ruins include those at Lacanja.
Lacandon people
The population of the area is mostly subsistence peasants. These include indigenous groups of Chiapas such as the Tzotzil, TzeltalTzeltal people
The Tzeltal people are the largest indigenous group mostly located in the highlands or Los Altos region of the Mexican state of Chiapas. They are one of many Mayan ethnic groups and they speak a a language which belongs to the Tzeltalan subgroup of Mayan languages...
, Ch'ol, Tojolabal and Lacandon Maya as well as non- indigenous. However, except for the Lacandon Maya, almost all of the population has migrated to the Lacandon, especially during the 20th century on.
The Lacandons are descendents of the ancient Maya. Since the 16th century, they have been able to survive as a culture by living deep in the rainforest, with many communities out of contact with the rest of the world until the 20th century. Before the Conquest, the Lacandon dominated about a million hectares of these lands, but since then they have been encroached upon, mostly by indigenous from other areas of Chiapas since the early 20th century. This has dramatically altered their lifestyle and worldview. Today the Lacandon Maya are primarily found in three villages called Naja, Lacanja Chansayab
Lacanja Chansayab
Lacanja Chansayab is a village in the Mexican state of Chiapas. It is a tourist attraction that is close to Lacanja ruins and the waterfall at the Río Cedro....
and Metzobok. near the ruins of Bonampak and Yaxchilan. Local lore states that the gods resided here when they lived on earth.
The traditional dress an undyed tunic called a xikul. Some Lacandon still wear traditional clothing but other use modern clothes and conveniences as well. Traditional Lacandon shelters are huts made with fronds and wood with a earthen floor, but this has mostly given way to modern structures. The Lacandon Maya have supported themselves for centuries practicing a method of “agro-forestry” in which they rotate areas in which they plant crops. This features a fallow period to allow for soil regeneration.
In the mid 20th century, the Lacandon had all but disappeared. In the mid 20th century, Franz and Trudy Blom were one of the first Europeans to make sustained contact with the Lacondons since the Spanish conquest. For the rest of their lives, the Bloms worked to publicize the plight of these people and by the time she died in 1999, Trudy Blom had created a collection of over 55,000 photographs of both the people and the Lacandon Jungle. The couple’s efforts, along with those of Lacandon activist Chan Kin, have spurred the Lacandons to work to preserve their land and culture. This has included developing ecotourism with cabins, rafting, horseback riding and more. While there are concerns that ecotourism will make the jungle a commodity and cause changes in Lacandon culture, it also helps to keep younger generations from migrating out of the area. Today, the Lacandon Maya numbers have increased and are estimated to be anywhere from 600 to 1000 people in about a dozen villages.
Deforestation
The deforestation of the Lacandon in Mexico has been dramatically high, with the rate increasing over the past decades. It is estimated that only 10% of virgin rainforest still exists with the rest having been strip-mined, logged and more. Most of what is left hugs the Guatemalan border. Of the remaining forest, about 5% is still lost per year in spite of conservation efforts.This deforestation began in the mid 19th century by loggers and “chicleros” who tapped trees for sap to make chewing gum. By the 1940s, much of the old growth forest had already been destroyed. Illegal loggins is still a serious concern. Twenty one municipalities in Chiapas have significant problems with illegal logging, most of which are in or near the Montes Azules Reserve. While migration of people into the lowland rainforests had been going on since the 1930s, it accelerated in the 1960s and 1970s, as there was high population growth in the highlands areas. The government encouraged people, especially the indigenous, to move to the lowlands and claim lands there. During the 20th century, the population of municipalities in this area, such as Altamirano
Altamirano, Chiapas
Altamirano is a municipality in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The municipality, covering an area of 1120 km2, has a population of 21,948....
, Las Margaritas
Las Margaritas, Chiapas
Las Margaritas is a city, and the surrounding municipality of the same name, in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The municipal seat is located some 25 km to the northeast of Comitán de Domínguez, while the municipality extends to the east as far as the border with Guatemala...
, Ocosingo
Ocosingo
Ocosingo is a city and its surrounding municipality of the same name in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The municipality borders the Usumacinta River along a portion where the river forms the international border with Guatemala. The city had a 2005 census population of 35,065 inhabitants, and serves...
and Palenque
Palenque, Chiapas
Palenque is a city and municipality located in the north of the state of Chiapas, Mexico. The city was named almost 200 years before the famous nearby Mayan ruins were discovered in the 18th century. The area has a significant indigenous population, mostly of the Ch'ol people, a Mayan descendent...
has risen from 11,000 in 1920 to over 376,000 in 2000. In 1990, a World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
study declared that the following decade would make or break the Lacandon Selva's chances for survival as the rainforest had been "reduced to the minimum size essential for the integrity of its ecosystem." The destruction of the jungle has been such that satellite photos show the Mexico-Guatemalan border where the deforestation on the Mexican side stops.
Much of the destruction of the rainforest has occurred through slash and burn farming, which allows for little to no fallow time and creates soil erosion. It also depletes what little nutrition there is in the soil, which is then also polluted by the use of fertilizers and pesticides. As of the first decade of the 21st century, it is estimated about two thirds of the Lacandon outside the main biosphere reserve has been converted into pasture or cropland. Once this land has been cleared and used, it is very difficult to revert it to rainforest, even after it has been abandoned. Grass for pasture is particularly problematic because after it takes hold, does not allow natural vegetation to compete with it. In addition, the soil becomes compacted by the trampling of livestock. This degradation causes streams to dry up as evaporation rates rise from the lack of shade.
In the latter 1970s, the government changed its policies in regards to the Lacandon, establishing the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve. It evicted some squatters, and granted the tiny group of Lacandones ownership of huge tracts in the reserve. That caused resentment in some indigenous communities, and would be a factor in the Zapatista uprising two decades later. However, even with the establishment of the reserve, the government did not sufficiently protect it, and many squatters made their way onto the lands, creating patchworks of squatter camps. Even today, there are only about twenty forest rangers for the entire reserve.
Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve
The Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve was established in 1978 as Mexico’s first biosphere reserve. This reserve covers part of the Lacandon Jungle, covering 331,200 hectares, only one fifth of the original rainforest in Chiapas. In 1992 the 61,874-hectare Lacantun Reserve, which includes the Classic Maya archeological sites of Yaxchilan and Bonampak, was added to the original biosphere reserve.It was financed in 1994 by the World Bank’s Global Environmental Fund. It is recognized by the UN Environment Program for its global biological and cultural significance. Its management plan endeavors to strike a balance between habitat conservation
Habitat conservation
Habitat conservation is a land management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore, habitat areas for wild plants and animals, especially conservation reliant species, and prevent their extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range...
and the demand for research into its vast genetic resources.
There is a significant difference in vegetation between the reserve areas and the jungle outside of it. However, areas of the Reserve have been damaged as it is carved in disconnected patches. In many areas, tapir
Tapir
A Tapir is a large browsing mammal, similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. There are four species of Tapirs: the Brazilian Tapir, the Malayan Tapir, Baird's Tapir and the Mountain...
s, howler monkey
Howler monkey
Howler monkeys are among the largest of the New World monkeys. Fifteen species are currently recognised. Previously classified in the family Cebidae, they are now placed in the family Atelidae. These monkeys are native to South and Central American forests...
s and parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
s are already gone. Reserve managers say even small-scale development within the conservation area is a threat, since its natural balance has been altered over the centuries. According to Conservation International
Conservation International
Conservation International is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, which seeks to ensure the health of humanity by protecting Earth's ecosystems and biodiversity. CI’s work focuses on six key initiatives that affect human well-being: climate, food security, freshwater...
, there are 140 peasant settler communities in the Biosphere Reserve and 225 including those in other protected areas in the Lacandon. All but thirty two of these have a certain amount of legal protection as they were registered as ejido
Ejido
The ejido system is a process whereby the government promotes the use of communal land shared by the people of the community. This use of community land was a common practice during the time of Aztec rule in Mexico...
s before the Reserve was created.
Since the Reserve was created, the thirty two have been in limbo, which some efforts by the government to force them to move with promises of other lands in Chiapas. However, these farmers have resisted with support of the EZLN. EZLN believes the evictions are a pretense to dislodge them from their base of support and the turn over the Lacandon to “corporate exploitation” as the area is still rich in timber with oil, hydro electric and even genetic resources.
The Reserve and the Zapatistas
EZLN, commonly known as the Zapatistas, came to the forefront of Chiapas politics in the mid 1990s. Since then, their bases of support have mostly come from indigenous communities in the settled areas of the Lacandon Jungle and the areas around San Cristobal de las Casas. While migration to the Lacandon had been occurring earlier in the 20th century, it accelerated even more in the 1990s, with the Zapatistas encouraging people to seize “unoccupied jungle.” For this reason, the Zapatistas do not have the support of the Lacandon Mayas, who have also feared for their villages’ and people’s safety when confronted by the EZLN.The Zapatistas claim that as indigenous farmers, they are the best protectors of the rainforest, and that they want to turn Montes Azules into an “Indian Farmers’ Reserve”, a patchwork of farms and jungle.
This pits them against the Lacandon Maya and environmentalist groups who state that the jungle cannot take any more farming. They also state that the agricultural methods do not help alleviate the migrants’ economic system as they can farm a plot for a couple of harvests before the soil is depleted.
The Zapatistas have accused the environmentalists of siding with the government and corporate interests, and the Lacandons are too small in number to challenge the other groups, despite being the legal owners of much of the reserve. There were some attempts to evict settlers from the Reserve, especially from the thirty two undocumented settlements, but it was met by fierce resistance by the Zapatistas and their allies.
In 2005, some Zapatista allied communities decided to relocate on their own, while still opposing forced resettlement. These included the settlements of Primero de Enero, Santa Cruz, Ocho de Octubre and San Isidro, with all moved to areas outside the Reserve. Since then in a communiqué, EZLN leader Subcomandante Marcos warned against trying force the removal of any Zapatista allied community.
In 2008, Zapatistas and allied prohibited the entrance of federal police and army into ejidos such as La Garrucha, San Alejandro and Hermenegildo Galena to search for marijuana fields. It claims that these forces are outside their jurisdiction to do so. However, as late as 2010, illegal settlements, new and old, were being dislodged by police and military forces and moved to areas outside the conservation zones. In 2011, EZLN issued another warning that operations against these settlements pose a threat to indigenous people in the state. They and certain NGOs such as Maderas del Pueblo de Sureste oppose programs such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) as it “commodifies” indigenous culture, giving a commercial value to it vis-à-vis the environment. One aspect of the REDD program is to pay local ejido or other communal land owners to keep parts of their lands in a wild state and/or participate in reforestation of them.
”Bio-piracy”
Its management plan endeavors to strike a balance between habitat conservation and the demand for research into its vast genetic resources. There are some researchers collecting plants in the reserve but they are looked upon with suspicion and considered to be thieves by many in indigenous communities. One of these is a station run by Conservation International to map the flora and fauna of Montes Azules. Mexican agro-business and biotech enterprise Grupo Pulsar also has research stations in Chiapas. However, the pressure from academics, biotech firms, pharmaceutical companies and others to explore the area’s natural resources have raised concerns of “bio-piracy” or the patenting of wild plants and animals at the expense of native peoples.Various groups with cultural and environmental interest in the area have generally opposed research into the rainforest’s biodiversity. In 2002 a coalition of traditional Maya healers called Chiapas Council of Traditional Indigenous Midwives and Healers (COMPITCH) managed to get a U.S. funded program into indigenous herbal cures canceled. In the same year, a venture between the Mexican government and the U.S. firm Diversa
Diversa
Verenium Corporation, is a San Diego, California-based industrial biotechnology company that specializes in the development of high performance enzymes...
was cancelled as well due to public pressure, causing the Mexican attorney general to state that the agreement with the national university UNAM
Unam
UNAM or UNaM may refer to:* National University of Misiones, a National University in Posadas, Argentina*National Autonomous University of Mexico , the large public autonomous university based in Mexico City...
was invalid.