Mirador “is a world wonder – and needs to be protected. We may be talking about the single most ambitious conservation and development project related to protected areas proposed in the Americas.”

Roan McNab, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) in Travel & Leisure magazine, June, 2005

1. Executive Summary

Mirador Archaeological and Wildlife Preserve is a proposed 525,100 acre protected area located in the heart of the Maya Biosphere in northern Guatemala. Mirador is home to the earliest and largest Preclassic Maya archeological sites in Mesoamerica, including the largest pyramid in the world- La Danta. Experts describe the Mirador as the Cradle of Maya Civilization.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, the Maya Biosphere has lost 70% of its forests in the last ten years. Establishment of the Mirador Archaeological and Wildlife Preserve is our last chance to protect the last remaining forests of the Maya Biosphere from total environmental catastrophe (see cover showing 2000-2005 fires in red).

Global Heritage Fund (GHF) is working with the Guatemalan government, community leaders, the Foundation for Anthropological Research and Environmental Studies (FARES) and the U.S. Department of the Interior, to create an economically sustainable park based on the successful model of nearby Tikal National Park.

GHF’s primary conservation goals for Mirador are:

1. Establish a 525,100 acre archaeological and wildlife preserve
2. Secure UNESCO World Heritage designation
3. Become a sustainable protected area within 10 years

Above: Massive clearing of forests and fires in northern Guatemala have virtually destroyed the remaining wildlife habitats of the Maya Biosphere.

Project Background

Mirador’s Preclassic Maya cities are more numerous and larger than those found at nearby Tikal National Park, and predate the Classic Maya sites of Tikal by 800-1200 years. Mirador’s priceless ancient cities and monuments of the Preclassic Maya period are the most spectacular and unique in Central America. Mirador is Guatemala’s leading nomination for UNESCO World Heritage.

Mirador’s ancient Maya cities form the basis for a sustainable future based on a road-less Archaeological and Wildlife Preserve. Such a preserve has the potential to stop the destruction of the forests at its borders, and to provide an alternative to the status quo of burning, logging, looting and poaching for the local communities. With new education and training initiatives, and responsible development of the Mirador Archaeological and Wildlife Preserve, GHF is assisting the local people to save their own forests and ancient cultural sites.

Drug trafficking profits are fueling a massive ranching industry which has virtually destroyed the Maya Biosphere within the past five years in northern Guatemala. The intensity of fires and resulting smoke has closed down schools as far north as Houston, Texas in 2003 and 2004.

GHF’s goal is to implement world-class conservation and master planning while achieving economic sustainability in revenues and costs within ten years by supporting key areas of conservation, park infrastructure, training and planning in this critical period of establishing the Mirador Archaeological and Wildlife Preserve. The Mirador Archaeological and Wildlife Preserve is based on the successful Tikal National Park model. Tikal has not lost one acre of forest in 30 years. Since inception, has had over 12 million visitors and today brings in $200 million in annual tourism revenues.

Above: The intact native rainforests of Mirador shroud the spectacular pyramids and ancient Maya cities, four of which are the largest in Central America. 360 degree vistas of virgin rainforests and wildlife from the summit of the pyramids are unique in the world.

II. Conservation Objectives

Our goal is to maintain Mirador as a road-less preserve with carefully managed tourist accessibility, community participation, and harvesting of renewable resources (xate, chicle, pimienta) by community organizations. Protecting Mirador will not only shelter Guatemala's natural and cultural birthright, it will foster a core element of the country's economic future.

The major threats to Mirador are rooted in the poverty of the people in the surrounding communities. The lack of opportunities has lead to slash and burn, poaching, looting and other activities. The economic welfare of those around the Basin can best addressed by establishing and enforcing the area as a archaeological and wildlife preserve with controlled tourism. The economic benefits of sustainable tourism far outweigh the current returns from logging, poaching or slash-and-burn agriculture.

Just 70 miles from Mirador is Tikal National Park, a proven, highly effective model for archeological and wildlife preserve as a means for long-term, sustainable forest and wildlife protection. In the past 30 years, Tikal has not lost one of its 220,000 acres of rainforest to fires, logging or clearing.

Tikal National Park, with less than half of the acreage of Mirador and many fewer monuments, generates over $200 million in annual tourism revenues. In comparison, logging concessions in the area presently generate less than $2 million a year.

To help Mirador on a path of success similar to Tikal National Park, GHF’s primary conservation goals are:

1. Establish a 525,100 acre archaeological and wildlife preserve
2. Secure UNESCO World Heritage designation
3. Become a sustainable protected area within 10 years

Above: Tikal National Park has succeeded in saving over 250,000 acres of intact rainforest for the past 30 years. Below: Accelerated burning of the Maya Biosphere Reserve around Mirador is an environmental catastrophe previously unknown to this scale and speed of forest loss.

Above: Opening of the new water system and community visitor center in Carmelita last year, the first new investments in Mirador’s ‘Gateway’ community in years.

III. GHF Mirador Progress to Date

Together, with our partners in Guatemala and the United States, GHF has made excellent progress over the past year to build a strong base of private and public sector support for the large-scale conservation and planned development of the Mirador Archaeological and Wildlife Preserve. In addition to raising in-country matching funding, which is always very difficult in developing countries, we have made substantial progress towards our three main goals.

1. Establish a 525,100 acre Archaeological and Wilderness Preserve

Mirador Master Conservation Plan. The GHF-sponsored Master Conservation Plan for Mirador will be formally presented to President Oscar Berger of Guatemala, mid-June, 2006, by the Ministry of Culture and the National Council of Protected Areas.

GHF signed a 10-year agreement with the Department of the Interior, International Affairs Division for planning, training and park development of Mirador. Twelve (12) U.S. Department of the Interior managers and experts will work with GHF in Mirador with support of the U.S. government for salaries, with GHF covering travel costs. A GHF-U.S. Department of the Interior mission is in Mirador now for 2 weeks planning our work for the next 5 years with the communities, government and private sponsors.

Increased Enforcement and Protection of the Area - Last month, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) destroyed 86 clandestine runways and found 100s of abandoned planes in the areas west of Mirador. One was called the ‘international airport’ with 5 landing strips larger than the Flores ‘Mundo Maya’ airport! Drug-running and massive cattle ranching (to launder money) are the two most devastating reasons we have such an environmental catastrophe on our hands.

The new U.S. Ambassador James Derham visited Mirador with President Oscar Berger in March, 2006 and has committed his support for the project. Also on the visit were key staff from Senator Leahy’s office, who sits on the Foreign Relations Committee, Latin America.

2. Secure UNESCO World Heritage Designation

UNESCO World Heritage Nomination - Mirador has become the number one nomination of Guatemala for UNESCO World Heritage. Forty delegates will meet in August, 2006 from around the world in Guatemala to review and prepare the Mirador nomination to the World Heritage Committee.

3. Become a Sustainable Protected Area within 10 years

New GHF-APANAC Community Visitor Center – the new center was completed last month and the opening was attended by President Oscar Berger and over 400 local leaders and community members from the ‘gateway’ villages to Mirador.

New Growth in Mirador Tourism - Visitors are expected to grow from 3,000 to 10,000 in the next five years and to 30-40,000 visitors annually within ten years, generating over $20 million in revenues. With improved access on bikes, horses, hiking trails and a small narrow gauge train, Mirador will be the most important new tourism destination in Central America.

Training and Education of Mirador Communities - GHF has equipped and trained 60 guides in the community association and funded Mirador’s 30 park rangers who have been instrumental to stop the burning, looting, poaching and illegal logging in within the Mirador area. GHF opened the first water system in Carmelita critical to visitors and the locals for Mirador to be successful. 45 computers are operational with custom-designed courses for students and adults on conservation, nature, wildlife, archaeology, history, guiding and park ranger training.

Securing Long-Term Support and Funding - Mirador will be the primary beneficiary of future planned Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and World Bank funding in the Maya Biosphere of millions in loans to the Guatemalan government. While these long-term government loans bode well for the project, it is critical that international planning and scientific conservation from GHF and our partners be involved in the first five years of the project’s development.

GHF’s early and direct private-sector support for planning, scientific conservation and responsible development gives the needed long-term vision and well-thought plan for guiding Mirador’s development and to ensure the highest quality implementation within a sustainable model.

Above: GHF-sponsored conservation of the ancient Maya cities and monuments are the engine for planned development and new economic opportunities needed to save Mirador.

The Next Five Years - 2006 - 2010

GHF and our local and international partners are well positioned to help save Mirador. Global Heritage Fund is the leading international conservancy working to save endangered world heritage sites in developing countries.

Our strength in the success of this project lies in our step-by-step “Preservation by Design” methodology and our Global Heritage Network (GHN) of over 400 international experts in the fields of archaeology, urban and regional planning, anthropology, conservation, architecture and museum sciences. Global Heritage Network provides state-of-the-art planning, mapping, GIS and archaeological conservation tools, applications and technology to make large-scale conservation possible.

The Guatemalan government, local residents and the international community are all supporting the protection of Mirador, creating a rare opportunity to save this exceptional place. However, immediate action and effective management are necessary in order to ensure success. With your support, we can ensure that the treasures of Mirador are preserved for future generations of Guatemalans and the world.

Our immediate goal is the completion of the entire complex of El Mirador- Guatemala’s ‘next Tikal’ within the next three years. This work, led by Dr. Richard Hansen and over 240 Guatemalan and international professionals and workers, includes excavation, research, conservation and consolidation of the world’s largest pyramid- La Danta, as well as 10-12 major monuments and numerous smaller temples and housing complexes.

El Mirador will have similar facilities and potentially even better interpretation and visitor services as Tikal National Park. Our goal is to have 40-50,000 visitors within 10 years generating the $2-3 million budget needed for 120-160 park rangers and staff needed for law enforcement, forestry and park management.

Above: Delineation of protected areas in the Maya Biosphere Reserve, which is burning at unprecedented rates over the past five years, is now encroaching the edges of the proposed Mirador Archaeological and Wildlife Preserve. Below: 2000-2005 fires recorded by NASA.

GHF implements our “Preservation by Design” methodology for all of our projects. Preservation by Design integrates long-term planning, community involvement and quality assessment throughout the lifecycle of site conservation. This four-stage integrated planning and conservation framework greatly increases the potential for long-term conservation success.

We develop a unique Master Conservation Plan (MCP) around each Global Heritage Site, which provides a comprehensive view of the threats, opportunities and best ideas for design and implementation of long-term conservation, while integrating the political and human realities of the site and its surrounding region.

GHF establishes key scientific data to assist the government of Guatemala, local communities, local and international NGOs and international development agencies, to work for a preservation plan for the Basin and the ultimate legal framework required to guarantee its conservation and responsible development.

GHF has worked to map over 26 major cities in Mirador since 2002, including eight larger than the city of Tikal National Park, ten years ago thought to be the largest Maya city. The Government of Guatemala is now incorporating GHF's GIS and Mapping into national maps and conservation plans for the Maya Biosphere that clearly show these previously unknown sites and their 3 kilometer buffer zones under the constitution against logging, looting and poaching protected under the Guatemalan constitution.

Above: 3D Total Station Mapping of La Danta Pyramid, the largest in Mesopotamia (Maya BC150) developed over 2 years with support of Global Heritage Network – GHF Mirador. Below: 3D Total Station of Preclasic Maya site of Nakbe showing major architecture within the jungles of northern Guatemala.

Above: Structure 34 before and after GHF-sponsored conservation.

Monument Conservation and Restoration

GHF funding over the next three years will restore the complex of El Mirador, the namesake for Mirador Archaeological and Wildlife Preserve, containing the oldest and largest pyramid in the Maya world- La Danta. El Mirador will become the engine for sustainable tourism and economic development in Northern Peten, Guatemala. We expect to complete La Danta within two years along with 10-12 other major buildings at El Mirador. GHF funding will complete the restoration and conservation of La Danta, the North Acropolis, Structure 34, La Muerta and Cascabel complexes. For more details on archaeological research and conservation, we have all reports available since 1992.

2005 was a landmark year for conservation of Mirador’s most important archaeological treasures including:

• Emergency consolidation and stabilization of La Danta Pyramid threatened major
  architecture at El Mirador.
  
• Large scale archaeological excavations at El Mirador including Structure 34 exposing
  Preclassic mask reliefs and numerous plaza and platform excavations at the site.
  
• Preliminary exploration and mapping of ten previously unknown and unexplored ancient
  cities (La Sarteneja, La Tortuga, Paxban, Wakna, El Camotillo, El Guiro, El Porvenir, La
  Ceibita, la Florecita, La Iglesia) which now complement the recently finished maps of the
  ancient cities of Tintal, Naba, Bejucal, and Xulnal. This study was under the supervision of
  Archaeologist Hector Mejia and 4 students from San Carlos University and the University
  Center of Peten.
  
• Discovery of major ancient Preclassic (ca. 300-200 B.C.) wall paintings at Wakna (similar
  to those recently found at San Bartolo) and at Porvenir (Late Classic, ca. A.D. 700).

Above: Structure 34 Preclassic Maya stuccos in-situ conservation. Below: Completed conservation of La Muerta complex.

Above: Structure 34 conservation and artist’s rendering. Below: Repairs and consolidation of La Danta pyramid of El Mirador, thought to be the world’s largest.

GHF Partnership with U.S. Department of the Interior

The Department of the Interior is the U.S. government agency with primary responsibility
for the management of natural and cultural resources in public trust, including the U.S.
national parks and wildlife refuges, and DO-ITAP works toward the conservation of natural
and cultural resources worldwide through the provision of technical training and
consultation.

The unique strengths DOI-ITAP offers include:

• DOI is a world leader in the management of protected areas for natural and cultural
  resources.
• DOI offers technical experts in a wide array of natural and cultural resource disciplines
  with a depth of applied technical knowledge and international experience.
• DOI staff develops direct government counterparts within host-country natural
  resource management agencies and build government to government relationships.
• DOI technical assistance is cost-effective: All salaries for short-term DOI technical
  assistance are donated by DOI.

The unique strengths GHF offers include:

• GHF is an internationally recognized leader in innovation and performance in the
  conservation of endangered world heritage sites in developing countries. GHF
  provides funding, technical assistance, applications and technology and its proven
  Preservation by Design methodology to help local conservation leaders in the
  developing world succeed in conservation and community development.
• The majority of GHF project funding is for local in-country labor, staff and materials.
  GHF’s project staff are mostly local residents in the countries where GHF works and
  are integral members of local communities and networks.
• GHF’s efforts in Mirador, Guatemala began in 2001 and since this time GHF and its
  partners have invested over $4 million in conservation of the cultural and natural
  heritage within El Mirador National Park. GHF expects to be active in the region for
  the long-term and provide significant new funding and resources over the next 6 years.

Without proper law enforcement and monitoring, the Maya Biosphere and its protected areas are just “Paper Parks” without the human staff and support to ensure species survival, environmental health, and archaeological conservation. Even Mirador is already becoming an ‘Empty Forest’ with massive poaching of jaguar and other wildlife by surrounding communities.

Community Development And Ecotourism

Global Heritage Fund, FARES, and the Friends of the Natural and Cultural Patrimony of Guatemala (APANAC) implemented a new water system for the village of Carmelita, as well as recently inaugurated a new Community Visitor’s Center in Carmelita.

Designed by Guatemalan architects, a new community-based Visitors Center and Park Headquarters will serve as a gateway into Mirador and will provide a central focus for ranger training, visitor services and guiding operations. The villagers of Carmelita, Mirador’s largest surrounding community, will run the Center which will also contain retail stores and restaurants.

Since completion of the new Carmelita Visitor Center and Water System in 2005, GHF is investing in community-based tourism development, guide training, and park infrastructure for the communities around Mirador to manage the Guide Association (over 240 members), eco-lodges, tour operators, restaurants and other services. GHF investments in 2006 will be in small grants and micro-loans.

FARES, GHF, and the Acts of Kindness Foundation have placed 45 computers, printers, and generators in the elementary schools in the villages of Uaxactun, San Andres, La Pasadita, Dos Aguadas, Cruce a la Colorada, and Carmelita in an effort to provide educational training for villagers, particularly the youth.

Preparing for Tourism

The Mirador Project is expected to attract over 10,000 visitors annually by 2010, generating an estimated $2 million annually benefiting directly the surrounding communities (assuming visitor expenditures of $200 per day including air, lodging, food and travel). This new influx will offer new private enterprise opportunities other than logging and slash-and-burn agriculture, including guiding, providing transport, selling handicrafts and textiles, and operating food and lodging establishments.

Tourism can provide an important new potential source of income for local communities, providing they are accurately educated and trained to meet tourist needs and are equipped with adequate infrastructure and services.

GHF is dedicated to ensuring that Mirador tourism is responsible and sustainable, and that local communities benefit directly. As part of this initiative, the Guatemalan government has agreed to pave the road to the villages surrounding Mirador, provide increased security measures for tourists, provide electricity for rural villages surrounding the basin for the first time, making the village of Carmelita (the primary village in close proximity to the basin) a “model community”.

VI. Conclusion

Mirador is a cultural and biological jewel that deserves protection. It is home to the largest and earliest cities in the Maya world and is the location of many recent and important archaeological investigations. In addition, Mirador is the last tract of virgin rainforest remaining in Central America, supporting dozens of endemic and endangered species.

Global Heritage Fund needs your support to fund the critical work in Mirador. Your support will not only ensure preservation of the area’s outstanding cultural monuments, over 500,000 acres of pristine rainforest and an exceptional array of species. In addition, you will help provide sustainable economic development in the Peten region, providing long-term employment for local residents and an alternative to environmentally destructive practices. We have a narrow window of opportunity to save this incredible place for future generations, and we very much hope you will join us in this endeavor.

Acknowledgements

GHF funding in 2005 and 2006 comes from the Swift Family Foundation, Foundation for Free Expression, Thornton Foundation, Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund, Townshend Family Foundation, Morgan Family Foundation, Franklin and Catherine Johnson Foundation, Gilman Ordway Foundation and other generous foundations and individual donors.

Appendix I - Credentials of Key Leaders

Above: Dr. Richard Hansen, GHF Mirador Project Director, accepts the President’s Medal of Honor, the first time a non-Guatemalan has received the honor for saving the cultural and natural patrimony of the country.

Dr. Richard Hansen, Director

Dr. Richard D. Hansen is currently President of the Foundation for Anthropological Research and Environmental Studies (FARES) and former Assistant Research Scientist (Level IV) of the Institute of Geophysics at the University of California, Los Angeles (1992- 2003). He recently accepted an offer to transfer to Idaho State University, where he is currently Affiliate Faculty with the Department of Anthropology and the American Indian Studies Program at ISU.

Under Dr. Hansen, FARES has directed the ecological and conservation programs in Mirador for the past 17 years (since 1987), and has worked in the Basin since 1979. Guatemalan project director Edgar Suyuc, the former director of IDAEH national monuments for the country, assists Dr. Hansen. Hansen has united an experienced staff of experts and field managers with years of experience in the area and has brought together more than forty distinguished scholars and specialists from 34 universities and research institutions throughout the world to work with Mirador project in a multi-disciplinary focus. This work has resulted in 174 published papers and books from project members.

Jeff Morgan, GHF Executive Director

Mr. Morgan is a trained urban and regional planner and has been an international sales and marketing executive in software and network computing for the past 16 years. He is a coauthor of Cracking the Japanese Market: Keys to Success in the New Global Economy (Free Press, 1991) and received an M.S. in Management from Stanford University Graduate School of Business, and a B.S. in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University. He serves on the Advisory Board of the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR) and Global Heritage Fund's Board of Trustees and Advisory Board.

Foundation for Anthropological Research and Environmental Studies (FARES)

FARES is a non-profit 501(c)(3), scientific research institution and public charity formed in January 1996 whose primary function is to conduct scientific research on ancient and contemporary societies and associated environments, and utilize this research for development, conservation, and education. FARES is currently working in close collaboration with the government of Guatemala and numerous prestigious foundations and institutions throughout the world. The organization employs a comprehensive developmental approach to form a strong, multi-disciplinary, and systematic approach to understanding human behavior and cultural relationships to the environment from both an ancient and contemporary perspective.

Counterpart International

For almost 40 years now, Counterpart has worked with local people, helping them take responsibility for their own well-being. Counterpart is about helping people and communities to help themselves, our methods work equally well on small islands trying to preserve their beaches, reefs and cultures against the encroaching modern world, and in post-industrial cities clustered around closed and rusting factories. We help people make rational choices, to direct change the way they want it, rather than the way outsiders think best. True to our name, we identify counterparts, communities, companies and governments, across the globe, who can build lasting ties and work together to make things better for all of us. Our partners, all over the world, make us different. We don’t even pretend to know it all — but in each location, we know people who do.

APANAC

Asociación de Amigos del Patrimonio Natural y Cultural de Guatemala-emerged as some passionate Guatemalans were watching the devastation and destruction threatening the last areas of virgin Tropical Rain Forest containing some of the archaeological remains for the largest and most ancient cities of the Mayan world. APANAC is funded by local Guatemalan businesses and families concerned with saving the cultural and natural patrimony of their country.

ACTUNAC-ACODESSA

Two new and important community associations were legally organized and officially recognized in the northern Peten in 2004 with GHF’s support. In Carmelita, villagers organized the Community Association of Natural and Cultural Tourism of Carmelita (Asociacion Comunitario de Turismo Natural y Cultural de Carmelita (ACTUNAC). In San Andres, villagers organized the Community Association for Sustainable Development of San Andres (Asociación Comunitaria de Desarrollo Sostenible de San Andres-ACODESSA). These two organizations include the mayors of all five affected community concession areas, and have vigorously defended Mirador project in public meetings and community rallies, and have organized themselves, entirely independent from the project, for a conservation approach.

Appendix II - IDB to provide $28 million loan to Guatemala

Above: Mirador will be the primary beneficiary of future planned Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and World Bank funding in the Maya Biosphere of over $28 million in loans to the Guatemalan government. GHF’s early support for planning, model conservation and development provides the long-term vision and plan for guiding Mirador’s development to ensure the highest quality implementation with a sustainable model.