Some of the illegal settlers in the Sierra del Lacandon Park, Guatemala, have left peacefully. Few details are available so far.
Prensa Libre - Edición electrónica - Portada
Latin American Herald Tribune - Archaeologists Excavate Ancient Maya River Port in Southeast Mexico
Chris Shaw's spectacular canoe trip on the Dordogne - his story in the Times today.
In the Dordogne, Canoeing Into Prehistory - NYTimes.com
The Inspiration of Xalala - Part 1 | International Rivers
...was last Saturday, but the Lower Eastside Girls Club and Club Balam were way ahead of the pack, doing their action on the Usumacinta on February 16th. Video is on the way, here's a photo from that day, and the page at International Rivers.
2009: Mesoamerica | International Rivers
Ron Canter sent in this update on the emabattled Xalala dam on the Chixoy River in Guatemala. An excerpt:
Cancelled twice before, the proposed 82-meter-high Xalalá Dam proposed for Northern
Guatemala found no bidders on its third try in early November. A number of prominent
companies – including US firms AES International and Duke Energy, the Brazilian firm Odebrecht,
and others – purchased the project bidding rules, but none offered a proposal for the estimated $400 million project.
International Rivers - December update (pdf)
A Mexico-Guatemala conference on the border region, particularly Tabasco-Peten. They affirm that the time for words is over, now is the time for action. Followed by a lot of nice words. No mention of dam plans, a nod towards protection of the ecosystem.
...el mandatario explicó que el valor estratégico es como zona de seguridad para combatir a la delincuencia organizada, el tráfico de armas, mercancías y la trata de personas.
Asimismo es la región se considera centro logístico para la industria turística y comercio internacional además como reserva de la biodiversidad fundamental para el continente americano.
Talk of creating a business zone similar to the northern border with the U.S.
Impulsar el comercio transfronterizo; crear centros de negocios en ambos lados de las fronteras; establecer la estrategia para el control de la tuberculosis bovina; armonizar los marcos jurídicos de los estados de la región en materia de medio ambiente y de desarrollo económico, así como implementar el programa de desarrollo de la frontera sur como se hizo con la frontera norte de México.
Inaugura AGM Foro Binacional Ríos-Petén
TabascoHOY.com :: Cautiva Tenosique a Hugo Stiglitz
Y es que seguro de promover la riqueza natural del lugar, declaró haber encontrado mas de lo que esperaba al recorrer toda la zona del río San Pedro, Usumacinta, y la boca del cerro.
Mexican film star Hugo Stiglitz will visit Tabasco to scout locations for a film and work with tourism authorities to promote the southern part of the state.
'Me invitó el presidente municipal de Tenosique, para que vayamos a conocer la región, yo ya conozco desde hace muchos años, pero querían que yo fuera otra vez, para que hiciéramos un programa de Turismo y ecología para la zona de Usumacinta y toda la zona del sur del estado', indicó Stiglitz.
He's particularly interested in legends and traditions of Tenosique, including the dance of the Pochos and a tale called "El Duende de la selva", the ghost (monster, dwarf, goblin) of the jungle.
TabascoHOY.com :: Filmará Stiglitz película en Tenosique