Integrating Mayan Poqomchi’ knowledge and herpetofauna conservation in the Guatemalan Highlands

Rosa Alejandra Roldán Díaz

Other project team members: Usi’j Tz’ununja’ Bá Velásquez, Diana Gisella Velásquez Ramírez

The project aims to contribute to herpetofauna conservation and their habitat in the Guatemalan highlands, particularly in the remaining forest of San Cristóbal Verapaz and the Chi Choj Lagoon. These forests and the lagoon have an important historical value for the Poqomchi’ people, since their identity is built on the land and territory they share. However, biodiversity is threatened due to the shifts of mentality across generations, shaped by Mayan people colonial history, displacing respect for nature with commercialization, fear, unawareness, or apathy. Reviving traditional coexistence practices with nature is key to restoring what has been lost, aligned with the community’s aspirations. An integrated approach will combine workshops on traditional knowledge and biodiversity with ecological surveys of herpetofauna in forest patches and around Chi Choj Lagoon. Workshops will explore traditional knowledge and co-creation methods to strengthen biodiversity conservation and governance in the area. The expected result will be the production of educational material and an environmental conservation module for Young people with species information and Poqomchi’s knowledge to raise awareness, in order to make them decision-makers to conserve their territory. This project aligns with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: 17 SDGs supporting ecosystem protection, sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation.

Watch the project video:

English translation of the video:

In these mountains, where the Poqomchi’ language is still heard, frogs and snakes that were once cared for… are now feared, ignored, or, worse, harmed.
The cloud forest in San Cristóbal Verapaz is disappearing. What was once treated with respect and care is now facing habitat loss, fires, water pollution, and the loss of ancestral knowledge. And with the forest… species that make San Cristóbal their resting place during migration, their feeding ground, or their permanent home, such as salamanders and frogs that only exist here, are disappearing. Many of them are in danger, like Bolitoglossa helmrichi or Craugastor xucanebi.
But even if it seems late, there is still hope, and together we will transform it into action.
In this project, we will document amphibian and reptile species and develop co-creation workshops to strengthen biodiversity conservation and governance in the area.

And, what are the expected outcomes?
– An updated list of herpetofauna at three key sites and in Laguna Chi Cho’j.
– Workshops with local stakeholders to jointly plan conservation strategies.
– An environmental education module aimed at local youth.

In this year’s project, we will work with local knowledge and learned techniques to record herpetofauna and, together, mitigate the loss of native species and take a step toward conservation, as this is not only an environmental action, but also a social and, of course, a cultural one.