Exploring Solutions Past: The Maya Forest Alliance
A new non-profit organization looking for solutions to the world¹s conservation crisis by rescuing knowledge out of the past, in the present, for the future.
Our mission is the preservation and conservation of endangered resources through local and international education. Addressing tensions between culture and nature, we use the past as a reference to build a responsible future. Weaving together traditional knowledge and practice with scientific inquiry and interpretation, ESP:Maya sees its role as promoting a deeper awareness of heritage through local partnership.
Who are the partners?
Professionals
and volunteers interested in the Maya forest
Community leaders from the Maya forest region
Government administrators in Belize and Guatemala
Nongovernment organizations in development and management
Scientists from Anthropology to Zoology
What are we doing?
• Conserving cultural heritage in the context of natural environment
• Pioneering a partnership model that draws on lessons from the past
• Understanding the contribution of the past for planning future alternatives
Why?
• Cultural and natural resources are a common heritage
• Conservation of our resources is a global imperative
• Urgent need for alternative development models
• Archaeological discoveries evoke past conservation strategies
• Vanishing traditions forsake cumulative knowledge
Latest News
Our site is getting a makeover and updated!!!
Our Mission Statement in a Word document till we are done updating site
Presentation by Dr Anabel Ford at the Museo Popol Vuh, Guatemala
VII Congreso Internacional de Mayistas
Maya Forest Garden Coloring Book Launch
‘Apocalypto’ Trips Over Attempt at Reel Authenticity
American Archaelogical Association Symposium: Changing Mesoamerican landscapes. November 2006
International Congress of Americanists: Legacy of the Maya Forest as a Garden. July 2006