Maya descendants protect the forest

Organization: Maya Bioreserve, Guatemala

Located in the northern Peten region of Guatemala, the 2.1-million-hectare Maya Bioreserve is the largest protected rainforest north of the Amazon. The vast area is a treasure trove of animal and plant life, and serves as a valuable carbon sink for the rest of the planet.

The reserve is subdivided into three parts: a conservation zone off-limits to resource extraction; a mixed use area; and buffer zone, where limited economic activity is allowed.

It's also home to about 180,000 people. Among them are the descendants of the Maya, who earn a living harvesting forest resources and timber. But to do so, they must operate sustainably.

Soon after establishing the reserve in 1990, forest concessions were granted to community-based and private entities on 40 percent of the reserve. The government required concession operators to comply with the conservation standards of the Forest Stewardship Council. "We have found a way to commune with nature without disrupting it," wrote David de Leon Reyes, a community leader in the concession process.

Research confirms this. According to a 2015 report published by the Rainforest Alliance, in community-managed forests, the deforestation rate reached only 0.4 percent between the years 2000 and 2013. These numbers represent a sharp reduction in forest loss. Inside the conservation-only zone, forest loss rates are at 1 percent but at 5.5 percent in areas of the reserve not under their community control.