The Mayan Corridor and Hope

The Great Mayan Jungle Biocultural Corridor (GMJBC) gives me hope. A partnership between Mexico, Belize and Guatemala, the 14 million acre preserve protects forest that roughly corresponds to the ancient Mayan civilization.

I have been consumed by many negative stories in the past few months. The environment is no exception. Pakistan is facing terrible floods, 2024 was the warmest year on record, 80%+ of corals bleaching… But the GMJBC shows that we can learn from our past and provide for a better tomorrow.

This Central American rainforest is the second-largest in the Americas, beyond the Amazon. Protecting this area is crucial as our environmental problems worsen. However, as Guatemalan Environmental Minister Patricia Orantes pointed out, protecting the area is not primarily an environmental concern, but of security: the central government needs to take control back from organized crime.

What makes this news particularly interesting is the fate of the original Maya. As geographer Jared Diamond illustrated in his book Collapse and corresponding TED talk, the civilization disappeared after degrading their environs. Now their descendants, the heirs of language and ritual, can rectify their ancestors’ mistakes.

The average citizen of each country has to be a key partner. Mexico has suggested the “Planting Life” program, which provides payments to grow certain trees or fruits as part of a reforestation effort. It has been criticized in its implementation, but I believe it hits on a fundamental, sometimes avoided truth: Environmentalism doesn’t have to be a punishing, Puritan effort that requires constant sacrifice. Sometimes both you and the environment can win, a mutually beneficial transaction.

As a U.S. citizen, I need to be mindful of this balance. My home state of Wisconsin cut down great temperate forests and my country embraced fossil fuels long before I was born. I grew up with my basic needs provided. I had access to stable, clean housing, transportation, air conditioning, clean running water, hot water and the list goes on. Any environmental choice I made were less severe: using rechargeable batteries, cleaning my plate and commuting instead of driving separate.

I took our national parks and preserves for granted for too long. Pioneers and environmentalists like John Muir and Rachel Carson did so much to protect the land, air and water around me while not inferring with my material comforts.

I don’t begrudge anyone for wanting to provide these comforts for themselves. It would be hypocritical and fallacious for me to do so. I shall keep repeating: humanity and the environment can win. It’s not a zero sum game. Yes, sacrifice will be required, but not always. My fantasy saga and other fiction shall explore this truth.

Thanks to the GMJBC, the heirs of the Mayan civilization may not have to chose between the economy and the environment.