{"id":10600,"date":"2023-03-10T19:22:38","date_gmt":"2023-03-11T03:22:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/?p=10600"},"modified":"2023-03-10T19:31:20","modified_gmt":"2023-03-11T03:31:20","slug":"defending-the-selva-maya-urban-park-peten","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/economy\/defending-the-selva-maya-urban-park-peten\/","title":{"rendered":"Defending the Selva Maya Urban Park, Pet\u00e9n"},"content":{"rendered":"

Christian Chac\u00f3n Gallardo\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The defense of territory is a necessity that arises from colonialism and its consequences.
\nColonization has played an important role in the distribution and use of land and has spread a
\nworldview and practices that ignore the vital relationships between people and nature. While
\ncolonialism initially used mostly direct violence to privatize communal lands, the post-colonial
\nstrategy created an institutionalized structure that justifies, legitimizes and conceals the violent
\nmechanisms of land appropriation by hegemonic groups.<\/p>\n

Regardless of the strategy used, colonialism has built a legacy of genocide, ecological destruction
\nand dehumanization, based on the dispossession of land and exploitation of people that affects
\nthe population in different ways. How does this reality affect women? Available data show the
\nnegative impact of this model of natural resource exploitation on women&#39;s living conditions, the
\nincrease in gender inequality, discrimination, and the restriction of access to resources such as
\nland, technology, financial services and education.<\/p>\n

These global dynamics occur at the local level, such as in the Selva Maya urban park, located
\nbetween the Colonias: La Primavera, La Moderna and Nueva Santa Elena, in Flores, Pet\u00e9n. Selva
\nMaya Park was declared a natural reserve by the municipality in 2019 to prevent mining
\nexploitation in an area of great biological diversity. However, the pandemic halted the
\nadministrative process and to date there is no legal backing for the municipal agreement, so the
\nthreat to the area\u00b4s natural resources remains.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

“Women and girls, healthy and empowered”<\/p>\n

Given this, and aware of the key role of women in the defense of the territory, Fundaci\u00f3n para el
\nEcodesarrollo y la Conservaci\u00f3n (FUNDAECO), through its program &quot;Mujer y ni\u00f1a, sanas y
\nempoderadas&quot; (Women and girls, healthy and empowered), and the Instituto de Acci\u00f3n Creativa
\n(Institute for Creative Action), implemented a Creative Advocacy Practice. These practices seek to
\nstrengthen connections between people and the environment, based on the experiences and
\nknowledge of the communities involved and through the creative use of the arts as a
\nmethodological tool.<\/p>\n

By implementing activities such as Collective Soundscape, Mask of Purpose, Images on the Wall
\nand other playful dynamics, causes and impacts of environmental problems were analyzed, as well
\nas possible actions and commitments that the group can assume in favor of the defense of the
\nterritory. Also, during a visit to the park, we talked about the ecotourism potential of the area and
\nlearned about plans to protect the park&#39;s biodiversity.
\nWith the accompaniment of artist Josu\u00e9 Reyes, the group chose the central messages of the
\ncommunity art project and defined the theatrical public intervention and the parade as means of
\nexpression.<\/p>\n

It was agreed that the presentation would highlight the cycles and interconnections of nature,
\nsymbolically represented in the transition of day and night, the movements of pollinators and their
\ninteractions with other beings.<\/p>\n

The work was presented on the island, and later, playful parades were held in the main streets of
\nthe communities, where the ecological importance of the natural reserves was discussed and the
\nleadership role that women play in the defense of the territory was made visible.<\/p>\n

At the end of the project, the group emphasized that by conserving the Selva Maya park,
\npossibilities arise to promote environmental education and generate jobs, strengthening the
\ntechnical and economic resources of local women and girls. Likewise, the team emphasized that
\nthis type of methodologies, when arising from dialogue, reflection and commitment of those who
\nparticipate, favors the generation of actions in favor of the population and its environment.<\/p>\n

Christian Chac\u00f3n Gallardo, Coordinator of Field Projects, Instituto de Acci\u00f3n Creativa.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Christian Chac\u00f3n Gallardo\u00a0 The defense of territory is a necessity that arises from colonialism and its consequences. Colonization has played an important role in the distribution and use of land and has spread a worldview and practices that ignore the vital relationships between people and nature. While colonialism initially used mostly direct violence to privatize […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10516,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[410,453,420,421],"tags":[4195,4198,4197,739,4196,2046,4164],"class_list":["post-10600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-frontpage-en","category-megaprojects-en","category-rivers","tag-ecodevelopment","tag-ecotouristic","tag-empowered","tag-empowerment","tag-girls-in-guatemala","tag-leadership","tag-territory"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10600"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10601,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10600\/revisions\/10601"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.entremundos.org\/revista\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}