Seeing the wood from the trees

Reforestation project, Cabrican [Marcella Haddad]

Reforestation is vital to safeguard against future hurricanes - and one radio station in Guatemala teaches listeners how to protect their environment

After being hit by recent hurricanes - Mitch in 1998 and Stan in October 2005 - the people of Cabrican, Guatemala, are all too aware of the potential consequences of global warming.

Radio Balam Estereo, based in Cabrican, encourages locals to protect the environment. The radio promotes reforestation and a move to alternative sources of income such as weaving, rather than chopping down trees.

Hilario Baten Ramirez is president of the committee of a reforestation project in Cabrican. He says: “We work here to maintain the environment and protect the soil. The radio has always promoted planting trees and use of terraces.

"We put barriers of stones or animal feed or other things to stop mudslides. The trees act as live barriers. They have grown quite high already.

“Up to 20,000 seedlings are planted here each year. We already have 8,000 pine trees to plant for 2007."

A growing concern

Hilario also helps with training others in the community on how to collect seeds, to sow them and transplant the trees. By sowing trees, the people will always have wood, which will serve their families for the future.

He says: “It was a small project when it started more than 20 years ago but it was good and other communities started getting involved. The whole community benefits through the radio, where we advertise to let people know we have trees for sale.

“One four-month old pine sells for three Quetzales. We sell them to local people to plant. People in the immediate community get a discount – we charge them just one or two Quetzales. People come from other communities to buy them too.

“Sometimes when a disaster happens it’s our own fault because we’ve cut down the trees. We need the trees for oxygen too."

The radio station is also helping people prepare for future hurricanes, as many people need to leave their homes for higher ground when they are in danger.

"When we know a storm is coming closer the radio warns us and people move or we dig channels to divert water from going into the houses. We all help each other,” says Hilario.

Mario Rene Baten explains how the radio station has helped people affected by Hurricane Stan, which struck in October 2005.

“Stan was a real disaster. Here we had a lot of trees. The roots helped stop landslides. Radio Balam helped in this.

“On very steep hillsides we build barriers with trunks and stones. If the earth is breaking up or when it rains a lot and you need to protect the soil from sliding away.

“From now on we need to take more precautions to prevent disasters.