Unique among environmental NGOs in Guatemala, it has focused on finding ways to simultaneously address social and conservation needs. To promote scientific investigations in different fields and protect the environment and quality of life. Among the ten proposed and established protected areas in Izabel province, Punta de Manabique contains the only marine coast. It is also the only area being considered for conservation along the Caribbean coast in Guatemala. About 1,000 people in dispersed heterogeneous villages inhabit Punta de Manabique.
Most inhabitants originate from western Guatemala and western Honduras.
The majority of families have resided in Punta de Manabique for at least one full generation. They have largely adapted to lifestyles that area compatible with the sustainable use of natural resources in the area. The people live exclusively on the subsistence use of natural resources. Eighty percent of the population relies on fishing as its source of income and sustenance. About half of the economically active population supplement its fishing with agricultural production.