These wetlands provide habitat for more than 300 species of birds, including the rare macaw and crested eagle . Even big cats like the jaguar and puma survive in the Maya Biosphere Reserve because the forest provides territory big enough for them. One of the biggest threats to the forest and wildlife in the Maya Biosphere Reserve is the oil industry . Oil companies cut trees and disturb habitat when they build roads through the forest. Their roads also open access to the forest to peasant farmers who rapidly convert jungle to farmland.
Oil spills contaminate the wetlands, threatening wildlife and human communities alike.
The Maya Biosphere Reserve was created in 1989. Since then, the Guatemalan government has given nine new contracts to oil companies to explore or drill for oil inside the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Environmental organizations and local communities insist that these concessions are illegal according to the Guatemalan Law of Protected Areas . Even the Guatemalan Human Rights Court ruled that the new oil contracts violate the Guatemalan people's right to a clean environment. Guatemalan people are asking us to help convince their government to cancel these nine oil contracts in the Maya Biosphere Reserve.