Where in the World is Richard Rice?

Dick is in Flores, Guatemala attending a Conservation International meeting. This city is the nearest town to Tikal. Tikal is one of the world´s coolest Mayan ruins and certainly the best known in Guatemala. Here you can see Dick in the forefront of Temple I, the Temple of the Jaguar is in the background; located in Tikal’s Great Plaza.

Saturday he spent the morning at Tikal and the afternoon at a community called Uaxactun deep in the rainforest of the Maya Biosphere Reserve (MBR). Together with the forest in adjacent Mexico and Belize, this is the largest contiguous tract of rainforest outside of the Amazon and the heart of the last stronghold of the jaguar among other creatures.

These corn doll’s were made by women from Uaxactun (wa-shock-toon) using dried corn husks, fungi, and flowers from the rainforest. CSP has entered into a conservation agreement with the village of Uaxactun which is directly north of Tikal National Park and south of Mirador National Park. The community has lived in the region since the turn of the century and currently have a 25-year lease to harvest timber and non-timber forest products. They have agreed to forego almost all logging and other destructive activities in exchange for funding provided under the agreement. That funding will support education and other benefits including a price premium for Xate (palm fronds harvested on a sustainable basis which are exported to the U.S. and Europe for use in floral arrangements.

In the area, you can actually see jaguars from time to time but they pretty much keep to themselves and aren´t really a danger. There are a few animals though that are less retiring that you really need to watch out for including a 12 foot crocodile that hangs out near the shore in the lake next to the hotel.

Signing off for now, Dick will be returning home, but as his quest for conservation continues, we will let you know -- Where in the World is Richard Rice, Chief Conservation Officer for Save Your World.