Paso Caballos is an indigenous Q'eqchí agricultural community strategically located near the entrance to Laguna del Tigre National Park and surrounding forest concessions. With a population of approximately 1,500, Paso Caballos has played a vital role in the conservation and management of these protected areas.

In 1997, the community signed an Intent Agreement with the State of Guatemala, through the National Council for Protected Areas (CONAP), which recognized their right to reside in this area and granted them a territorial zone of 6,382.12 hectares, designated as the Community Management Unit (UMC). Each of the 112 families living in the community at the time of the agreement received a plot of land within this territory.

Conservation Agreements 

In 2010, WCS signed a second Conservation Agreement with Paso Caballos, under which the community made several key commitments: strictly managing agricultural burns to prevent forest fires in nearby areas, regulating migration and prohibiting new settlements, controlling and restricting livestock, and enhancing surveillance of the surrounding forests.

In return, the community receives support and technical assistance to strengthen local governance, along with improvements to educational and health infrastructure. Key achievements since the signing of the agreement include significant improvement in relations between the community and government authorities (CONAP), two fire seasons with effective internal control and no incidents, and successful management of threats related to protected area encroachment and community land sales.

Conservation Challenges

Paso Caballos enfrenta importantes desafíos de conservación, incluyendo el fortalecimiento de su organización comunitaria para asegurar un manejo seguro y controlado de las quemas agrícolas en la temporada seca, y la regulación de la inmigración de personas hacia la comunidad. Debido al rápido crecimiento de la población, mejorar los servicios de educación y salud es una prioridad, junto con la diversificación económica a través de prácticas productivas sostenibles.

Gracias al cumplimiento del Acuerdo de Conservación con CONAP, Paso Caballos ha logrado reducir amenazas a la biodiversidad en los bosques circundantes, protegiendo hábitats de especies emblemáticas como la Guacamaya roja, el Jaguar, el Tapir y el Pecarí. La comunidad de Paso Caballos se presenta hoy como un ejemplo destacado de compromiso y acción en la conservación de la biodiversidad y el uso sostenible de los recursos naturales en la región.