When the 110 families of El Asintal resettled in Guatemala, they arrived home to a near-empty plot of land, with scarce resources to rebuild.

Like many Indigenous communities in the region, these families were displaced amidst Guatemala’s violent civil war. The government’s designation of lands for resettlement in the early 2000s was an opportunity to return home, but not without significant debt and great hardship.

After years of collaboration between our Indigenous Lands Program and local collaborators, we are proud to be concluding the first phase of the County Road 39 Traditional Harvest Project in Southwest Colorado. 

While we are working to continue and expand this project regionally, the first phase focused on riparian restoration and planting of native species along 3 private easements of the Mancos River.

This week, Indigenous youth crews from the Ancestral Lands and Southwest Conservation Corps are carrying out TWP-supported efforts in Southwest Colorado to restore degraded areas of the Mancos river. Much of this riparian corridor is managed under conservation easement, and new collaborations with private landowners are facilitating restoration activities within some of the most impacted stretches.

The dry season in Central America, which extends from January to April, presents a high risk of forest fires every year; March and April are usually the most critical months. In 2024, this situation worsened considerably with the presence of the El Niño phenomenon, which raised temperatures to historic levels.

In April, we had an incredible week in Mexico visiting our newest partner, Red Mexicana de Organizaciones Campesinas Forestales (Red MOCAF). Amidst inspiring trips to see their work in action, we also learned more about the incredible people who’ve kept the organization running for nearly 3 decades – amongst them, Gustavo Sánchez Valle, Red MOCAF’s president.

Traditionally, the Núchíú (Ute people) were nomadic, moving across vast ancestral lands to steward the resources, including native plants, that supported their lifeways. Today, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe (UMUT) members are restricted to less than 600,000 acres of Reservation and Fee land from which to collect traditional plants, year after year.

TWP has partnered with Utz Ché, a network of over 40 communities and collectives in Guatemala, since 2012. Utz Ché means “good tree” in the Mayan language, K’iche’, and the organization represents approximately 200,000 people throughout the country, more than 90% of them Indigenous.

In early 2023, passing through a hard time personally and trying to find my way back to the biology field, I stumbled upon a hidden gem in southern Guatemala, the community of La Bendición, thanks to applying to a job as a researcher assistant. True to its name, this place felt like a blessing from the moment I arrived.

As we watched smoke from the Alexander Mountain fire fill the skies last month, and remember other devastating wildfires in Colorado and New Mexico over the past years, it’s easy to see fire as only a destructive force. Wildfires are spreading faster, lasting longer, and burning hotter than ever before.

As Mexico experiences one of the hottest and driest years on record, the vital need to protect watersheds remains at the forefront for many of our partner communities. This summer, nearly 68% of the country faces moderate to extreme drought, and large stretches of Mexico City came dangerously close to losing water access entirely.

One of the questions we get most often at Trees, Water & People from well-meaning donors of all sizes is, “So… how many trees can we plant for this many dollars”?

Located in the heart of the region, La Labor is much more than just a picturesque landscape; It is a natural sanctuary that plays a critical role in the region's livelihoods.

Doña Bertilia Gómez, a primary school teacher, lives with her family in the community of El Churune, where approximately 200 inhabitants live and is located near the core area of the Comayagua Mountain National Park (PANACOMA). This area is a true natural treasure that captivates with its scenic beauty and biological diversity, reaches an area of 57,136 acres and has mountains that exceed 2000 meters above sea level. This mountain range is located in the department of Comayagua and is the main source of water for most of the population of the entire municipality.

One year ago, my beloved home state of New Mexico experienced its worst wildfire in recorded history. The aftermath of the fire has displaced centuries-old communities, devastated critical ecosystems and challenged how land management policies need to be refined. Even with support and resources, the road to recovery remains long and challenging.

In today’s world, the term “environmental stewardship” has become heavily integrated into common language. We often hear about different approaches to protecting our lands, preserving our natural resources and ensuring that future generations will have the same access to these resources. The reach of this idea is so far and deep that it has become a global movement.

But this philosophy is not new.

This month we celebrate alongside our partner the Ecological Committee of La Aldea de Suyapa (COEAS) the upcoming declaration by the National Congress of Honduras of the Triquilapa and Cantagallo Mountains as a Wildlife Refuge. The mountains of Triquilapa and Cantagallo are located to the east of the Central District, Honduras, ten minutes from the Aldea de Suyapa, also a cultural heritage of the country. These geological formations are the largest suppliers of water for La Aldea de Suyapa and surrounding communities, and have an endemic biodiversity of subtropical dry forest.

In 2023, Trees, Water & People (TWP) will celebrate 25 years of creating environmental, social, and economic impact for frontline communities most affected by climate change.