One Opportunity Toward the Sustainable Development of the Guatemalan Highlands by

iABSTRACT With an estimated 14.3 million people, Guatemala has the highest population in all of Central America. In 1996, the Guatemalan government and the guerilla rebels officially ended their 36-year civil war with the signing of the Peace Accords. In the wake of this cease fire there was broad hope within the country that the political, social, and economic factors underpinning this bloody war would soon be remedied and a new and equitable development and lasting peace established. Guatemala largely remains a country divided along rural and urban, indigenous and ladino lines. Guatemala has the highest percentage of indigenous people in Latin America. The country has begun the demographic transition process. However, this demographic shift is lagging dramatically in the rural areas of the country. Approximately 52 % of the population resides in rural areas where living conditions are some of the worst in the Western Hemisphere. These rural areas tend to be predominantly indigenous and continue to experience rapid population growth. Complex land tenure issues, social inequity and limited access to arable land have resulted in less than 1 % of the population controlling 70 % of the cultivated land. The growing rural population continues to clear large tracts of forest for use as farmland. Thi