Environmental organizations criticize Guatemala’s decision to extend oil concession
Monday, July 26, 2010
Leaders of Guatemalan environmental organizations criticized President Alvaro Colom’s decision to renew French company Perenco’s concession for oil drilling inside a national park.
The head of state gave Perenco another 15-year license to develop a section of the Laguna del Tigre National Park, which is part of the Maya Biosphere Reserve, the largest area of tropical forest in Central America.
Colom said several communities in the northern province of Peten will benefit from the contract extension because they will receive a portion of the taxes and revenue that Perenco pays the state as part of its concession rights.
Original source: Latin American Herald Tribune