The case of an electronic music concert in an area of the Pacaya Volcano Regional Park, in San Vicente Pacaya, Escuintla, has caused a stir on social networks.
There are those who support it because it promotes a tourist destination through music and others reject it because it is an area protected by national laws.
The activity took place in an area where there are only rocks formed by the fall of lava at some point in the life of that colossus. Neither fauna nor flora. However, according to authorities, birds, mammals, reptiles, and timber and non-timber flora do live throughout the regional park.
The person in charge of organizing this activity, which had charitable and tourist purposes, according to two partners, is Territory, a content, events and record producer, which has carried out other similar activities in previous years on the Acatenango volcano and the Rostro Maya hill, in San Juan La Laguna, Sololá, for example. Together with them he developed the activity Alfaque Promotions.
Filming took place last January 21. The meeting point for the participants was in the parking lot of the Pacaya Volcano Regional Park.
The ascent began at 3 p.m. and they arrived an hour later. After setting up the equipment they used, the activity ended at 6:50 p.m. At that time, according to the organizers, “everything went out and they left the area clean, better than how they had found it, according to what they say.
Andrés Figueredo, one of the representatives, assures that the idea of Territorio is to publicize this type of tourist places through, in this case, electronic music. “It is not the first time we have done an activity like this,” he explains.
Another of the representatives of the production company, Juan Esteban Arzú, known as DJ Bebboexplained that to organize the event they spoke with the management of the Pacaya Volcano National Park about doing the filming.
“The arrangement with them was to provide them with financial support. Q75 was charged per person and Q7 thousand was raised, which was given to them to buy furniture for the video museum they have in the park,” he explains. DJ Bebbo.
The purpose, as they said, is to buy chairs and other furniture for that space, he adds.
“The idea of Territory It is to make these places known, which little by little we have been showing on other occasions, working with the authorities of the areas, through music,” explains Arzú.
From Territory “We understand people, because they think that the volume is very high, that there are many people, or that a lot of garbage is generated, but our idea is to focus on doing it well, respecting the areas and leaving it as we found it, or better. The idea is to have a positive impact.”
“It would be ideal to reach out to people who are upset, we understand them, but the mission is the same: to make the country known and grow tourism. We try to make it as professional as possible, with a positive, economic, environmental and social impact,” reveals DJ Bebbo.
For Andrés Figueredo, the most important thing is to “minimize the impact on the area. If there is garbage, we collect it, the sound itself is not high power, they are monitors and do not travel far.
They are aware that the event generated complaints which they filed with Conap.
“We know that Conap must respond. We are willing to talk with them to resolve this. There are examples in first world countries that work with this type of bodies to promote these films and grow tourism, under strict rules of respect for the areas,” says Arzú.
Figueredo assures that they understand people’s concerns. “We take constructive criticism from people who know and we take it into account. The important thing about all this is to make Guatemala known from the perspective of electronic music,” he argues.
What the authorities say
Conap, through a statement, explains that “regarding events in the Pacaya and Acatenango volcano, that all protected areas must govern their activities in accordance with the provisions of the Protected Areas Law 4-89 and its regulations.”
“It is being investigated who authorized said event to make the corresponding complaint,” they state.
They add that “Conap has presented complaints on other occasions and in this case it will not be the exception, so it will present those that are necessary and urges the entities in charge of the investigation to deduce responsibilities to stop the environmental damage that is being generated by this type of activities.”
“We urge the general population to file complaints when they witness a crime, since the conservation and defense of natural heritage is everyone’s task,” they add.
David Barillas, regional director of the South Coast of Conap, explains that they are continuing the investigation. “We understand that it was the park management that authorized the event,” he clarifies.
According to Barillas, “they had not had this type of activities on the Pacaya volcano.” He considers that those who authorized “are exceeding their functions.” “For now it is being investigated,” he says.
After that, the pertinent sanctions that depend on the Protected Areas law will be imposed. For now, according to Barillas, the commune of San Vicente Pacaya, Escuintla, has not commented.
The National Forest Institute (Inab), which according to an agreement is the administrator of this regional park, has maintained dialogue with Conap through the forest management department.
An attempt was made to find out Inab’s position, but they offered to give a response and we are waiting for it.
This activity was not a party, it was a 3-hour filming with the permission and coordination of the Pacaya Volcano National Park Directorate, who were present. It is not installed or the sound is set to the volume of a party.
The goal is to show the beauty…
— Andrés Figueredo (@afigueredo88) January 23, 2024
Background
This same production company carried out a similar activity three years ago on the Acatenango volcano. That time the number of people who did attend Pacaya did not arrive, because it is more complicated to climb, according to the organizers. Additionally, the climate is more extreme. The beneficial impact was received that time by the village of La Soledad.
In 2008, a co-administration agreement was signed in which the municipality of San Vicente Pacaya, Escuintla, Inab and Conap participated.
Inab is the administrator, according to the Government Agreement of July 20, 1963, while the co-administrators are Conap and the commune of San Vicente Pacaya.
The co-administration, according to the official website of the national park, was established through the co-administration agreement on August 20, 2008. -Master Plan of the “Volcán de Pacaya y Laguna de Calderas” National Park-.
The Conap
Conap was created through Legislative Decree 4-89, Law of Protected Areas of Guatemala, which also gives life to the Guatemalan System of Protected Areas (Sigap).
The objective of Sigap is to protect a representative sample of the ecosystems and biodiversity of Guatemala to guarantee their permanence and thus the well-being of present and future generations.
Currently, protected areas can be declared in different management categories that are oriented according to their characteristics and the activities allowed in them. There are 6 different driving categories.
The Pacaya Volcano and Laguna de Calderas Protected Area is included by Sigap in the Type I category, National Park / Biological Reserve.
These are large areas that contain ecosystems, features or species of flora and fauna of interest and scenic wonders. Alterations to the landscape and resource extraction are not permitted (SIGAP.com).
2024-01-25 15:42:38
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