For the time being, Guatemala’s largest lake, Lake Izabal is safe from oil exploitation. The president of Guatemala, Alfonso Portillo, pressured by environmental groups and local citizens, withdrew his authorization for petroleum exploitation to the Atlantic Petroleum Company. The president will make a final decision when the Ministry of Mines and Energy completes their evaluation of the project.
The opposition to the project came from Guatemala’s citizenry and various environmental organizations that were concerned about the potential risk of pollution. ParksWatch publicized the potential pollution that Río Dulce National Park and Bocas de Polochic Wildlife Refuge could experience with the project. Carlos Albacete, director of ParksWatch-Guatemala, declared in an interview with the newspaper Prensa Libre, that oil exploitation in Lake Izabal could very well bring about the death of Guatemala’s largest lake. He also stressed that, although the Atlantic Petroleum Company offered to use only advanced technology, there would always be spills, contamination, and destruction in the area.
ParksWatch: June 2002