Akazul is a UK registered not-for-profit Community Interest Company. Registration No. 07411520  © 2011

AKAZUL – Community, Conservation, and Ecology is a grass-roots initiative focused on preserving the natural resources of Guatemala’s marine and coastal environments through community based activities. Population growth and economic needs are increasing the pressures on coastal ecosystems, and biodiversity is becoming threatened. Akazul is working together with community members to help secure a more sustainable and prosperous future for all coastal life.

To design and implement a successful conservation strategy/management plan which protects coastal ecosystems and promotes sustainable use of local natural resources.

To promote community ownership by increasing knowledge and understanding of local environmental issues, through education, training, and action.

To provide support to coastal communities in developing new forms of income generation which aim to minimise negative impacts on the environment.

To strengthen and support regional and national networks of coastal communities and conservation bodies.

Our name Akazul, is inspired by Guatemala’s indigenous culture, the Maya. According to ancient myth, Ak was the ‘great cosmic turtle’, which is the constellation we know today as Orion. Orion’s belt represents a crack in the cosmic turtle’s shell, from where the ‘Hero Twins’ emerged to create all life on earth. Azul is the Spanish word for blue, which represents the ocean, home to the greatest biodiversity on Earth.

Akazul’s philosophy derives from the work previously conducted by ‘Project Parlama’, which was developed by Ambios (a UK based non-profit organisation) and ARCAS, (the Guatemalan Association for the Rescue and Conservation of Wildlife.) The project aimed to standardise and strengthen Guatemala’s sea turtle conservation efforts by connecting sea turtle hatcheries along the coast, conducting valuable research and providing environmental education activities within these communities.

Akazul was formed in 2010 by a group of the original Project Parlama collective and continues to work on a grass-roots level with coastal communities and other Guatemalan non-governmental organisations (NGOs); striving to enhance local participation in natural resource management to ensure healthy and productive ecosystems are maintained for the future. Akazul is a UK registered not-for-profit Community Interest Company (CIC).

To see healthy and thriving ecosystems, sustainability managed and protected by local communities.

To utilise Guatemala’s sea turtles as a “flagship” species, engaging coastal communities in wider conservation practices, through science and education.