The 48 Cantons of Totonicapan is a traditional K’iche governance authority that has represented and served local villages for approximately 800 years. They govern an area now known as the Communal Forest of Los Altos de San Miguel or Kachelaj in K’iche, and it is home to the largest remaining stand of conifer forest in Guatemala, as well as the largest remaining concentration of the endangered Guatemalan fir tree (Abies guatemalensis), known locally as Pinabete. The 48 Cantons co-manages the forest with the Guatemalan National Park Service (CONAP) and the municipal forestry office of Totonicapan.

Learn more about our work with the Natural Resource Council of the 48 Cantons in Totonicapan.