Articles by Anna-Catherine Brigida

Anna-Catherine Brigida is a freelance journalist covering immigration, human rights and social issues in Mexico and Central America.

Indigenous leader who fought for communities and conservation mourned in Peru

by Anna-Catherine Brigida 25 November 2020

When Benjamín Rodríguez Grandez, an Indigenous leader in the Putumayo region of the Amazon in northern Peru, became sick with apparent COVID-19 symptoms in July, he was evacuated to Iquitos,…

The Fenix ferro-nickel mining project operated for a few years in the late 1970s. The Solway Group, the Russian conglomerate that now owns the project, started up operations again in 2014. Photo by Sandra Cuffe for Mongabay.

Contentious Guatemala nickel mine ‘ignores coronavirus lockdown’

by Anna-Catherine Brigida 27 May 2020

When Cristobal Pop, 41, started fishing in Lake Izabal in eastern Guatemala with his uncle nearly 30 years ago, they always returned to shore with a generous bounty of robalo,…

Valentin Suchite patrols the forest searching for signs of deforestation. Image by Anna-Catherine Brigida for Mongabay.

Guatemala: An indigenous community rejects, then accepts, a protected area

by Anna-Catherine Brigida 12 December 2018

RÍO SARSTÚN, Guatemala — Riding in a small motorboat along the Atlantic coast of Guatemala, Francisco Cuz Acal looked over his left shoulder at the lush forest cover whizzing by.…

Chocolate and agroforestry accelerate in El Salvador

by Anna-Catherine Brigida 14 March 2018

ZACATECOLUCA, El Salvador — The waist-high trees in Jose Francisco Merino Umaña’s field have sprouted branches and lush green leaves, but their modest size doesn’t convey the full value they…