Applications of Remote Sensing for Delineating and Documenting the Biodiversity of a Proposed UNESCO World Heritage Site in Peten, Guatemala

In 2022 Guatemala will formally apply to designate the San Bartolo Murals as a United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site. The archaeological site with murals depicting the ancient Maya creation myth and earliest known writing (~2,300 BP), is well-positioned for such a prestigious designation. San Bartolo is located in a region of high ecological and cultural value within a mixed-use zone of the UNESCO-recognized Maya Biosphere Reserve in northern Guatemala. As part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation process, the project must document the biological diversity, water resources, and landscape attributes, alongside the cultural importance of the site, thereby aligning San Bartolo more broadly within a global conservation framework. It must also recommend boundary designations and buffer zones for protection and management. Due to travel and field work restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, remote sensing offers a toolkit with which to address these requirements to support San Bartolos UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination. Here, we describe the use of remote sensing, including lidar and freely available sources, and geospatial datasets to 1) delineate the proposed site boundaries and buffer zones, and 2) document evidence for the nomination under criteria (x): biodiversity. The workflow used in this case study can be applied to other potential sites with limited access.