GUATEMALA CITY (AP) -- The U.S. government said Thursday it will
                 donate more than $ 11 million over the next three years to help Guatemala
                 protect its jungles, rivers and volcanos.

                 The $11.159 million donation comes "as a sign of the continued support of the
                 Guatemalan government's environmental efforts," and will go to ensure "better
                 management of natural resources and conservation of the Guatemalan biosphere,"
                 the U.S. embassy in Guatemala City said in a statement.

                 Environmental Minister Carlos Caceres said the money would help better preserve
                 the Biosfera Maya, a 4.45 million-acre (1.8 million-hectare) jungle reserve in
                 Guatemala's northernmost state of Peten that is home to the ancient Mayan city of
                 Tikal.

                 The funds will also help state scientists better protect the northern Sierra de las
                 Minas mountains and the Rio Polochic, a river that runs through Guatemala's
                 central highlands. The donation may also allow the government to begin a massive
                 cleanup project of the volcanos that ring Lake Atitlan, a picturesque locale popular
                 with tourists from around the world.

                  Copyright 2001 The Associated Press.