Trees attacked by Dendroctonus have been felled at the an Juan Ixcoy forest cooperative in the department of Huehuetango - - Forestry Cooperatives. FAO through its Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP), is providing assistance to the Guatemalan Government with a $61,000 one-year project for the organisation of forest cooperatives in the mountainous Altiplano. An FAO forestry expert will plan and supervise the development of existing forestry cooperatives. He will also organise new cooperatives and will train personnel to develop and manage them. The project will introduce new methods for the better utilisation of the forest resources. A tree- killing insect, a pest known as Dendroctonus, is spreading dangerously in the Altiplano. This parasitic beetle burrows under the bark. Foresters believe that most of the stricken stands could be used as timber if cut in time, thus reducing the spread of the insect and, at the same time, providing badly needed wood for reconstruction following the severe earthquake of February, 1967.