In addition, he has complained loudly about damage caused by drug traffickers in a vast wilderness in the northern province of Peten, where smugglers fell trees to build secret airstrips and roads. This year, CALAS is to open its first offices in the region, home to some of its toughest fights and most dangerous adversaries.
Such crusades don't always charm. Melini acknowledges that even some environmentalists consider him too strident. He relies on foreign sources for funding, with most coming from a special environmental program of the Dutch government.
But admirers say Melini is breaking new ground by carrying environmental fights to the courtroom -- a tactic that is common in the United States but not in Guatemala or much of the surrounding region. Melini says he wants to create a legal-aid network devoted to environmental issues and to lobby for creating special environment courts.
"Environmental litigation across Central America is still not very common," said Erika Rosenthal, an attorney for the Oakland-based group Earthjustice. "That kind of advocacy . . . is sorely needed."
Last month, Melini was honored by the Irish-based human rights group Front Line for his efforts on illegal logging and mining issues. The group cited his attempts to bring attention to attacks on environmental activists. (He counted 128 during two years.)
Melini was ambushed outside his mother's house Sept. 4 by a gunman who fired from close range. The activist said he lay curled on the ground, awaiting the coup de grace, but the attacker left.
Nine months later, Melini gets around with a walker and faces more surgery. He's had residency offers from several countries, including Switzerland and the Netherlands, but refused. He figures fleeing Guatemala would serve those behind the attack on him, whoever they are.
"I am like a tree," Melini says. "They chopped me down, and I'm bouncing back again."
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ken.ellingwood@latimes.com
