 Guatemala
Environment Summary
Guatemala has a wealth of natural resources that are both
ecologically and economically important. The country contains
the largest area of cloud forest and wetlands and the highest
population of large cats in Central America. As an important
point of convergence of species migrating from both North
and South America, Guatemala plays a vital role in the conservation
of many migratory bird species from the United States. Rich
biodiversity, cultural diversity, and a historic past easily
make Guatemala one of the world's top tourism destinations.
Tourism and other enterprises based on natural resources,
such as forestry, comprise a significant part of Guatemala's
jobs and export earnings. Increased investment in these sectors
with the implementation of CAFTA has the potential to impact
these resources.
USAID Guatemala's environment program, located within the
Office of Enterprise, Trade and Environment, supports environmentally
sound management of natural resources in priority areas of
high biodiversity, including the Maya Biosphere Reserve in
the Petén, the Motagua-Polochic system (which includes
the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere Reserve), and the Atitlan
Volcanoes Bioregion. The program aims towards providing sustainable
income-generation alternatives to people living in and around
protected areas. Activities include efforts to establish certified
timber production, encourage tourism, and promote environmentally
sound production practices.
USAID/Guatemala is currently signing new cooperative agreements
aimed at building upon past successes in conservation through
establishing certified forestry activities, certified/sustainable
tourism operations, and environmentally sound agricultural
production. These activities will be implemented through FY2009.
USAID's environment activities in the following categories
are summarized below:
Biodiversity & Conservation
Until recently, many of USAID’s activities in Guatemala
were carried out through the Parks in Peril program.
Implemented by The
Nature Conservancy, Parks in Peril is one of USAID’s
most successful conservation programs. In Guatemala, the program
aimed at conserving biodiversity, improving protected area
management and mitigating the effects of climate change in
the Maya Biosphere Reserve (including Laguna del Tigre and
Sierra Lacandón National Parks); the Sierra de las
Minas Biosphere Reserve (including the Motagua – Polochic
RAMSAR wetland region); and the Atitlán Volcanoes Bioregion.
This program is ending in September, 2006. To learn more about
Parks in Peril’s conservation activities in Guatemala,
click
here.
In the Maya Biosphere Reserve, Sierra Lacandón Park
staff were trained in fire management, fire breaks were implemented,
and patrols were conducted. In the Sierra de las Minas Biosphere
Reserve, 11 municipalities signed agreements that included
the payment of the salary of one park guard per municipality,
a significant success stemming from the establishment of the
Board of Directors for the Reserve. In the Atitlán
Bioregion, work with municipalities on park management and
tourism infrastructure and administrative capacity is yielding
results. The municipality of San Pedro has developed an operating
plan, and defined a park co-management structure that includes
local government authorities, NGO, and civil society organizations;
a financial plan is under development. With financial resources
leveraged from other sources, San Pedro has constructed trails,
a visitor center, and a geology museum. In Santa Clara Municipality,
two park guards were hired by the municipality.
There is evidence that this work is having a positive impact
on conservation. USAID’s partner’s efforts to protect the
nesting sites of the endangered scarlet macaw are having some
success. Biological monitoring in the Maya Biosphere Reserve
indicated that of 19 nests monitored, 17 chicks (90 percent)
survived. In the Atitlán region, monitoring data for
indicator species such as frogs (Eletheurodactylus),
horned guan (Oreophasis) and bees (Bombini and
Euglossini) showed no significant changes compared
to the baseline. In the Motagua-Polochic region, data show
no changes in bromeliads. Manatee numbers also appear to be
holding steady, with observations at the same frequency as
2003.
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Forestry
With the assistance of USAID, Guatemala has become a world
leader in certified community-managed forests, with over 400,000
hectares of community forest certified by the end of Fiscal
Year (FY) 2005. During FY 2005, USAID assisted 11 community
forestry organizations by providing training and technical
assistance in business management (organization, administration,
accounting and financing, planning, marketing, customer service);
forest management and certification; marketing research, pricing
and costing; and preparation of forest management and financial
plans. An analysis of these organizations indicates that they
have increased their capacity to manage their businesses and
are applying improved practices. Organizations developed internal
by-laws, most updated financial records and developed five-year
management plans and financial planning instruments. By having
a five-year operational plan, concessionaires are in a better
position to negotiate timber sales with buyers as well as
to promote long-term alliances with the private sector.
The new Community Enterprise for Forest Services in Peten,
which was legally established with USAID support, has provided
technical services on marketing products and managing harvests
to ten community organizations. In addition, almost 20 percent
of the concessions’ timber was sold through the enterprise,
with the remainder negotiated and sold directly by the concessions,
as in the past. The Community Enterprise generated
a price increase for the concessions of $0.20 per board foot
of mahogany for the percentage it sold. Significant progress
has been made in reducing costs and consolidating forest certification
by using the Community Enterprise for Forest Services as an
umbrella.
Monitoring of these activities in forestry concessions has
shown that biodiversity is higher in the forestry concessions
than in some protected areas, due to the stronger controls
over illegal logging, access, and other activities that negatively
impact biodiversity. USAID will build upon these successes
while continuing to monitor biological diversity in these
activity areas.
USAID continued to support fighting forest fires by providing
technical assistance, facilitating training activities, purchasing
fire fighting equipment, and helping to cover operating expenses,
such as meals, gasoline, and payment of fire brigades.
At the policy level, the Agency supported the formulation
of the Forest Management Policy and Non-timber Products Policy
that were officially approved by the National Council of Protected
Areas, made available to the public, and are being applied
through regulations, dialogue ("mesas de diálogo"),
and agreements with communities. The Forest Management and
Non-timber Products Policies have been key in managing forestry
activities, including the enforcement of CITES regulations
for mahogany; the development of regulations, procedures,
and guidelines for xate palm management activities
inside parks; the development and implementation of park management
plans; and the support of user rights and compliance by forestry
concessions.
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Climate Change
Primarily through improved protected area management, training
and technical assistance, and vulnerability reduction and
adaptation, USAID is succeeding in preserving the environmentally
significant lands of Guatemala. At the same time, these efforts
have addressed the issue of climate change by preserving carbon
stocks and building the capacity of the Guatemalans to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions.
In the future, USAID may expand work in clean production,
a priority for the Government of Guatemala and for the implementation
of CAFTA.
For more information see USAID/EGAT’s Guatemala
Climate Change Country Program web page and Guatemala
Global Climate Change Country Profile
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Population, Health, & Environment
In the Petén region of Guatemala around the Maya Biosphere
Reserve, USAID’s Population, Health, and Environment program
supported the NGO ProPetén in its Remedios II project.
Emphasizing mass popular education to encourage the use of
family planning and better environmental land management,
the project developed a Radio Soap Opera, "At a Crossroads."
Set in an imaginary village, the story will air daily for
an entire year. Following extensive background research, ProPetén
identified key themes to be highlighted throughout the program:
migration, land speculation, more environmentally-friendly
land-use practices, family planning, safe motherhood, and
prevention of sexually transmitted infections and AIDS, as
well as gender equity and intercultural relations.
A second popular Population, Health, and Environment program
is the "Mobile Biosphere," a cross-terrain vehicle that travels
to remote communities across the Maya Biosphere Reserve to
organize informal education activities including talks, mini-workshops,
skits, movies, and games. Educational themes include natural
pesticides and organic fertilizers, crop diversification,
family planning and reproductive health, forest fire prevention,
environmental sanitation (trash collection and disposal, latrines,
drinking water), education, improved nutrition, and medicinal
plants.
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