Guatemala: Strengthening Environmental Governance in the face of Climate Risks in Guatemala

To achieve this, the Programme focused on strengthening those mechanisms that allow for the proper administration of environmental interests, and that foster adaptability to climate changes:

1. At the national level, through inter-institutional coordination and strategic implementation of three relevant national policies (social, environmental and water resources);
2. At the subnational level, focusing primarily on the strengthening of financial and administrative environmental management, specifically of the drought corridor of Guatemala; and
3. At the local level, through pilot project interventions in communities and municipalities.

Main achievements included:

• Promotion of 17 municipal public policies for environmental management, three departmental public policies for water and forest management, six municipal water and sanitation plans and two comprehensive municipal plans for water use. The Shared Agenda to Strengthen Social and Environmental Governance in the Dry Corridor was agreed upon.
• Training delivered to communities to improve their decision-making skills.
• Promotion of alternative water and sanitation technologies in 56 communities, benefitting more than 6,000 people.
• Dialogue forums were created to analyse and propose ways to improve management and access to water and forest resources; initiatives proposed by these bodies were approved by the respective departmental councils.