Key policies and governance approach

Several efforts have been made over the last 50 years — or are ongoing — to construct and implement the institutional, policy, and regulatory framework of Guatemala’s forestry sector.

Overall policy guidelines for the forestry sector are set by the 1999 Guatemala’s Forestry Policy [12]. The policy’s general objective is to augment the socio-economic benefits derived from goods and services supplied by forest ecosystems and encourage territorial planning in rural lands by promoting the productive management and conservation of natural resources, particularly forests and associated resources such as biodiversity, water, and soils, as well as mainstreaming forestry into the country's economy for the benefit of society.

One of the main instruments utilized to attain the policy’s objectives is the PROBOSQUE programme created by the 2015 Act for the Establishment, Recovery, Restoration, Management, Production, and Protection of Forests in Guatemala [13]. The Act seeks to expand the country’s forest coverage through the implementation of a forestry incentives programme. Landowners receive monetary subsidies from the PROBOSQUE programme in exchange for planting trees, executing reforestation actions, or sustainably managing natural forests; the PINPEP mechanism targets small-land owners (< 15ha), while other owners use the PINFOR mechanism [14].

The principal regulatory instrument is the 1996 Forestry Law [15], whose purpose is the conservation of forests by promoting their sustainable management, reducing deforestation, promoting reforestation, increasing forest productivity, conserving forest ecosystems, and improving communities’ livelihoods by augmenting the goods and services supplied by forest ecosystems.  

The National Forestry Institute (INAB), created in 1996 by the Forestry Law, is the governing body of the forestry sector. Its main purpose is to implement Guatemala’s Forestry Policy and promote the development of the country’s forestry sector through the sustainable management of forests, reforestation, development of the forest product industry, and protection and development of hydrographic basins.

SUCCESSES AND REMAINING CHALLENGES

Efforts to reduce deforestation, increase forest coverage, and promote sustainable management of forests seem to have mainly been channelled through the National System of Protected Areas (SIGAP) and the forestry incentives programme (PROBOSQUE). Currently, 52.7% of the country’s forests are included in protected areas. Over the 1998 – 2015 period, a total of 143,066 ha of previously deforested land were incorporated into the forestry activity through the establishment of commercial forest plantations and agroforestry systems, supported by the PROBOSQUE programme.

Nevertheless, deforestation continues to be more intense within protected areas, partly because most forests remaining outside protected areas are located on steep slopes or difficult-to-access zones, which intrinsically reduce their risk of deforestation, compared to forests within protected areas [16]. As pointed out by some assessments [14], [17], [18], despite the efforts described above, little concrete progress has been attained in halting or reducing deforestation and regulating or counteracting its driving forces.  

Initiatives and Development Plans

There are a number of ongoing initiatives aimed at reducing deforestation and forest degradation by addressing some of their driving factors. These include the 2015 Interinstitutional Action Plan for Preventing and Reducing Illegal Logging in Guatemala [19], the 2015 National Strategy for the Sustainable Production and Efficient Use of Fuelwood 2013-2024 [20] and the National REDD Strategy [16] which aims to reduce GHG emissions from deforestation and forest degradation by strengthening forest policy and governance.

Community forestry concessions in the Maya Biosphere Reserve [14] is an innovative forest governance scheme created in the 1990’s. Through which, the Guatemalan government (through CONAP) grants the usufruct rights to timber and non-timber forest resources to local community organizations whose livelihoods depend on the forest (Association of Forest Communities of Petén, ACOFOP). The success of community forest concessions has been widely recognized (e.g., [21], [22]); achievements made to date include: forest cover has been maintained, the advance of the agricultural frontier has been halted, and illegal extraction and forest fires have been better controlled thanks to prevention, control, and stewardship activities carried out by the concessionaires. New permanent jobs have been created with great impact on the economic income of communities. Community-based forestry businesses have been created, with their own sawmills and collection centres, setting up product chains of value-added forest products. Some community management units have been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. 

Goals and Ambitions

Goals of Guatemala’s National Development Plan K’atun 2032 [23] include by 2032, having 32% of the country's territory covered by forests that supply economic and environmental benefits to the population; at least 29% of the country's territory covered by natural forests and forest coverage increased by 3% through the restoration of lands suitable for forest protection and conservation; at least 2.6% of the country covered by forest plantations; and zero net deforestation in the core zones of protected areas attained.

Implementation of the National REDD+ Strategy’s Emission Reduction Programme is expected to avoid the emission of 9.25 Mt of CO2e and sequester other 1.77 Mt of CO2e over its first five years of implementation.