Protecting and restoring coastlines to reconcile biodiversity and sustainable development in Guatemala (FUNDAECO-GDL)

Project

Project start date: February 27, 2023
Estimated date of project termination: March 1, 2027
Project financing date: December 16, 2022
Financing duration: 4 years
Type of program: FFEM
Global financing amount: € 8 720 000
FFEM financing amount: € 2 550 000
Project lead member institution(s): French Ministry of the Ecological Transition
Partners: MAR Fund, FUNDAECO
Beneficiaries: FUNDAECO (Foundation for Ecological Development and Conservation)
Type of beneficiary: NGO, Foundation

The project strengthens governance, planning, protection, and restoration of coastal areas in Guatemala to ensure the conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems and maintain regional ecological connectivity through Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM)

Context

Guatemala's 402 km of coastline is home to ecosystems of global importance—the Mesoamerican Reef, mangroves, and dry forests—which are essential to the livelihoods of nearly four million people.
Subject to intense pressure (agribusiness, overfishing, urbanization, climate change), these environments are rapidly deteriorating, particularly on the Pacific coast.
Strengthening the conservation and sustainable management of coastal and marine areas is a priority issue for the country, Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) for the benefit of local populations.

Description

The project is structured around four components:

Strengthening governance and planning in coastal areas.
Conserving and restoring marine and coastal ecosystems (creation/expansion of protected areas, ecological restoration, conservation agreements with communities).
Supporting sustainable income-generating activities and structuring a blue tourism model.
Establishing sustainable financing mechanisms and capitalizing on the lessons learned from the project.

Results and expected outcomes

Improve governance and coastal management in Guatemala, fully integrating environmental issues.
Strengthen the conservation of ecosystems on both coasts, in particular by increasing protection of the Pacific coast, which is currently insufficiently covered.
Involve local populations and generate socio-economic benefits through the development of sustainable blue tourism, promote sustainable fisheries management, diversify productive activities, and train young people for green and blue jobs.
Establish sustainable financial mechanisms to ensure long-term funding for the protection and conservation of Guatemala's coastlines.

Innovative and exemplary features

The ICZM model developed on the Caribbean coast by FUNDAECO is innovative in itself. The project seeks to lay the foundations for replicating and scaling up this model on the Pacific coast, which would be innovative on a national scale in Guatemala, where there are few coastal protection measures in place on the Pacific coast. In addition, the model of participatory coastal governance, planning, and management promoted by the project is innovative: it will aim to mobilize all institutions involved in coastal management to galvanize a new culture of responsibility towards the oceans and coasts in a country traditionally focused on its mountains and forests.