Indigenous and community organisations in 4 countries are confronting climate change.
Guatemala, July 11, 2019. ICCO-Cooperation together with community-based organisations launched the project "Communities, Forests and Biodiversity: Promoting dialogue, exchange and forest value chains for climate change adaptation and mitigation", which will be implemented in the Petén (Guatemala), in the municipalities of Cinquera, Chilanga and Guatajiagua (El Salvador), in the Moskitia and in the central-Pacific zone (Honduras) and in the department of Chocó (Colombia). The project is part of the Forests, Biodiversity and Ecosystems component of the European Union funded EUROCLIMA+ Programme+.
The action is a joint proposal from a consortium of community-based organisations and indigenous peoples, in which the Association of Forestry Communities of Petén (ACOFOP) of Guatemala, the Federation of Agroforestry Producers (FEPROAH), Moskitia Asla Takanka (MASTA) of Honduras and the Greater Community Council of the popular farmer organisation of Alto Atrato (COCOMOPOCA) of Colombia are participating.
In collective action is the success of any effort we make.”
Integrated sustainable forest management has proven to be one of the main mechanisms for mitigating climate change and conserving biodiversity and associated ecosystems. In addition, livelihoods are generated for communities with less investment.
One of the most strategic actions in which the project contributes is the conservation of forests and community forestry, as hubs of sustainable development. Governments in alliance with indigenous and grassroots organisations that live in these territories work on that task continuously.
The project will have a duration of two years and will generate an impact on forest management and on strengthening the alliances of grassroots organisations with regulatory entities for forestry matters in each country. In the case of Honduras, a national forestry strategy will be promoted that includes indigenous communities in the management of their territories. The project will also systematise successful experiences of forestry companies with integrated forest management.
Another of the significant actions that are contemplated within the project is the generation of knowledge, for which two biodiversity studies will be carried out, a carbon baseline and a study of the economic value of the forest.
With this meeting of the partner organisations in Guatemala, this joint effort will begin to promote adaptation and mitigation of the effects of climate change, generating resilience.
To learn more about this project, click here.
Press contacts
For information about EUROCLIMA+, contact Alexandra Cortés. EUROCLIMA+ Programme: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
For information about the project, contact Óscar Acuña: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For information about the Forests, Biodiversity and Ecosystems component of EUROCLIMA+, write to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
About the organisations
ICCO - COOPERACIÓN is a Dutch non-governmental organisation with more than 50 years of work globally, it exercises overall project coordination. In Central and Mesoamerica, it has almost three decades of accumulated experience, generating synergies between social actors for the promotion of sustainable development (civil society organisations, private companies, Indigenous Peoples and community-based organisations, academia, and the public sector, among others). We link with, promote and strengthen the work of enterprising people.
EUROCLIMA+ is a programme funded by the European Union to promote environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient development in 18 Latin American countries, in particular for the benefit of the most vulnerable populations. The Programme is implemented under the synergistic work of seven agencies: Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), French Development Agency (AFD), Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), Expertise France (EF), International and Ibero-American Foundation for Administration and Public Policies (FIIAPP), German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ), and UN Environment.
