Local land owners worked together in order to protect 55,308 hectares of threatened tropical rainforest, while sequestering 6 million tons of CO2 and protecting key habitat corridors.

Nature-based Intervention:

This project focused on bringing together a collective of local land owners in order to protect 55,308 hectares of threatened tropical rainforest. The long term goal of the project is to eventually bring 128,448 hectares under protections. Through conserving this forest it has helped remove 6 million tonnes of CO2 emissions from the atmosphere. The project also has a focus on supporting local entrepreneurs, who through their endeavors have contributed €8.4 million to the local economy. They have supporting increasing the regional production of sustainable commodities such as cardamom pepper and lychee. The project has also helped provide legal support to the indigenous Q’eqchi’ people in order to get them land titles. As land owners they can then receive benefits from conservation incentive programs within the country. Overall this has allowed them to create a network of over 1,000 property owners that own approximately 700 forest parcels which combine to make the protected area.

Overview of context and outcomes:

The project is located in a region of Guatemala which has experienced some of the highest global deforestation rates recorded. These forests lie along the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, which serves as a critical habitat pathway for migratory birds traveling central America. The area is also occupied by many indigenous Q’eqchi’ people who tend farms, but do not have recognized land rights within the government system. Large scale cattle ranches and palm oil plantations were displacing these farmers as well as destroying the forest in the region.