Guatemala

The FCAS portfolio in Guatemala is one of the most significant, both in terms of number and in terms of the Fund’s overall budget, representing a clear commitment by Spanish Cooperation to the country. It has a total of fourteen programmes, of which thirteen have been implemented bilaterally and one in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). All of them fall under the Water and Sanitation line of the Country Partnership Framework for the reduction of child malnutrition.

The Fund’s interventions in Guatemala amount to a total of €123.7 million; €77.7 million of FCAS grant and €45.9 million counterpart from Guatemalan institutions.

The Fund’s actions will benefit more than 600,000 people directly and more than 4 million indirectly. The executing entities are municipal associations, civil society organisations and the municipality of Sololá for the bilateral programmes; and the Institute of Municipal Development INFOM-UNEPAR (Institute of Municipal Development – Unit for the Implementation of the Rural Aqueducts Programme) for the only multilateral programme.

In 2024, there are four programmes under implementation (GTM-015-B, GTM-019-B, GTM-020-B and GTM-021-B) and four in the justification phase (GTM-016-B, GTM-017-B, GTM-018-B and the Multilateral Programme – GTM-001-M), the other programmes of the bilateral portfolio having been completed. Work is mainly carried out along three lines of action:

The Multilateral Programme addresses the improvement of access to drinking water and sanitation services in rural, urban and peri-urban areas in the country.

GTM-015-B RU K’UX YA’, Contribute to health and the reduction of diarrhoeal diseases in the department of Sololá, by improving management and sustainable access to water and sanitation.

This programme, which was completed by February 2024, has had two main impacts. On the one hand, it has helped to increase self-management and promote sustainable maintenance of water systems, as well as to increase monitoring of water quality, as municipalities and Water and Sanitation Committees (CAS) have instruments and tools to measure and improve quality at the bacteriological level. In addition, a change in the behaviour of the population has been achieved in terms of excreta disposal, cleanliness and hygiene through the Santolic/Sahtoso methodology.

Likewise, work has been carried out on the implementation of actions to protect water recharge areas, the elimination of some sources of contamination in water sources, reforestation, awareness of the relationship between water and the forest and the care of natural resources. For all of this, work has been done in coordination with other actors such as CONAP (National Council of Protected Areas), INAB (National Forest Institute) and MARN (Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources).

On the other hand, this intervention has boosted the use of administrative, technical and legal instruments to help improve coordination between all actors contributing to the sustainability of water and sanitation management processes. In addition, training actions have been developed in the Bricklaying and Plumbing Training Centre with a specialisation in water and sanitation, a work that has been highly valued by students and local authorities, in terms of achieving the qualification and skills required in the trade. The training is based on the Learning-by-Doing methodology, which places special emphasis on developing the skills, abilities and techniques required in the bricklaying and plumbing trades. Work has also been done in schools and health centres to improve water and sanitation services, and the Healthy Schools strategy has been implemented. The incorporation of health and environmental education processes in each school, awareness-raising activities on menstrual hygiene, hand washing with soap and water, healthy eating and the efficient and timely use of the materials and resources of the «Hygiene is health» campaign has also been achieved. A new programme, GTM-021-B, was approved in December 2024, which will continue all this work and operate as a second phase.

GTM-019-B: Programme to strengthen governance and integrated management of water resources in Guatemala.

Integrated water basin management in Guatemala faces numerous challenges, mainly due to the lack of a solid legal and regulatory framework for water basin management, protection and recovery. The country is the only one in Central America without a water law, a water policy or a national plan for integrated water resources management (IWRM). Although twenty-five bills have been submitted, none have been passed, and existing legal frameworks lack institutional capacity for implementation at the municipal level. In addition, the limited participation of local stakeholders and sectors in water governance further hampers effective water management.

In this context, the Programme «Strengthening Governance and Integrated Water Resources Management in Guatemala» aims to support the Government of Guatemala, through the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) and, in particular, the Vice-Ministry of Water, in the development of regulatory instruments for the operation of the technical panels for basin management, as well as in the development of the National Policy for Water Resource Management in Guatemala. In addition, pilot actions will promote the protection, preservation and integrated management of water basins in two strategic territories: the San Pedro and La Pasión river basins. These basins have been selected for their geographical, economic, cultural and ecological relevance, as well as for their complexity in terms of governance and their importance at international level.

The programme was officially launched in July 2024, in a meeting attended by Mr. Mauricio Acevedo, Governor of Petén; Mr. Jaime Carrera, Vice-Minister of Water – MARN; Ms. Clara Girbau, Ambassador of Spain in Guatemala, the Municipal Mayors of Petén, representatives of the Government of Guatemala, Civil Society Organisations, local stakeholders and environmental organisations.