Case study: Mi Bosque Project, Guatemala Print E-mail

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@CARE Guatemala 2007

The Mi Bosque (My Forest) project illustrates how carbon finance can be made to 'multi-task' by supporting social and conservation objectives while mitigating climate change. Land distribution is strikingly unequal throughout Guatemala.

 

The poor majority is confined to a small portion of the country’s total land, and this frequently consists of steep hillsides that the rich and powerful don’t want. As a result, both forest and soil degradation is severe and release large quantities of CO2.

 

Crowded onto marginal lands, poor people in Western Guatemala have lost much of their natural resource base and seen agricultural productivity plummet. By working with local communities, CARE came to see how training in effective agro-forestry management and forest conservation could help people revitalize their natural resource base and regain control of their livelihoods.

 

@CARE Guatemala 2007

Since 1990, carbon finance has supported the Mi Bosque (My Forest) project working in eleven municipalities to:

 

• Expand agro-forestry systems that diversify people's sources of income and improve crop productivity;

 

• Plant forests on steep slopes to reduce the risk of landslides;

 

• Establish more equitable - and, therefore, sustainable - forest management regimes;

 
• Make a cost-effective and verifiable contribution to sequestering carbon in trees and soil, as well as reducing emissions from deforestation.

 

When Mi Bosque began, local deforestation was widespread and accelerating. Some areas had been stripped of trees, and heavy rainfall subsequently scoured away everything but the underlying rock. In other places, forests were still being cut. The project helped communities establish tree nurseries and, planting mostly indigenous species, secure threatened areas before their usefulness could be similarly eroded.

 

The project also established community-based organizations addressing local land rights. This led to new legislation acknowledging villagers' right to participate in decisions effecting community development. Meanwhile, greenhouse gas emissions from land-degradation have been reversed. Data from 43 forests shows a carbon capture rate of about 208 tons per hectare avoided emissions will make it possible to supplement local incomes. As such, it will provide additional incentives for sustainable land management. This promises to permanently transform the highland hills of Western Guatemala and greatly secure rural livelihoods. Additional accomplishments include:

 

• Enhanced natural resource management practices have improved agricultural productivity so much that many families no longer have to leave their homes and communities in search of waged labour. In fact, migration by households participating in the Mi Bosque project has declined by approximately 80 percent in the last 10 years.

 

• Agroforestry techniques have paved the way to establish a lucrative - and sustainable- native timber industry in Quiquivai. This began in 2002. Within a year, production had tripled.

 

• Agricultural productivity by households participating in the Mi Bosque project has dramatically improved due to soil conservation measures, the use of organic fertilizer, crop rotation and other agroforestry techniques. Healthier, more productive farms allows people to keep hens, pigs, goats and cows.

 

• Soil erosion has decreased and waterlogging (a side effect of deforestation) has diminished.

 

The Mi Bosque project has generated a wealth of direct and indirect benefits for the people of Western Guatemala. The most important of these may be the revival of local water, soil and forest resources. The process of natural resources restoration quickly inspired local leaders like Francisco Rojas. Francisco saw Mi Bosque's potential; and, in 1993, he formed a group to implement project initiatives in Quiquivaj village. Since then, the Los Rojas Group has transformed exhausted fields into a thriving agricultural centre growing peaches, avocados, plums, tomatoes, animal fodder and fir trees to supplement traditional maize and bean crops. So, now it is Los Rojas who are the inspiration. Indeed, others see them as a model for rural livelihood restoration and are beginning to copy Los Rojas' successes. The seeds of Mi Bosque are growing.