In 2023, the relative internal productivity of the Agriculture sector in Latin America and the Caribbean was 44 (with total productivity coefficient = 100), showing its lag compared to sectors with higher productivity, according to the sectoral graph of the report (ECLAC, 2025).

7% of forest cover was lost between 1990 and 2020 in Latin America and the Caribbean, equivalent to 138 million hectares, highlighting the scale of landscape degradation in the region and the urgency of advancing large-scale restoration and conservation efforts (World Resources Institute, 2024).

58% of greenhouse gas emissions in Latin America and the Caribbean originate from land use, land-use change, and the forestry sector, highlighting the significant weight of these activities in the region’s climate dynamics and the urgent need to strengthen mitigation efforts (World Resources Institute, 2024).

The Great Forests of Mesoamerica (GFM) Program is a five-year (2023–2027) European Union initiative under the #TeamEurope approach to strengthen the protection and sustainable use of Mesoamerica’s great forests and other relevant areas such as the Trifinio Region. Its overall objective is to improve conservation and sustainability through four components: (1) data and transparency for decision-making, (2) forest governance and biodiversity conservation, (3) sustainable and deforestation-free production and trade, and (4) environmental rights and forest defense. The program operates at regional, national and sub-national levels, combining technical assistance, work with regional partners, and cascading grants with local partners. It is designed to complement national and sub-national actions and to integrate synergies with more than 100 ongoing actions across Mesoamerican forests. Additionally, it includes a Program Secretariat within the #EURECA framework to ensure coordination, coherence and alignment with the EU’s strategic objectives in the region.

In Izabal's "Conservation Coast," a region where 65% of the original forest has been lost and which is home to nearly half of Guatemala's biodiversity, the American Bird Conservancy (ABC) and FUNDAECO are working to protect remaining forest areas and restore the landscape through agroforestry systems. After contributing to the protection of more than 3,360 hectares crucial for migratory birds, the initiative is now promoting wildlife-compatible crops—such as black pepper, cardamom, rubber, cacao, and mahogany—in buffer zones. The goal is to improve forest cover by up to 40,000 hectares over the next 10 to 15 years, reduce pressure on forests, increase carbon sequestration, and strengthen local livelihoods. With training programs at BioCenters and a differentiated approach for large and small producers, the project promotes a land-use model that generates ecological and economic benefits at the landscape scale.

On Guatemala's Caribbean coast, Mirova's Althelia Climate Fund is driving a €10.2 million investment to conserve up to 110,000 hectares of highly biodiverse and strategic natural forests that serve as a migratory corridor. The project will prevent more than 8 million tons of CO₂ emissions, restore 1,000 hectares of degraded land in buffer zones, and promote agroforestry systems that integrate cardamom, xate palm, pepper, rambutan, lychee, cinnamon, and timber, improving the income and resilience of smallholder farmers. In partnership with FUNDAECO and local communities, the initiative will also strengthen the management of protected areas, create new reserves, boost ecotourism, and foster a sustainable development model that protects forests from threats such as slash-and-burn agriculture and extensive cattle ranching.

For the national development plan, the k'atun provides a horizon that allows the country to chart its course for development over the next twenty years. The k'atun proposes a common vision for the country, a shared dream, with confidence in a different and better future. It considers diversity to be a source of wealth for building intercultural coexistence and establishing a culture of peace. People and their particularities, derived from their sociocultural, economic, and political status, position, and situation, are at the center of the National Development Plan: K'atun, Our Guatemala 2032, which is presented in this document.

The Government of Guatemala, in an effort to ensure a sustainable and equitable future for all its citizens, announces the drafting of a Water Law. This initiative, which will be developed through a participatory and transparent process, seeks to establish a solid legal framework for the comprehensive and sustainable management of water resources, one of the country's most valuable assets.

The Constitutive Agreement of the Central American Commission on Environment and Development is a regional agreement signed in San José on December 12, 1989, by the Presidents of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua, establishing a regional cooperation regime for the optimal and rational use of natural resources, pollution control, and restoration of ecological balance in Central America. The Agreement creates CCAD as an executive entity responsible for directing and administering this regime, with the mandate to formulate strategies to promote environmentally sustainable development, develop action plans, valorize and protect the regional natural heritage characterized by its high biological and ecosystem diversity, and strengthen national environmental management institutions. The institutional structure comprises the Commission integrated by governmental representatives, a rotating annual Presidency, an executive Secretariat, ad-hoc technical commissions, and a patrimonial fund formed by State contributions and international donations. The Agreement establishes priority action areas including environmental education, protection of shared watersheds and ecosystems, tropical forest management, urban pollution control, and toxic substance management, promoting participatory, democratic, and decentralized environmental management in the Central American region.

The AGRO-INNOVA project is being implemented by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), with financial assistance from the European Union (EU), in partnership with 21 national public and private partners, in six Central American countries: Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama, as well as with the technical and research support of the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE). The project's objective is to improve climate change adaptation and mitigation technologies for smallholder staple crop and livestock production through research, transfer, and extension in SAFM (Agricultural and Forestry Management), to preserve seed biodiversity, increase productivity, and improve food security for highly vulnerable families in the Dry Corridor of Central America.