Forest restoration in Guatemala

Like any community, there can be rifts. One of the amazing benefits we have seen through this large-scale project is that it has brought different families and groups within the community together. The community has united under this restoration work to achieve the greater goal of restoring their land and creating a more sustainable and better future.

Community members have decided to pitch in on a used truck to help with the project, help with their agricultural work, and to be able to move produce to market. The community was very isolated before the project. This was due to bad roads to get in and out of the town, which sometimes became impassable for buses in the rainy season. Now the community can access services from nearby towns and can get their agricultural products to buyers. There is an amazing sense of community!

Kevin, the monitoring lead for Acapan, is set to become the first person in his family and his community to pursue higher education, made possible by income earned through the project.

Kevin has chosen to study sustainable agriculture, with a clear goal in mind: to bring that knowledge back into the project, strengthening restoration best practices and helping his community build sustainable agriculture systems that support long-term, thriving livelihoods.

Kevin hopes to continue his work with Era and, upon completing his degree, join the National Leadership Team — carrying his community's experience and priorities into decisions that shape the project's future.

Rains have been unpredictable this year, as usually the team can count on consistent rains starting in May, but this year there have been long gaps known as Caniculas. Local forestry experts have recommended that the team wait to do the bulk of planting until the rains are consistent.

With 5 days of rain in a row, the team are starting to transport seedlings from the nursery to the project site. The majority of trees planted so far have been planted along the forest edges where they receive shade and through live fences, which will protect the new saplings from livestock in the nursery. The bulk of planting will be done from now until October.

The team is working on weeding the area, which also creates fire breaks, and is building live fences out of cuttings, which will soon grow into trees to prevent livestock from entering their forestation areas. The cuttings being used are from a species called Palo Jiote (Bursera simaruba), which does better when it is put in the ground in the dry season and will allow us to begin some planting before April.

So far, 3,565 cuttings of Palo Jiote have been planted. The team has also improved a well on their land that will help irrigate the plants during dry spells.

María moved her family from a cartel-run part of Guatemala to the coast so that her sons would not be at risk of becoming involved in gangs. She is a single mother with three children. She was very concerned when she arrived in the new community, as she saw how devastated the land was, and that every agricultural initiative she tried, including fishing, was not enough to sustain her family. She had to send her children away to her sister while she continued to try and make her new life on the coast sustainable. Now she earns a consistent income, has brought her children back to live with her, can provide 3 meals a day for her family!

Guatemala, in coordination with the UN, have identified two watersheds essential to restoring the country’s well-being. Restoration Era is working with the Guatemala Ministry of Water to restore the Samalá and Ocosito Watersheds from the mountains to the mangrove estuaries on the coast. This landscape-focused project provides environmental, social, and economic benefits to all those who rely on the watershed. Within the watershed restoration project, there are three zones (highlands, tropical forests, and mangroves) in which Era has active projects. The Esteros de Acapan restoration site is a part of this holistic effort!

This region of Guatemala has been heavily deforested for decades leading to a loss of habitat for many species. By restoring this area and by introducing conservation measures we are restoring the habitat for animals such as the jaguar, deer, wild boar, iguana, oncillo, fox, and many bird species. This area is near the protected area of El Manchon and can increase the range that animals can safely travel in. Hunting has led to the loss of many of these species in the region and we have teamed up with the Guatemalan government to make this area a conservation zone where hunting is not permitted.