Indigenous communities in Guatemala’s highlands are changing agricultural practices and improving living standards as part of a project to reduce soil erosion and sedimentation of the Chixoy River, which feeds the Pueblo Viejo hydroelectric reservoir.

The IDB-financed Chixoy hydroelectric plant, the country’s major energy source, has been threatened by rapid siltation due to poor land use practices in the watershed, primarily deforestation and cultivation of marginal, erosion-prone lands.

The project, which was financed with the help of a $14.4 million IDB loan in 1992, includes soil conservation measures, training in forest management for local communities and works to stem erosion in gullies.

At the same time, the 12,000 people living in some 250 communities in the IDB-financed watershed management project area are benefiting from training in new agricultural techniques and business management. Schools and health centers have been constructed, and communal funds for small-scale production projects have been created.

Many of the community activities have been planned and carried out by community members. An important part of the project has been organizing local people and training leaders, a complex task because of the different Indian languages spoken by the various cultural groups benefiting from the program. A total of 200 agricultural and 100 agroforestry facilitators were chosen by the communities from among their ranks and provided with training. The peace agreements that ended the country’s long-running civil war have been cited as a major reason for the success of the participatory process.

Among the project’s achievements has been the establishment of soil conservation and sustainable farming practices on more than 9,600 hectares. In addition, forest management systems were instituted on 50,000 hectares in 115 communities, 10 million tree seedlings were planted on 5,600 hectares, and 2,300 hectares of degraded lands were rehabilitated through the repair of erosion prevention works. In all cases, original goals were exceeded, and in some cases substantially so.

The project is being carried out by a special unit of the Ministry of Agriculture.
—Carlos González, Guatemala

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