World Development Perspectives (2016) 16–18 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect World Development Perspectives journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/wdp Case report On the way to restore Guatemala’s degraded lands: Creating governance conditions Ebal Sales a, Ogden Rodas b, Oscar Valenzuela b, Anique Hillbrand c,⇑, César Sabogal c a Instituto Nacional de Bosques (INAB), Avenida 12-90 Zona 13, Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 7a Avenida 6-80, Zona 13, Ciudad de Guatemala, Guatemala c Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Viale delle Terme di Caracalla, 00153 Rome, Italy b a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 21 October 2016 Revised November 2016 Accepted 11 November 2016 Available online January 2017 a b s t r a c t Guatemala is a megadiverse country but its ecosystems have been constantly threatened by stress factors During the 1991–2001 period, the country experienced a forest loss of 93,127 ha/year This situation prompted the Government to set a target to restore 1.2 million of degraded land by 2045 and approved in 2015 a National Strategy for Forest Landscape Restoration Findings show that the combination of a platform for dialogue and a legal framework (PROBOSQUE Law) to support restoration work on the ground has proved to be very important for the implementation of the National Strategy Another key factor was the three-level approach that combined implementation activities at national, regional and local levels Ó 2016 The Authors Published by Elsevier Ltd This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) Introduction The Republic of Guatemala has an area of 10.8 million hectares It is home to a rich diversity of 8681 plant species, of which 13.5 percent are endemic According to 2012 estimates, land cover in Guatemala is: a) agriculture (37.6%); b) forests (34.07%); c) shrubs and / or herbaceous vegetation (23.5%); d) water bodies (1.6%); e) human settlements (1.3%); f) wetlands (0.9%); g) areas without information available (0.4%) and h) areas with little or no vegetation (0.3%) (GIMBOT, 2014) The country has one of the highest rates of deforestation in Latin America Forest loss increased from 93,127 ha/year in 1991–2001 to 132,138 ha/year in 2006–2010 Net deforestation for this last period was estimated at about 44,000 with a net annual loss rate of 1.0% forest coverage Deforestation is mainly due to anthropogenic disturbances such as conversion of forests into agricultural land In the last 15 years, this process has been mainly driven by export-oriented agriculture commodities (palm oil, sugar and banana), ranching, urban growth and forest fires Another cause of deforestation is wood fuel consumption, as about 70% of the population depends on this resource for energy Indirect drivers include unclear land tenure, weak institutional capacity, ⇑ Corresponding author E-mail addresses: ebal.sales@inab.gob.gt (E Sales), Ogden.Rodas@fao.org (O Rodas), Oscar.ValenzuelaPos@fao.org (O Valenzuela), anique.hillbrand@web.de (A Hillbrand), Cesar.Sabogal@fao.org (C Sabogal) population growth, drug trafficking and a weak forest sector economy To address the increasing degradation of natural resources, Guatemala’s government has made an international commitment by pledging to restore 1.2 million hectares of degraded lands under the Bonn Challenge and the Latin America 20 Â 20 Initiative This case study describes the key governance innovations that have made it possible to create the basis for restoration of degraded lands at country level, offering some lessons for countries that are currently developing their national restoration plans or programs The Roundtable on Forest Landscape Restoration With the launch of the Bonn Challenge in 2011, the National Forest Institute (INAB), as a leading national institution in the forestry sector, promoted the creation of the Roundtable of Forest Landscape Restoration (FLR Roundtable), with support from international cooperation This platform for national dialogue and institutional articulation currently includes around 50 institutional members, representing a wide range of stakeholders (government, community organizations, indigenous peoples’ organizations, the private sector, NGOs, academia, municipalities as well as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the United States Forest Service (USFS)) The Institutional Coordination Group (GCI), an inter sectoral, high political instance consisting of INAB, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAGA), the http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wdp.2016.11.010 2452-2929/Ó 2016 The Authors Published by Elsevier Ltd This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) E Sales et al / World Development Perspectives (2016) 16–18 National Commission on Protected Areas (CONAP) and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), presides over the national platform and also plays a supportive role in resource mobilization and the forging of strategic alliances (Mesa de Restauración del Paisaje Forestal de Guatemala, 2015) The National Strategy for Forest Landscape Restoration Between 2014 and 2015, the work of the FLR Roundtable made it possible to develop and get official approval of the National Strategy for Forest Landscape Restoration of Guatemala – ENRPF (www.inab.gob.gt) This policy instrument aims to sustainably restore 1.2 million of degraded land by 2045 and its goal is to link different actors, establish instruments of public policy and promote capacity building The FLR Roundtable plays a key role in its implementation, monitoring and evaluation Some of the expected key contributions of the National Strategy will be increased forest cover, higher income generation and improved livelihoods of forest dependent communities and indigenous people, strengthening institutional capacities on restoration, conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems, and adaptation to climate change The initial step in the development of the National Strategy was the generation of a map of potential areas for restoration in Guatemala, currently estimated at approximately 3.9 million Following a set of criteria, priority areas for forest landscape restoration were identified in eight categories: riparian forest, mangrove, protected forest, commercial forest, agroforestry with permanent crops, agroforestry with annual crops, silvopastoral systems and protected areas The ENRPF includes ecological aspects such as the use of indigenous tree species for restoration in agroforestry systems and a focus on conserving endemic species in protected areas With regards to economic parameters, the strategy states that based on the restored land, small holder farmer’s income will be diversified and forest based value chains will be developed The ENRPF itself was formulated based on a diagnosis of the current status of FLR in the country, including the analysis of the policy and regulatory framework and the identification of 18 legal instruments that can support restoration Three of the existing legal instruments are 1) the law on decreasing vulnerability through adaption and mitigation of climate change, 2) the National Forest Policy and 3) the National Biological Diversity Policy (PNDB) Participants in the Roundtable also documented ten restoration experiences identified in different regions and mapped existing national restoration initiatives The PROBOSQUE Law as a tool to support forest landscape restoration A political dialogue on the development of a new program of forestry incentives based on a former Forestry Incentives Program (active from 1997 to 2016), took place prior to the definition of the National Strategy As a result, the PROBOSQUE Law, which supports several actions included in the ENRPF was approved at the end of 2015 The technical and legal design of this law is based on a specific typology of restoration projects in degraded forest lands INAB, the FAO and IUCN supported the development of the PROBOSQUE Law and practical guidelines for forest landscape restoration in Guatemala were prepared as part of this joint effort Priority has been given to the restoration of riparian forests, protected forests in upper watersheds, mangrove and secondary (degraded) forests 17 Progress in the implementation of the National Strategy So far, the actions towards the implementation of the Strategy, organized through or promoted by the FLR Roundtable, have included the strengthening of institutional capacity in restoration, as well as the establishment of restoration sites and research on relevant topics (for instance, the production of natural forest germplasm) The implementation of the PROBOSQUE Law will serve to underpin national efforts identified through the FLR Roundtable Also, a portfolio of projects aimed for global/regional funding mechanisms or initiatives such as the Green Climate Fund, the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the 20 Â 20 Initiative, REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation), is under preparation using the Strategy as a reference The implementation of the ENRPF will promote REDD+ activities through incentives and financial mechanisms for increasing carbon stocks through reforestation and agroforestry systems, and enhance progress towards national implementation of the Aichi Targets and the Sustainable Development Goals Since the end of 2015 FAO’s Forest and Landscape Restoration Mechanism (FLRM) is providing support to the development of various outreach materials on FLR practices for INAB’s Department of Extension, with the expectation that they will be integrated in the MAGA’s Rural Extension System At the sub-national (regional, departmental) level, the national platform is fostering dialogue and providing guidance and institutional support to existing platforms Examples include the Intersectoral Committee of Land and Environment in the South East of Petén and the Coordinator of Natural Resources and Environment of San Marcos, which are currently developing regional work plans for the promotion of actions included in the National Strategy At a more local (municipal, micro-catchment and community) level, the FLR Roundtable has organized exchange visits between men and women from selected communities to share experiences on particular restoration practices In South East Petén, for example, agroforestry is being used to restore degraded lands through the production of crops such as cocoa, cardamom and spices (achiote, cinnamon, vanilla) using a system that allows the integration of timber trees (such as mahogany, cedar and santa maría (Calophyllum brasiliense) People practicing this agroforestry system had the opportunity to visit other communities in the zone dominated by the ‘‘Q’eqchí” culture and learn about an improved agroforestry system using the ramón tree (Brosimum alicastrum) Demonstration sites are an important component for disseminating and upscaling good practices To date, 15 demonstration sites have been selected, mostly in the highlands of the department of San Marcos and in South East Petén The plan is to set up a network of these demonstration sites through the implementation of the PROBOSQUE Law and various technical cooperation projects and to take stock of the experiences and lessons from promising restoration interventions in a coordinated manner, as well as to value local traditional knowledge and innovation Lessons learned and challenges ahead Summarizing what has been presented so far, we can argue that the combination of a platform for dialogue and decision (FLR Roundtable) and a legal framework (PROBOSQUE Law) have been important measures to support the implementation of the National Strategy Another key factor was the three level approach combining implementation activities at national, regional and local levels In terms of lessons from this experience, the following can be highlighted: 18 E Sales et al / World Development Perspectives (2016) 16–18 The establishment of the FLR Roundtable played a key role in supporting inter-sectoral and consensual work between different actors and stakeholders, including representatives from the regional level A national restoration project needs a sound legal basis for developing a strategy and for its effective implementation Demonstration sites and pilot projects are important components of a bottom-up approach, supporting interaction with local actors, showing the benefits that can be obtained by recovering the productive capacity of degraded lands and providing evidence and feedback on the process at the (sub) national level Among the challenges for the effective implementation of the National Strategy, we can mention: Upscaling pilot projects remains a challenge, as it requires, inter alia, adequate technical and financial support so that the country can move forward in achieving its national goals While Guatemala has two forest incentive programs, one of which includes forest restoration, the country needs additional resources to meet the needs of advocacy, training, and research It also needs administrative, technical and financial support, as well as investment funds for the establishment of productive enterprises (seed production of native forest species, nurseries, forestry and agribusiness) Funding for the new law also needs to be secured The Central Government and the Ministry of Finance should allocate the necessary resources to the forestry incentive programs Funds from municipalities and councils of urban and rural development need to be secured for the establishment of forest nurseries, production of native species and provision of land titles for admission to forestry incentive programs Producer organizations need to be strengthened and the value chains for scaling up practices and systems of forest restoration need to be developed through appropriate business models For example, systems that associate crops and commercially used high value trees should be promoted References Grupo Interinstitucional de Monitoreo de Bosques y Uso de la Tierra (GIMBOT) 2014 Mapa de bosques y uso de la tierra 2012 y Mapa de cambios en uso de la tierra 2001- 2010 para estimación de emisiones de gases de efecto invernadero Informe técnico, GIMBOT Guatemala Available online: , Last seen 07.11.16 Mesa de Restauración del Paisaje Forestal de Guatemala (2015) Estrategia de Restauración del Paisaje Forestal: Mecanismo para el Desarrollo Rural Sostenible de Guatemala Guatemala Online: Last seen 07.11.16 Further reading Bonn Challenge Forest and Landscape Restoration Mechanism of the FAO National Forest Institute of Guatemala (Instituto Nacional de Bosques) Global Landscapes Forum ... crops, agroforestry with annual crops, silvopastoral systems and protected areas The ENRPF includes ecological aspects such as the use of indigenous tree species for restoration in agroforestry systems... agroforestry systems and a focus on conserving endemic species in protected areas With regards to economic parameters, the strategy states that based on the restored land, small holder farmer? ?s income... restoration of riparian forests, protected forests in upper watersheds, mangrove and secondary (degraded) forests 17 Progress in the implementation of the National Strategy So far, the actions