Guatemala position paper, Rio +20, 1 November 2011

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Translated from Spanish
Guatemala position paper, Rio +20, 1 November 2011
I. Sustainable development
Background
Since the signing of the Agreement on a Firm and Lasting Peace 1 following a 36-
year internal armed conflict, Guatemala has been able to overcome some of its economic,
social and political difficulties. This, in turn, has paved the way for building the
necessary capacities to make sustainable development a reality. However, the country’s
current environmental vulnerability and existing social structure have often undermined
the progress made in all sectors of society.
Institutional achievements
(a) Creation of institutions for the promotion and management of socioenvironmental
policy in the country, through the establishment of the Ministry
of Environment and Natural Resources and other institutions related to
sustainable development, such as the councils that make up the National
System of Urban and Rural Development Councils, the Food and Nutrition
Security Secretariat and Committees, the National Forest Institute, the social
and environmental cabinets, the Council for Social Cohesion, the Secretariats
for Women and Peace, the Ministry of Culture and Sport, the Indigenous
Development Fund and the Peace Fund.
1 Agreement on a Firm and Lasting Peace, signed between the Government of Guatemala and the Unidad
Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG) following a 36-year internal armed conflict, (URNG) on
29 December 1996.
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(b) Nationally, the Millennium Development Goals are being used as indicators
for measuring the fulfilment of political commitments.
(c) With regard to Guatemala’s commitments to the Central American region,
important regional and international environmental agreements have been
signed and an Alliance for the Sustainable Development of Central America
(ALIDES) was established in 1994. There is now a regional institutional
framework that coordinates, harmonizes and promotes environmental
management across all sectors through the Central American Commission for
Environment and Development (CCAD), a part of the Central American
Integration System (SICA), taking as its frame of reference the Central
American Regional Environmental Plan (PARCA).
(d) Creation of national roundtables on environment and water, climate change
and food and nutrition security; the inter-agency technical group for
sustainable land management in Guatemala; the inter-agency commission on
climate change; and the national coordinating committee for cleaner
production, among others. The office of the Vice-President of the Republic
plays an important role as coordinator of these efforts.
(e) Political support for the national programme for reconstruction with
transformation. For instance, in 2005 the executive coordination secretariat of
the office of the President assisted municipalities with the drafting of
departmental reconstruction and risk-reduction plans for sustainable
development, one example being the department of Escuintla and Sololá,
where risk and territorial planning became crosscutting themes for the
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department’s sustainable development. A National Commission for
Reconstruction with Transformation has now been established, which
mainstreams climate change in all processes of the institutions responsible for
reconstruction. 2
(f) Declarations on climate change by the Presidents of the SICA countries, and
the Organization of American States (OAS) Declaration on the Sustainable
Development of the Countries of the Americas.
(g) Promotion of public-private partnerships with the production sector designed
to improve environmental management systems in the private sector.
Specific issues on which there has been progress, by sector:
4.1 Natural goods and services.
4.2 Municipalities.
4.3 Decentralization and rural development.
4.4 Human security.
4.5 Forestry.
4.6 Biodiversity
4.7 Economic, political and territorial planning.
4.8 Agriculture and hydrobiology.
4.9 Energy.
Challenges
The main yardstick is the Millennium Development Goals. However, despite the
efforts made to fulfil its political, socio-economic and environmental commitments,
Guatemala’s geographical location and extreme socio-environmental vulnerability are
2 Governmental Agreement No. 24-2011.
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undermining progress in implementing established plans, programmes and projects,
because the Government has to focus its efforts and national budget investments on
tackling crises and mitigating the impact of the increasingly frequent and catastrophic
phenomena that affect and threaten the country.
Another kind of threat is also restricting or complicating the Government’s
efforts: migration from rural to urban areas and from Guatemala to other countries of the
North and the flow of cash remittances, and the growth of drug trafficking and organized
crimes as a disproportionate threat that is forcing the Government to use institutional
resources on national security, to the detriment of socio-environmental investment and
human resources.
Fiscal reform: improving tax collection.
Territorial planning and development.
One major challenge is to move from the concept of traditional security to that of
human security.
Lessons learned
The present Government has introduced a system of integrated planning in the
area of sustainable development policy, starting with the formulation of a 30-year socioenvironmental
plan 3 that links up many of the processes that might facilitate national
decision-making, in order to promote and make progress towards a development that is
more secure, lasting and sustainable.
3 Thirty-year Socio-environmental Plan.
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Mention must be made of the formulation and adoption of a comprehensive
national rural development policy, which seeks to decentralize political and economic
power by developing local sustainable development capacities. 4
One lesson learned from this process is that in order to put a plan into operation,
all national political processes must be shared by the economic, social and environmental
sectors and be guided by the vision and the changes needed to ensure that development
systems are sustainable.
Another lesson learned is the need for long-term planning that goes beyond the
term of one government and seeks to promote a national project centred on the three
pillars (environment, society and economy) of sustainable development.
Under the Agatha-Pacaya reconstruction with transformation plan, 5 the
Government, through the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, has prioritized
climate change, since this is a phenomenon that compounds existing problems, has a
direct impact on the country’s development process and seriously exacerbates structural
problems, such as food and nutrition insecurity, socio-environmental degradation,
population growth and, in general, the quality of life of all Guatemalans.
An analysis of the cost of climate change shows that between 1998 and 2010, the
country lost a total of 26,008.10 million quetzales that would otherwise have been
invested in national socio-environmental development processes, thereby exacerbating
food and nutrition insecurity and, in general, undermining Guatemala’s overall
development.
4 Comprehensive National Rural Development Policy, Governmental Agreement No. 196-2009.
5 Governmental Agreement No. 24-2011.
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Economic recovery plan 6
II.
Green economy
Introduction
The concept of the green economy has emerged in recent years to strengthen the
convergence among the three pillars of sustainable development. While the idea is
inherently attractive, there are questions about its conceptual clarity, precise definition
and implications for the country’s main social and economic goals.
More precisely, there are differences between the ideal concept of a green
economy and the more immediate one of the medium-term implications of the transition
to a green economy. Most theorists refer to the medium term in outlining the elements
and measures that are normally described as the “greening of the economy”. The most
comprehensive treaty will be one that seeks unity among a complex range of economic
policies that are important for achieving sustainable development.
The Preparatory Committee asked a number of questions about the impact of the
transition to a green economy or its objectives, particularly its macroeconomic outcomes
(especially income growth), commercial competitiveness, protectionism, aid
conditionality, poverty and means of subsistence.
National delegates also requested exchanges of experience on success factors,
challenges and risks in the practical application of some of the recommended
instruments.
Since there is no consensus on the concept of the green economy in the context of
sustainable development and poverty eradication, Guatemala proposes the following
definition:
6 National Emergency and Economic Recovery Programme, 12 January 2009.
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A green economy is one which seeks to generate sustainable production and
consumption processes (transformation of production methods and consumption
patterns) by means of activities that use renewable resources more slowly than the
rate at which they are regenerated, offsetting the loss of non-renewable resources
with renewable alternatives, limiting pollution to what nature can withstand, where
there are efficient commitments to maintain the stability of and improve ecosystems,
and promoting intra- and intergenerational social justice.
Some examples of a green economy
The instruments generated include:
(a) The national climate change policy;
(b) The national policy for cleaner production;
(c) The Act offering incentives for renewable energy projects (Decree No. 52-
2003);
(d) The national policy for cleaner production encourages sustainable production
and consumption processes by promoting preventive practices designed to
increase business competitiveness; this, in turn, has a positive impact on
environmental and social management;
(e) Forestry policy (Forestry Incentive Programme - PINFOR, Incentive
Programme for Small Forest and Agro-Forest Landowners - PINPEP).
Advantages of a green economy
Greater dynamism in traditionally backward activities that make the transition to a
culture of sustainable development.
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Major growth in investments in sectors that add to and increase the value of
production and reduce social deprivation and environmental risks.
Implementation and promotion of changes in production methods and
consumption patterns through greater and better use of renewable energies, keeping
pollution within ecosystem carrying capacity.
Reflection of the importance of natural and cultural heritage in national accounts.
Creation of mechanisms for attracting fresh resources for reinvestment in natural
and cultural heritage.
Reactivation and formation of local economies.
Strengthening of small and medium-sized businesses.
III.
Institution-building
For many years now, there have been calls for a public debate on the institutional
framework for sustainable development and its proposed modification. Until now,
however, there has been no broad-based, open and inclusive debate on the issue, nor any
analysis of real or potential institutional failings that would clearly identify existing
problems, their causes and the challenges to bear in mind in determining changes to the
present institutional framework.
This preliminary remark aside, the most important means on which such changes
should be based are: (i) strengthening of existing institutions; and (ii) improved
coordination among existing institutions, for the following reasons:
(a) The structure of the Commission on Sustainable Development should be
changed in order to position it at the highest level, transforming it into a
Sustainable Development Council that would be responsible for sustainable
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Coordination
development within the United Nations system and serve as a forum for the
consideration of issues related to the integration of the three dimensions of
sustainable development. While the Commission’s role, functions and
mandate as established in Agenda 21 remain relevant, the Commission must
be strengthened and transformed, taking into account the functions of the
institutions and organizations that it currently comprises.
(b) With regard to improved coordination among existing institutions, it is
important to mention the precedent created during the deliberations of the
Environment Management Group of the United Nations Environmental
Programme (UNEP), which gave support to the concept of the programmatic
grouping of multilateral environmental agreements.
(c) Strengthening UNEP as a programme means raising it to a higher level and
giving it the power to mobilize increased financial resources and implement
national and regional projects. Following such restructuring, UNEP should in
turn strengthen its regional offices and set up national ones to support the
execution and monitoring of its activities on the ground.
(d) A study must be made of the convergences and synergies among the different
agencies and organizations responsible for sustainable development aspects.
Such an exercise will have to be followed immediately by proposed decisions
on the synergies identified.
(e) Once the proposed decisions on synergies have been adopted, special meetings
will have to be convened simultaneously with the different agencies
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responsible for sustainable development, in order to formulate a joint,
coordinated plan of action.
(f) There must be ongoing, effective communication among the agencies and
organizations responsible for the issue of sustainable development in order to
avoid duplication of efforts and set a clear direction for the actions to be
taken.
IV.
Emerging issues
Guatemala considers the following to be new and emerging challenges:
• Climate change, with the latest evidence suggesting that the danger is
more imminent than previously thought;
• Increasingly widespread water shortages and desertification;
• The effects of the financial crisis in developed countries and their
transmission worldwide through financial markets, as well as through the
global recession;
• The interruption of progress towards achieving the Millennium
Development Goals, despite consistent political support;
• The food crisis caused by the rapid rise in food prices;
• The energy crisis precipitated by the unprecedented volatility of energy
prices;
• Other environmental trends that have worsened faster than anticipated,
including concerns that some planetary boundaries have been crossed,
especially with regard to biodiversity;
• Degradation of marine ecosystems;
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• Inefficient and wasteful consumption and production patterns;
• A succession of disasters.
In addition to these emerging challenges, it is important to include the issue of
inefficient and wasteful consumption and production patterns because this requires a
change of mentality among people, without which it is going to be virtually impossible to
achieve sustainable development.
Actions established
Climate change
National level
(a) Creation of national roundtables on environment and water, climate change and
food and nutrition security; the inter-agency technical group for sustainable
land management in Guatemala; and the inter-agency commission on climate
change, among others.
(b) Implementation of the national programme for reconstruction with
transformation. For instance, in 2005 the executive coordination secretariat of
the office of the President assisted municipalities with the drafting of
departmental reconstruction and risk-reduction plans for sustainable
development, one example being the department of Escuintla and Sololá, where
risk and territorial planning became crosscutting themes for the department’s
sustainable development plans. A National Commission for Reconstruction
with Transformation has now been established, which mainstreams climate
change in all processes of the institutions responsible for reconstruction. 7
(c) Formulation of a climate change policy.
7 Governmental Agreement No. 24-2011.
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(d) Establishment of ministerial cabinets for socio-environmental, economic and
water-related issues.
(e) Establishment of a programme for mainstreaming climate change in sustainable
development strategies, which focuses on the negative impacts of climate
change on ecosystems, water, energy, agriculture, coastal areas, health and
natural disasters.
Local level
(f) The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources is organized
internally to be able to address environmental problems at the local level and to
decentralize activities so as to expedite the issuance of rulings and opinions and
the settlement of disputes. To achieve this, regional and departmental offices
have been established and strengthened so that each of them has a staff member
who is responsible for such important tasks as environmental evaluation,
monitoring and follow-up, environmental education, waste handling and legal
compliance. The aim is to ensure that only those cases that are too complex to
be dealt with locally are referred to the central Ministry and to ensure that the
National System of Councils has a local representative.
(g) Municipal environmental management units have been established to support
the decentralization process.
(h) The mechanisms established thus far to address priority challenges are the
community development councils (COCODE), the municipal development
councils (COMUDE) and the departmental development councils (CODEDE),
which have specific commissions for dealing with different issues, such as
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environment and food and nutrition security. The legal basis for these
commissions is Congressional Decree No. 52-87 adopting the Urban and Rural
Development Councils Act and all of them help address the different priority
issues at the local level.
Departmental roundtables on climate change are being set up to draft local
adaptation and mitigation plans that are culturally relevant and observe gender
equity, giving priority to the most vulnerable groups (women, children and
older persons, indigenous peoples and peasant farmers).
Food and nutrition insecurity
National level
(a) Creation by Governmental Agreement No. 55-2002 of the Secretariat for Food
and Nutrition Security, the national body responsible for coordinating action to
address the problem of food insecurity, and of the food and nutrition security
roundtable chaired by the Vice-President of the Republic.
(b) As part of social cohesion programmes, inter-agency coordination mechanisms
have been applied to the planning of programmes and projects focused on
reducing poverty, raising the population’s standard of living and improving the
socio-environmental situation of the country’s main lake basins.
(c) Adaptation of the food security strategic plan to current circumstances by
mainstreaming climate change, risk management, cultural relevance, natural
resources management and gender equity, in order to cover a larger section of
the population.
Local level
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Installation of food and nutrition security commissions at the departmental
(CODESANES), municipal (COMUSANES) and community (COCOSANES)
levels, with support from the World Food Programme (WFP) and the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Design, implementation
and execution of internationally supported country-specific national
programmes such as Plan Occidental and Feed the Future.
Increasingly widespread water shortages
National level
(a) Establishment of the environment and water roundtable.
(b) National water policy and strategy.
(c) Specific ministerial cabinet for water.
(d) National Plan of Public Water and Sanitation Services for Human Development
(water as a source of peace).
(e) Promulgation of rules on the discharge of wastewater into the Lake Atitlán
basin. Governmental Agreement No. 12-2001, Guatemala, 4 February 2011.
(f) Forestry incentives for water replenishment areas (PINFOR and PINPEP) and
conservation of forest cover and biodiversity.
Local level
Creation of lake and river basin authorities and committees.
Financial crisis
National level
(a) Negotiation of debt-for-climate change swaps.
(b) National financial strategy (climate change and sustainable development).
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(c) National Environment and Water Fund.
(d) Socio-economic cabinet chaired by the office of the Vice-President.
(e) Economic recovery programme.
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Annex 1
Input of the Indigenous Working Group to Guatemala’s
Rio+20 National Consultation
En route to Rio+20, we indigenous peoples express our interest in engaging
effectively by contributing our traditional knowledge and way of life, provided that
our rights, territories and worldview are respected.
We indigenous peoples of Guatemala are putting forward our own proposals
while endorsing and reiterating the Declaration of the Global Preparatory Meeting
of Indigenous Peoples on Rio+20, held in Manaus in August 2011, in which
indigenous peoples observed that, 20 years after the Rio Conference, very little has
changed and major gaps remain in the implementation by signatory States of the
agreements, objectives and goals adopted at Rio.
We indigenous people request the State of Guatemala and other States of the
region to support our proposals and viewpoints, which are as follows:
We observe with hope that Rio+20 may be an opportunity for indigenous peoples
to present our own concepts of development, such as ‘buen vivir’ or ‘good living’.
We note that our proposals for good living are based on our culture, identity, selfdetermination
and territory and are inputs that may serve as alternative development
models. We therefore recommend that States give them careful consideration as
alternatives for achieving sustainable development.
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We are concerned and find it unacceptable that the green economy is being used
by corporations and States to continue replicating the same destructive, exploitative
economic development model that caused the present crises.
We request that legal protection of the rights of indigenous peoples to land,
territories, resources and traditional knowledge should be a prerequisite for the
development and planning of any and all types of climate change adaptation and
mitigation measures, environmental conservation, sustainable use of biodiversity
and measures to combat desertification.
We propose that the United Nations should be called upon to ensure the full,
formal and effective participation of indigenous peoples in all processes and
activities of the Rio+20 Conference and its preparatory and follow-up mechanisms,
in accordance with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous
Peoples and the principle of free, prior and informed consent.
We propose that the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (Johannesburg, 2002) should be evaluated.
We agree to:
Create adequate opportunities for indigenous peoples to present alternative
proposals to the concept of the green economy and the institutional framework for
sustainable development developed thus far;
Disseminate information widely to our peoples and communities to encourage
them in their actions to promote good living at various levels;
Organize regional and subregional preparatory conferences to ensure increased
participation by indigenous peoples;
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Participate in the various officially mandated Rio + 20 meetings established by
the United Nations and the Conference proper and contribute to the content of the
Final Document of the Conference;
Organize Karioca 2, a global conference of indigenous peoples, in order to share
our efforts to implement development with identity and culture or development with
self-determination, life plans and concepts of good living and well-being, and to try
to reach a consensus on Rio+20 topics and issues;
Create spaces within the official programme to impart experiences of good living,
emphasizing the ways in which we struggle and defend our lands, territories and
resources, as well as our way of confronting the obstacles we face;
Organize side events and press briefings during Rio + 20, to be held both at the
official Conference venue and at other sites allocated to major groups;
Organize the participation of our peoples with other social movements, major
groups and United Nations agencies, programmes and funds, before and during the
Rio + 20 Conference;
Demand the creation of greater opportunities for accreditation and participation,
ensuring the equitable participation of indigenous women, elders and youth;
Develop innovative payment models for indigenous environmental services that
strengthen territorial processes and organization and respect norms for the use,
management and conservation of resources.
We propose that:
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Indigenous systems for the use, management and conservation of natural areas,
health systems, education and governance should be recognized as models that form
part of sustainable development:
The indigenous economy should be recognized and promoted as a basis for
generating a sustainable development system:
Democratic systems should be strengthened on the basis of trust and the spoken
word as a factor of sustainable development;
Traditional agricultural systems should be promoted as a basis for food security.
Monocultural policies should be adapted in view of the growth of poverty;
Intercultural indicators should be created for measuring sustainable development;
Policies should be drawn up for equitable profit sharing;
Laws and policies relating to the economy and natural resources should be revised
and updated;
The Guatemalan State should spearhead the design of a Central American
regional strategy for sustainable development, taking into account different sectors
and peoples;
The country’s position for Rio+20 should be discussed with indigenous peoples
and other sectors of civil society.
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