The British Ambassador to Guatemala, Juliana Correa, visited the project “Biocultural Landscapes for Livelihoods and Connectivity in the Verapaces”, led by the University of Greenwich and funded by the Darwin Initiative with £560,799.
The Federation of Cooperatives of Las Verapaces (FEDECOVERA) and the National Association of Private Natural Reserves of Guatemala (ARNPG) worked as local implementer partners.
The Ambassador learnt about the progress of the project in Senahú, Alta Verapaz, which focuses on biodiversity, sustainable livelihoods, and ancestral knowledge. While visiting the Santa María Marcos Cooperative, Ambassador Correa met with representatives of Q’eqchi’ cooperatives, local organizations, and academics, who shared the achievements in reforestation, agroforestry, ecotourism, and medicinal plant production.
This project has trained more than 100 women in the use of medicinal plants, reforested more than 340 hectares, improved the income of 4,500 families through sustainable activities, and developed biocultural protocols that strengthen community governance.
The Ambassador welcomed the leadership of indigenous communities in the conservation of the Sierra Yalijux and reaffirmed the United Kingdom’s commitment to biodiversity protection and sustainable development in Guatemala.
The Darwin Initiative is a British government programme that funds projects in developing countries to conserve biodiversity and support local communities. Since its creation in 1992, it has supported more than 1,200 projects worldwide, promoting solutions based on nature, ancestral knowledge, and equity.
The project laid the groundwork for replication across 40 cooperatives. Another programme funded through The Global Centre for Biodiversity on Climate will build on this work, focusing on nature-based climate resilience.
