Guatemala: bringing WWF’s flood green guide to life
Carlos Telón turns WWF's groundbreaking training program into action along Guatemala's southern coast.
Carlos Telón has been a busy man in the almost three years since he attended a World Wildlife Fund (WWF) training on using the power of nature to manage floods in his Southern Guatemalan homeland.
Working with partners, including local organizations, the Conservation Foundation of Guatemala (CFG) and WWF, he has planted 30,000 red mangrove seedlings, restored an area of 10 acres and promoted the conservation of over 1600 acres of mangroves which are key for climate adaptation. Carlos has also worked to reduce solid waste in this area, undertaking a project in collaboration with the company INGRUP that has achieved the collection of tons of plastic waste. Construction is also underway for two waste sorting plants in the cities of Iztapa and Escuintla, again with support from WWF, which will be crucial for improved waste management in the region.
Carlos works for an association of municipalities called "Mancomunidad Sureña - MASUR", which includes the Iztapa municipality in the Maria Linda River watershed, where he lives. Iztapa is in the lower part of the watershed where the Maria Linda empties into the Pacific Ocean.
In August, 2021 he attended a training alongside other local government employees focused on Natural and Nature-based Flood Management: A Green Guide (aka the Flood Green Guide). Developed in partnership with the US Agency for International Development, the Flood Green Guide is a step-by-step guidebook for flood managers, municipal employees, community groups, NGOs and others to understand and implement flood risk management planning that works with nature, not against it.
"I was born in the mountains here, and it used to be a paradise, but things have changed a lot over time," he says, pointing to pressure from the sugar and cotton industries, and home-building.
"The Flood Green Guide training was definitely useful for us. We use the framework for risk reduction that was included in the training and we are working on mangrove restoration and waste management."
-Carlos Telón.
The training curriculum covers a range of key topics, including flood risk analysis, climate risk, objective setting, method selection, community engagement, and urban issues. The training methodology includes videos, presentations, individual and participatory group exercises, and scenario planning.
About 40 percent of Telón's municipality is susceptible to flooding, Telón says, and with La Niña on the way, flood events could be on the rise. However, he feels better prepared than in previous seasons, thanks to the municipality's Climate Action Plan, and the tools and lessons from the Flood Green Guide training.
"The training was even more helpful because we already had the Climate Action Plan, so we were able to use the Flood Green Guide within that framework," Telón says. The municipality's greenhouse gas inventory, Climate Action Plan and Flood Green Guide training are guiding the design of adaptation and mitigation measures.
Telón works closely with the WWF team in Guatemala as they implement the "Conservation of Coastal Ecosystems for a Sustainable Future on the Pacific Coast of Guatemala" project. The project goals include restoring 45 hectares of mangroves, collecting and managing 240 tons of plastic waste, and developing a comprehensive waste management plan and protecting sea turtles, says Genoveva Martinez, Climate Change Officer with WWF Mesoamerica.
"Whenever there's a mangrove area that is being degraded, we work on maintaining it as an asset for climate adaptation," Telón says with pride. Mangroves offer valuable protection from storm surges that can cause flooding, but they are often cut down or degraded. He worked with WWF and local stakeholders to maintain 1,600 hectares (4,000 acres) of mangroves.
Telón also works with WWF to restore forests surrounding an extinct, iconic volcano that were degraded by wildfires. They planted 35,000 trees last year to help protect downstream communities from heavy flooding and mudslides, which often result in loss of life, income and housing.
"Don Carlos is crucial for us, because he knows the community very well and he facilitates our links with community members"
-Genoveva Martinez, Climate Change Officer with WWF Mesoamerica, based in Guatemala.
Martinez describes him as part ringmaster, part matchmaker. He connects stakeholders and solves problems, especially, during the monthly meeting called by local mayors that includes church, school, government and business leaders, including the sugar industry.
"You'll see everything from nuns to the fishermen's associations in that meeting, and we help them to understand the project," Martinez adds. "All of that facilitation…that's Don Carlos."
It's important because flooding impacts multiple levels of society from households to communities to regional and national stakeholders. And it's why the Flood Green Guide is built on a whole of society approach that includes strong community engagement. Telon is a living example of putting those principles into action.
Telón is excited about the future. He's working with the Government of Canada on a mangrove nursery project, and just received funding for solar panels in communities that have no access to electricity. And he is thrilled that the waste management project he worked on for years is finally coming to fruition.
"We work in schools and the community to help them understand the importance of proper waste management, especially plastics and other solid waste," Telón says "This is done in partnership with the municipalities' Environmental Management Committees (UGAMs), under the leadership of mayors, trustees and councilors who form MASUR's board of directors."
Telón feels a responsibility to pass on his knowledge from the Flood Green Guide training, especially since government officers often change after elections. Only one of the representatives who took the 2021 training with him are still working for the municipality.
"Part of what I'm doing is transferring that knowledge from the training to the new people who come in. And they are implementing parts of the action plan that came from the Flood Green Guide. It would be useful for other municipalities taking the training to have a climate action plan in progress, so they can take what they learn and apply it directly."