Guatemala will implement their second National Forest Inventory

Providing data on the state of forests in Guatemala, promoting the responsible use of natural resources, and having an effective tool for the recovery of degraded areas is the objective of the National Forest Inventory, a tool presented jointly by the National Institute of Forest (INAB) and the National Council of Protected Areas (Conap).

This project consists in registering 715 permanent measurement units randomly, distributed in the country; 510 in unprotected areas and 205 within the Guatemalan System of Protected Areas (SIGAP). Due to its size, the departments with the most units of measurement will be Petén, Alta Verapaz, Izabal, Quiché and Huehuetenango.

The field phase for the implementation of the second inventory has a budget of Q8,375,272 ($1,087,697). This will take place from January to June 2021. It will include the registry of species, status and structure of forests, biomass and accumulated carbon on trees and soils, as well as current land use.

Rony Granados, INAB manager, explained that the inventory will be a tool to promote the responsible use of natural resources and to improve deforested areas.

While the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN) assured that the project will be an ally for decision-making in favor of the protection and conservation of forests, as well as generating policies and strategies for sustainable forest management.