Government in Guatemala expects BIOFIN to help identify sustainable development models

On 24 February 2015, BIOFIN was officially launched by UNDP in coordination with the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), The Ministry of Finance (MINFIN), the National Council for Protected Areas (CONAP) and the Secretariat of Planning and Programming of the Presiden (SEGEPLAN), the principal partners and members of the National Steering Committee.

Guatemala has instruments that promote effective management planning, but also faces challenges arising from the use of natural resources, including climate change. Therefore, BIOFIN aims to provide a tool for SEGEPLAN, MARN, CONAP, and MINFIN to jointly achieve national commitments that have already been made under existing policy frameworks, such as the National Development Agenda K'atun 2032, the National Biodiversity Policy and its National Strategy 2012-2020, the Framework Law on Climate Change and the future national policy to combat land degradation, desertification and drought.

"This is financial planning based on biodiversity. It will help us to better utilise our natural resources, while we will improve the capacities of actors during the process "said Executive Secretary of CONAP, engineer Benedicto Lucas.

Igor Garafulic, UNDP Country Director said BIOFIN aims to provide a tool "for the public and private sector to work together in meeting international commitments, derivatives of the Convention on Biological Diversity, and national legislation, through updated quantifiable targets, aimed to facilitate integrated planning, while taking into account the resources needed for the sustainable management of biodiversity. "

Read more in Spanish on the UNDP Guatemala website.