The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives
Rafael Manzanero
According to Manzanero, the residents of La Rejoya will receive training and tools to prevent and control forest fires. He explains that this is being funded by the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives, a programme designed to support small-scale, high-impact projects in developing countries. Manzanero says that a bi-national task force has been created with agencies in Guatemala to roll out the initiative.
Rafael Manzanero, Executive Director, FCD
“In 2020, the fires were really huge here. We lost over 5, 000 acres or so more in Chiquibul, which is broad leaf Forest, which normally doesn’t tend to occur, but it occurred in 2020. Last two years, we also have seen some of those signs of fires along that western border in Chiquibul and Caracol. We don’t have the technology, we don’t have the human power to be able to address those fires along that area because of the remoteness and the ruggedness of the terrain. So, the best that we came about was we want to speak with them and see how we can work with them. So we have created a bi national task force for forest fires, Belize Guatemala. We have an action plan already outlined. And this time around with the Canadians, the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives. We managed to put in a plan together to see how we can be able then to support, at least three communities along that line there, including that one, which is La Rejoya. So that’s one. And then San Jose Las Flores and probably the other one might be Arenal. So the point is really to give them training and to give them some of the basic tools. They’re receptive. And in fact, not only at the village level, but also at the level of the municipality of Melchor. So they basically came up with a recommendation that they don’t have the tools. They are not able to provide them the basic tools. And so they basically asked, you know, if we would be able really to do that with the understanding that, you know, they would be able to really create that kind of what we call it a local brigade, a local fire brigade at the village level.”
