The work developed by WWF /Guatemala Mesoamerica and its allied Fundación Defensores de La Naturaleza (FDN), with support from Coca-Cola has given results for the conservation of hydrographic watersheds. To date, in the Pasabien Sub-watershed, located in the Río Hondo municipality, Zacapa in Guatemala 260 forest hectares have been protected, surpassing the projected goal for 2017.
This number of protected hectares will continue increasing in this sub-watershed due to the continued work that is being jointly developed. Recently, a field visit was carried out by representatives from WWF, FDN and “Abasa”, the local Coca-Cola bottler, to supervise the conserved areas.
The activities to control and prevent forest fires in this zone, a result of this coordinated work, has been set as an example to be replicated in other areas. This successful experience has even been transferred to the Manchaguala watershed that supplies water to the city of San Pedro Sula in Hondudras. Both in Guatemala and in Honduras, training, technical assessment and equipment have been provided to forest fire brigades. This has allowed them to perform a better operation to control and prevent fires.
In these areas, forest fires are one of the main threats for the health of watersheds that provide water for communities, cities and businesses. Therefore, it has been of great importance to count on strengthened forest fire brigades that have been key in the protection of forests in these watersheds.