CABEI supports Biodiversity Initiatives

Guatemala City. - The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), as part of its Central American Markets for Biodiversity (CAMBio) Project, is supporting the "First National Congress on Collective Traditional Knowledge and Biodiversity."

The event will take place in Guatemala from March 28 to 30 and will be carried out together with the National Council on Protected Areas (CONAP1). Its objective is to deepen discussion on the subject of biodiversity, identifying its importance, opportunities, constraints, and legal aspects relating to its protection and development.

CABEI had previously supported the organization of a pre-congress last December 8 and 9, 2011, where mechanisms for the participation of indigenous organizations were established, as well as for the identification of the elements of biodiversity and collective traditional knowledge. The objective is to promote the development of biodiversity-friendly micro and small rural community enterprises to promote local development.

"Providing support for the development of these events is very important for the CAMBIo project and for CABEI, because the inclusion of indigenous peoples in the development of MSMEs promotes local growth, which leads to financial opportunities and incentives, as well as strengthening the technical skills necessary to establish a new way of forming biodiversity-friendly businesses," said Mr. Yuri Zenteno, coordinator of CABEI’s CAMBIo project.

42 representatives of local communities from different Guatemalan regions participated in the pre-congress, including Baja Verapaz, Chimaltenango, Sacatepéquez, Huehuetenango and Petén, as well as 36 institutional representatives from organizations, such as the National Council of Science and Technology, Universidad de San Carlos, and Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, among others.

During the Congress, the participants will attend presentations and share learned lessons about the successful experiences of different communal groups and associations to incorporate themselves into the marketplace, both local and foreign.