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Story | 05 Dec, 2016

Guatemala Holds 2nd National Congress on Climate Change

The National Congress on Climate Change, held in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, drew more than 700 people, including representatives of government, nongovernmental and civil society organizations, the private sector, and others.

Guatemala, October 10, 2016. The 2nd National Congress on Climate Change was held on October 5,6 and 7 in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, drawing more than 700 people from government and non-governmental sectors, civil society organizations, the private sector and others.

Climate science, mitigation, adaptation, indigenous peoples and social issues were predominant on the agenda of this activity.

The IUCN’s intervention consisted of presentations on key themes in climate change at this time. One of these focused on Project AVE: Adaptation, Vulnerability and Ecosystems, in a talk entitled, “Communities with Natural Intelligence: The Approach of Ecosystem-based Adaptation,” addressing measures derived from the ecosystem as a natural solution to problems afflicting communities affected by climate change, how these solutions can be implemented in the region, and effective monitoring of those measures.

Another presentation sought to provide clear and up-to-date information about governance and governability, using theory and practical examples to validate and explain these concepts.

For much of the audience, the highlight of the congress was a presentation on the "Ecosystem-based Approach to Reduction of Disaster Risk" and Map of Indigenous Peoples, which shows the intrinsic relation and overlap between forests, marine and terrestrial natural resources, protected areas and the indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited and occupied those important spaces. This was of primary interest to those attending, many of whom represented indigenous peoples of the region.