Experience exchange with GIZ on measures for climate change adaptation in Guatemala

The INOWAS team visited Guatemala City at the invitation of Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). The GIZ is active in Guatemala on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) since almost 40 years. The main focus lies on three topics: a) democratic governance with equal rights, b) education and c) environment and adaptation to climate change. Our main contact person was Mr. Harald Himsel, director of the Rural Development and Adaptation to Climate Change Program, who also kindly organized further visits and meetings with other institutions. During our talks, we had very constructive discussions about the potential of managed aquifer recharge as approach for sustainable use of water resources in Guatemala. Catalin introduced the project and gave a two hour talk about MAR to GIZ local representatives. At the end of our three-days visit, we collected very useful information about the country's water challenges and agreed to work together on the development and implementation of a MAR pilot project in one of the regions selected by GIZ in Guatemala.