Protecting the Río Motagua Watershed

In February, 1998, FUNDAMARCOS with seed money from New England Biolabs Foundation initiated a comprehensive ten year conservation program to protect the dwindling water supply of the Rio Motagua, the most important endangered watershed of Guatemala. Working with municipal governments, FUNDAMARCOS is promoting soil and water conservation and teaching practices of sustainable organic agriculture.

The fact that the water volume of the Rio Motagua is significantly decreasing in Guatemala's dry season is of great concern to FUNDAMARCOS. Excessive deforestation is causing the drying up of the springs that feed the river. In addition, poor soil management practices cause there to be massive erosion with tons of fertile soil carried away by rain water. During a six week period in June and July of 1999, Kim Walton, an Appalachian State University graduate in Technology with a Geology minor, did regular sampling of sediment loads of the Río Motagua for FUNDAMARCOS in order to develop baseline information related to soil erosion in the watershed. Regular water samples were taken from the river at a location near the village of El Cimarrón, Pachalum. Ms. Walton prepared a report of her research entitled Río Motagua: Baseline Suspended Sediment Study, July 1999. The results of Kim's study show clearly the incredible erosion taking place in the watershed. As stated in the study's summary, in July 1999 on days when there was little or no recent rainfall, the Río Motagua transported in suspension between 3.7 K/second and 9.6 K/second of sediment. The sediment quantities soared when there was moderate to high rainfall. It then measured from 460 K/second to more than 1,312 K/second. If these figures are converted into tons/hour, the sediment load would measure between 15 tons/hour and 38 tons/hour on days with little or no rain. However, on days with moderate to high rainfall, the sediment load increased to between 1,825 tons/hour and more than 5,206 tons/hour. This means that at this location on the upper portion of the river, the Río Motagua is carrying 124,956 tons of soil every 24 hours on days of heavy rain. As Kim states in her conclusion, "rainfall washes unprotected soil off the farms and into the river in huge, measurable, and alarming amounts". Kim Walton received a grant from EPIC to assist her in this field work in Guatemala. To see the data click on "Sediment Carried by the Río Motagua in July 1999"

The data collected by Kim indicate what is occurring with normal rainfall. The devastating floods that happened in Honduras when Hurricane Mitch brought extraordinary rainfall is exactly what could happen in this region of Guatemala. Forests are clear-cut and replaced with hillside farming, where loose volcanic soils are planted with annual crops, like corn, without respect to the contour nor any type of terracing. For these reasons it is urgent that proper methods of soil and water management be employed in this vital watershed.


Project History

FUNDAMARCOS began soil and water conservation work in the Municipio of Pachalum, Department of Quiché in February of 1998. Pachalum is in the Guatemalan central highlands and borders the upper portion of the Río Motagua on the north side of the river. In 1999, the program expanded its work to the south side of the river, near Mixco Viejo, in the Municipio of San Martin Jilotepeque, Department of Chimaltenango. Rio Motagua Locator Map

Grants received from New England Biolabs Foundation, Behrhorst Partners for Development, Latter-Day Saint Charities, Dunamis Peace Institute, and EPIC for support of this project to protect the watershed of the Río Motagua have been most helpful, allowing FUNDAMARCOS to follow through with those farmers who have begun or want to initiate soil and water conservation work on their land.

Work began with visits to municipal authorities (mayors and assistant mayors) and community leaders. With the support these persons, community meetings were held where FUNDAMARCOS agricultural teachers gave motivational talks. If possible, slides of work already done by other farmers or appropriate videos were shown. There are excellent examples of soil and water work done by local farmers in the region and educational field days for farmer-to-farmer exchange have proven extremely valuable in motivating participants from new communities. On these educational field trips new program participants are taken to see the farms of people who have already tried the new practices and hear the testimonies of these farmers. This educational process builds environmental awareness and encourages new farmers to then participate in hands-on workshops which take place on the participants' own farms. As a general rule, instruction in these sustainable agriculture workshops consists of thirty percent theory and seventy percent hands-on learning.


Project Mission Statement

FUNDAMARCOS will promote an environmental consciousness in the communities that occupy the watershed of the Rio Motagua and thereby achieve ecologically based management of local natural resources. By teaching methods of ecologically appropriate organic agriculture, FUNDAMARCOS will also increase production and contribute to greater food security for Guatemala's growing population. The agro-ecological methodologies taught by FUNDAMARCOS have the following characteristics:

• emphasis on stewardship of soil resources by limiting erosion and increasing available nutrients
• utilization of locally available resources instead of purchased, industrially produced inputs
• acknowledgement of the interaction between maintenance of local culture and ecosystem sustainability (e.g. the positive role of indigenous culture in maintaining plant genetic diversity)
• promotion of conservation of the ecosystem based on the Mayan world view and utilization of local indigenous knowledge.