30 women completed the first Wildland Firefighter Training Course in Izabal, Guatemala

• The training, promoted by the REFORES project, sought to strengthen women’s leadership in the prevention and response to wildfires.

The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Guatemala (MARN), through its Gender, Multiculturalism and Persons with Disabilities Unit, inaugurated the 1st Wildland Firefighter Training Course on August 3 in Puerto Barrios, Izabal. The five-day training brought together 30 women from municipalities, government institutions, community leaders, and representatives of the Garifuna and Q’eqchi’ peoples from the department.

This initiative is part of the project “Use of Nature-based Solutions to Increase Resilience to Extreme Climate Events in the Atlantic Region of Central America,” known as “REFORES – Forest Restoration for Climate Resilience,” which is implemented in Belize, Guatemala and Honduras.

The technical training was delivered by the National Coordinator for Disaster Reduction (CONRED). During the five days of training, participants strengthened their knowledge and skills in integrated fire management, wildfire behavior, personal safety, the use of tools and equipment, brigade organization, and field practices for wildfire prevention and response.

REFORES financed this training and led coordination with national and local institutions, as well as the logistics required to carry it out.

A historic milestone

This course represented the second generation of wildland firefighters trained in Izabal within the framework of REFORES, but it was the first composed exclusively of women, an effort promoted by MARN’s Gender, Multiculturalism and Persons with Disabilities Unit.

“The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources’ Gender Unit, within the framework of the Gender and Climate Change Action Plan, has planned actions to address wildfires. For this reason, we approached the REFORES project to request support for a course specifically for women so that they could be trained and certified as wildland firefighters,” explained Marleny Oliva, coordinator of MARN’s Gender, Multiculturalism and Persons with Disabilities Unit.

For Oliva, it was also a milestone at the national level. “I believe this is the first time in Guatemala that a course specifically intended for women has been offered so that they can be trained and certified as wildland firefighters. This is the first cohort, and we hope it will not be the only one, but that there will be at least one more this year, in another area of the country, possibly in the east, where wildfire problems are also recorded,” she said.

The participants were selected in coordination with the MARN departmental delegation in Puerto Barrios and the Presidential Secretariat for Women (SEPREM), prioritizing community leaders, staff from the municipalities of Puerto Barrios and Livingston, representatives of civil society organizations, and CONRED staff. The activity also received support from the Presidential Secretariat for Women (SEPREM), which facilitated the participation of community leaders.

The training of wildland firefighters contributes directly to REFORES results related to strengthening local capacities for risk management and climate resilience. By developing knowledge and skills for wildfire prevention, preparedness and response, the capacities of institutions, municipalities and communities are strengthened to address threats that may intensify under conditions of climate variability and change.

These capacities are particularly relevant in landscapes where REFORES promotes restoration actions, as improved fire management also helps reduce risks to ecosystems, restored areas and the livelihoods that depend on them.

The project

The REFORES project is implemented by the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI), and executed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE), with funding from the Adaptation Fund.