REFORES supports a strategic process to strengthen Guatemala’s National Policy for the Promotion and Comprehensive Development of Women

• The project promotes spaces for coordination and policy advocacy at the national level, integrating gender, climate resilience, and sustainability approaches into key State instruments. 

As part of its commitment to strengthening public policies and institutional processes that contribute to climate resilience, the project “Using Nature-based Solutions to Increase Resilience to Extreme Climate Events in the Atlantic Region of Central America” supported in Guatemala a workshop of the Interinstitutional Technical Mechanism (MTI) aimed at advancing the update of the National Policy for the Promotion and Comprehensive Development of Women (PNPDIM) 2026–2041. 

This action is part of the work that REFORES promotes in the country to support strategic national public policy processes, encouraging the incorporation of sustainability, climate change adaptation, governance, and gender equity approaches into State planning and implementation instruments. 

On this occasion, the project’s support materialized through assistance to the workshop facilitated by the Presidential Secretariat for Women (SEPREM), a space that brought together State institutions that are part of the Interinstitutional Technical Mechanism, with the objective of reviewing, validating, and strengthening key components of the PNPDIM. 

Public policy advocacy through technical support 

For Javier Mejía, REFORES coordinator in Guatemala, these types of actions represent a strategic opportunity for national-level policy advocacy: “This is one of the most important actions for the project because it allows us to promote policy advocacy at the national level. The National Policy for the Promotion and Comprehensive Development of Women becomes mandatory for all Government institutions and will include periodically measurable indicators, which strengthens its implementation and monitoring,” he noted., señaló. 

From this perspective, REFORES’ contribution is not limited to supporting a single activity but is aimed at strengthening spaces where public policies can be consolidated, better coordinated among institutions, and generate concrete effects in public management. 

A workshop to advance the update of the PNPDIM 

During the session, representatives from gender units, planning departments, and technical directorates from various public institutions analyzed and validated the Strategic Matrix and the Women’s Comprehensive Development Index (IDIM), a tool that will allow periodic measurement of progress in the implementation of the policy. 

Participants also worked in thematic groups corresponding to the main strategic axes of the PNPDIM, including political and civic participation, economic autonomy, the continuum of violence, socio-environmental inequality, and institutional governance. 

The work carried out generated technical inputs to strengthen the action plan matrix, validate institutional responsibilities, and consolidate inputs for the monitoring and implementation of the policy. 

Gender, public policy, and climate resilience 

REFORES’ support to this process is linked to its regional approach to strengthening regulatory frameworks, planning strategies, and public policies that enhance resilience to extreme climate events. 

In Guatemala, the project contributes to strengthening public policies, restoration processes, and climate change adaptation measures. It also promotes a cross-cutting approach to gender and cultural relevance, recognizing the role of women, local communities, and Indigenous peoples in environmental management and in building resilience. 

In this sense, the update of the PNPDIM also represents an opportunity to strengthen the link between the gender equality agenda and other structural challenges in the country, including those related to sustainability, social inclusion, and institutional responses to contexts of vulnerability. 

A key instrument for State action 

The update of the PNPDIM constitutes a relevant process for Guatemala’s public institutional framework, as this instrument guides the actions of State institutions in promoting and advancing the comprehensive development of women, with monitoring mechanisms that will allow periodic evaluation of its implementation. 

Through this support, REFORES reaffirms its commitment to contributing to national processes that strengthen public action, interinstitutional coordination, and the incorporation of comprehensive approaches into public policy. 

About REFORES 

REFORES – Forest Restoration for Climate Resilience is the short name of the project Using Nature-based Solutions to Increase Resilience to Extreme Climate Events in the Atlantic Region of Central America, a regional initiative aimed at strengthening climate resilience through nature-based solutions, the strengthening of public policies, and coordination among key actors in Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras. 

The 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 (AF).