USAID CBJ FY 2002: Guatemala

PROGRAM: Guatemala
TITLE AND NUMBER: Rural Economy Recovers from Mitch and is Less Vulnerable to Disasters, 520-007
PLANNED FY 2001 OBLIGATION AND ACCOUNT: none
PROPOSED FY 2002 OBLIGATION AND ACCOUNT: none
STATUS: continuing
INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1999 ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2001

Summary: Hurricane Mitch was one of the most destructive storms to affect Central America. Torrential rainfall over an already rain soaked isthmus caused devastating floods and mudslides. In Guatemala, nearly 400 people were killed or reported missing, 105,000 were evacuated, and 750,000 were affected. Property damage exceeded $66.6 million including damages to over 21,000 homes and to 121 bridges. Economic activity in 1999 dropped by one percent as a result of the storm. Especially affected were small farmers and communities in the five departments of Alta Verapaz, Izabal, Zacapa, Chiquimula and northern Quiche. In these departments small farmer productive capacity suffered setbacks as a result of destroyed small-scale irrigation systems, landslides, destruction of farm to market roads, and direct loss of crops such as corn, coffee and cardamom, and animals due to the floods.

The rehabilitation of rural areas affected by Hurricane Mitch is the main focus of the Mitch Objective. U.S. grant assistance under the objective is helping Guatemala's rural economy recover from the devastation brought on by the hurricane. This targeted two-year assistance effort is strengthening national and community level disaster preparedness, helping recover sustainable agricultural productivity, and improving disease prevention and control programs. Activities are concentrated in and around three river valleys: the Motagua, Polochic and Chixoy. Beneficiaries include communities, small farmers, and microentrepreneurs most directly affected by Hurricane Mitch. All Guatemalans will benefit from improved national, municipal, and community emergency disaster plans.

Key Results: (1) Disaster preparedness enhanced through risk mapping and data collection, strengthened community organizations, and a strengthened network of the National Disaster Coordinating Committee (CONRED); (2) Agricultural productivity recovered on more sustainable basis through rehabilitation of small irrigation systems, improved watershed management, seed recovery and multiplication, microenterprise recovery, and rural road repair; and (3) Community disease prevention and control systems strengthened through enhanced malaria and disease prevention and control programs, and construction of water and sanitation programs accompanied by health education activities.

Performance and Prospects: The objective is exceeding anticipated results in disaster preparedness and recovered agricultural productivity, and meeting expectations in community disease prevention. In the area of enhanced disaster preparedness, CARE and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) have successfully formed effective community and municipal level disaster committees. The targeted total of 130 units planned has been met and work is on track to exceed this number by as much as 25%. Working to recover agricultural productivity on a more sustainable basis, USAID's partners (the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the National Coffee Association (ANACAFE), and CRS) have more than quadrupled the combined target for assisting small farmers to rehabilitate their lands. The Fixed Amount Reimbursable (FAR) mechanism for payment of construction projects has also worked exceedingly well. Under the supervision of USACE and the Ministry of Agriculture, the construction of seven USACE project designs were started during the year in the Motagua valley, and three have been completed to date. Other partners have also been performing well. ANACAFE has already met its objective targets for coffee plantation and processing plant rehabilitation, and Catholic Relief Services' (CRS) watershed rehabilitation targets are on track or ahead of schedule. After experiencing some initial delays, activities to strengthen community disease prevention and control systems are meeting expectations.

With only ten months of planned assistance remaining under the two-year Mitch program in Guatemala, full success in meeting impact targets is anticipated. Spending toward the two-year program has reached 75% of that planned. USG agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States Geologic Survey (USGS), and the Federal Emergency Agency (FEMA), along with NGOs CARE and CRS, are providing technical assistance, training and equipment to strengthen disaster preparedness and mitigation capabilities of communities as well as national level institutions. FEMA and the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA) have been cooperating to improve the internal operations and management of the National Coordinator for the Reduction of Disasters (CONRED). OFDA, through its normal disaster assistance budget, is implementing a project to restructure the management of CONRED's Emergency Operations Center. Further institutionalizing this capacity, FEMA is assisting CONRED to finalize the regulations to the 1996 law that created this national body by providing a model for CONRED's functional areas of responsibility based on the U.S. Federal Response Plan, and by providing technical assistance to help complete the physical layout and equipment needs for the Emergency Operations Center. CARE and CRS are conducting community-level capacity building to enable communities to plan for and respond to future disasters through local volunteer committees.

Small farmers in the areas severely affected by Hurricane Mitch are being helped to recover lost agricultural production capacity, at the same time making production more sustainable and resistant to future climatic events. Activities encompass river channel modification and/or protection infrastructure, rehabilitation of small irrigation systems, land stabilization activities, rehabilitation of farm-to-market roads, and improved natural resource management, including reforestation in the upper watershed areas of the Polochic and Motagua rivers. The USDA Forestry Service under its Inter-Agency Agreement advanced forest fire management and watershed restoration efforts, supporting hydrological data collection related to watershed management on the south side of the degraded Sierra de Las Minas mountain range.

Community disease prevention activities under the objective have supported the distribution of insecticide-treated bed nets in high risk malaria villages; improved malaria case detection and treatment by laboratory workers; and improved epidemiological surveillance. In order to reduce the prevalence of diarrheal diseases in children under five years of age, CARE and CRS are making available community water systems and latrines, distributing water receptacles with chlorine disinfectant, and promoting adequate hygiene practices. A plan for a "National Offensive for the Prevention and Control of Dengue" was prepared in cooperation with the Ministry of Health. Adoption of the plan will take place in early 2001.

Other Donor Programs: : International donors pledged approximately $182 million to support Hurricane Mitch relief and reconstruction efforts. Major donors include Inter-American Development Bank ($61 million), Spain ($29 million), the World Bank ($13.5 million), the European Union, and the United Nations. At a dialogue level, donor coordination has been effective and the GOG encourages donors to meet together to discuss actions related to the national reconstruction plan as projected in the Stockholm Consultative Group Meeting in 1999. There is interest among expanded team partners for exchanging information, which was one of the common strong points of USAID's United States Government Agency and Partners meeting held in Guatemala City in January and September 2000. There is similar interest among partners to share information and to work with other donors.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: United States Government agencies and U.S. PVOs involved in the direct implementation include: the United States Army Corps of Engineers, the United States Geological Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the United States Department of Agriculture, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CARE, the Self-Help Resource Exchange, Catholic Relief Services, and the Cooperative Housing Foundation. Guatemalan grantees include the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Coffee Association (ANACAFE), Del Valle University, Defensores de la Naturaleza, and Fundacion Solar.

FY 2002 Performance Table

Guatemala 520-007

U.S. Financing

(In thousands of dollars)

	Obligations		Expenditures		Unliquidated
Through September 30, 1999	0	DA	0	DA	0	DA
	3,000	CSD	2	CSD	2,998	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF	0	ESF
	25,000	CACEDRF	93	CACEDRF	24,907	CACEDRF
	0	FSA	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA	0	DFA
Fiscal Year 2000	0	DA	0	DA
	0	CSD	1,023	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF
	500	CACEDRF	11,186	CACEDRF
	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA
Through September 30, 2000	0	DA	0	DA	0	DA
	3,000	CSD	1,025	CSD	1,975	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF	0	ESF
	25,500	CACEDRF	11,279	CACEDRF	14,221	CACEDRF
	0	FSA	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA	0	DFA
Prior Year Unobligated Funds*	0	DA
	0	CSD
	0	ESF
	0	CACEDRF
	0	FSA
	0	DFA
Planned Fiscal Year 2001 NOA	0	DA
	0	CSD
	0	ESF
	0	CACEDRF
	0	FSA
	0	DFA
Total Planned Fiscal Year 2001	0	DA
	0	CSD
	0	ESF
	0	CACEDRF
	0	FSA
	0	DFA
			Future Obligations		Est. Total Cost
Proposed Fiscal Year 2002 NOA	0	DA	0	DA	0	DA
	0	CSD	0	CSD	3,000	CSD
	0	ESF	0	ESF	0	ESF
	0	CACEDRF	0	CACEDRF	25,500	CACEDRF
	0	FSA	0	FSA	0	FSA
	0	DFA	0	DFA	0	DFA

Guatemala

Activity Data Sheet

FY 2002 Performance Table

Guatemala 520-007

U.S. Financing