Guatemala : Indicators

The National Forests Institute (INAB) tax system is regulated by the Regulation on the Exclusive Forest Fund, created by the Forest Law (Article 84). The Ministry of Finances has information on the income and outgoings for these taxes, while the INAB has information on the Forest Incentives Programme (PINFOR) which communities can access. On forest incentives: according to article 83 of the Forest Law, the INAB will distribute annually up to 50% of the total amount, to smallholders of areas with fewer than fifteen hectares.

The INAB Work Report of 2009 showed that only 8% of the total amount of incentives was assigned to small projects (smaller than 15 hectares), which clearly reflects inequality in the redistribution of funds. The figures do not detail the type of owners, a situation which makes it impossible to establish with certainty the real support given to small owners, especially the poorest among them. This situation shows the lack of transparency regarding the management of forest incentives from public funds.

The community forest sector fought for approval in 2010 of the Forest Incentives Programme Law for Owners of Small Areas of Land with a Forest or Agricultural-Forest Vocation (PINPEP), with which it hoped to increase the amounts allocated to small landowners, including those who do not have a title deed, thus including the participation of the poorest people.

However, there is an on-going lack of information regarding the distribution of royalties and forest incentives. The current INAB website and its reports do not provide information on the beneficiaries of PINFOR and PINPEP for 2010, 2011 and 2012 (up to the date of writing), and it is only possible to access statistics and general project records by applying for them directly from INAB offices