During the second day of the Motagua Investment Forum, María Emma Orejudo, a member of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), stressed the importance of creating a road map to achieve the Cleaning of the Motagua River.
Olga Baus Gilbert, head of the Unit for Latin America and the Caribbean of the General Directorate of International Associations of the European Commission, indicated that the next step, after the forum held on May 27 and 28, 2025, will be the elaboration of a common road map.
Giovanni Barrios, representative of the United Nations Development Program, said during the forum that around 5.4 million people, that is, more than a third of the population, inhabit sectors located around the Motagua River basin, considered one of the most contaminated in Latin America. During the forum, the possibility of Create a water treatment plant and garbage collection.
Both Orejudo, of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), and Murielle Gurtner, director of the Euroclima Program, agree that it is necessary to formulate routemAYs focused on governance, diagnosis and infrastructure, in order to attract circular investments that allow the cleaning of the river.
How to clean the basin?
According to Orejudo, it is necessary to create a master plan that integrates priorities, with the objective of obtaining effective results.
A specific master plan for a basin, must include the following steps:
- Diagnosis of the real situation of the river
- Diagnosis of activities
- Risk and impact diagnosis
From these diagnoses, Orejudo points out that it is possible to design a program that includes governance and participation measures. With these elements, concrete projects can be structured to clean the basin.
The specialist emphasizes that in the country a clearer governance is necessary to attract projects and investments, and that said effort must be led by the Government, through the corresponding ministries.
For its part, Baus indicates that the road map must focus on the need to establish adequate regulation, as well as in the promotion of actions related to energy, knowledge and the establishment of political milestones.
During the forum, Barrios stressed that it is also necessary to promote a strategic prioritization of investments through green or blue bonds, which could be managed by the Ministry of Public Finance, together with other government entities responsible for environmental issues. From this, Barrios considers that it will be possible to create block chains that foster business concessions with the private sector and the academy, in order to innovate through Start-ups that allow successful cases.
How to attract the circular economy?
Gurtner points out that five key steps are necessary to attract economy projects circular to the country:
- Work in an institutional framework: The need to establish laws, public policies and a regulatory framework that favors the attraction of sustainable investments.
- Application of the circular economy at the territorial level: The importance of training and sensitizing local public sector actors.
- Infrastructure by greater investment: It is essential to develop accessible infrastructure and guarantee investment for maintenance.
- Integrate the circular economy into the production process: To do this, he suggests that companies receive adequate technical accompaniment, in conjunction with international cooperation.
- Accompaniment in the evolution of consumption models: It is necessary to sensitize citizens and support civil society initiatives that promote environmental education.
Guillermo Rodríguez Mahuad, general manager of the Jealsa Group in Guatemala – company that has developed circular economy projects in the Chiquimulilla River – coincides with the need to establish an order and implement new standards.
Rodríguez highlights the importance of promoting products linked to the sectors adjacent to the basin, with the aim of developing replicable projects, such as those that are already executed in Santa Rosa.
To contribute to the recovery of water bodies such as the Motagua River and attract the interest of international or private companies, “products such as lemon, which have extremely large export destinations and are in the area of the East must be taken into account,” Rodriguez explained.