Nota de Prensa: Ante la crisis sistémica del agua en el país

En comunicación oficial del 19 de abril, la Universidad Rafael Landívar manifestó su posición frente a la crisis del agua, calificándola como sistemática y multidimensional que involucra factores ambientales, económicos, socioculturales y político-institucionales. En esta línea, el pasado domingo 17, el Iarna divulgó en un medio de comunicación nacional el estudio “Gota a gota, el futuro se acota”, donde se presenta una mirada a la  disponibilidad presente y futura del agua en el país y se plantean recomendaciones precisas para el abordaje de esta situación

Life Around the Firewood Stove: The Impact of Price Volatility

The cooking fire at home is an important site for the transmission, through the oral tradition, of the continuity of history and culture. In Guatemala, cooking and eating around the fire is one of the ancestral practices that promotes communication between family members. The heat provided by firewood is exploited to cook and maintain a comfortable temperature inside the house, but also to transmit teachings and ancient secrets. The fire provides energy at the centre of family cohesion before and after the work day. Today, although families still gather around the stove, the practice is diminishing, in part because of the rising cost of food and firewood. This article looks at the way in which rising prices affect the use of firewood and considers the impact that this has on the transmission of cultural values from one generation to the next

A hedonic valuation of residential water services

This paper investigates the economic value of municipal, private, and community-managed water services in Guatemala through a hedonic analysis of rental housing prices observed in 2006. Hedonic models are jointly estimated with water service choices using a maximum simulated likelihood approach in order to control for potential endogeneity. Findings indicate that the value of piped water depends on the type of water utility. The estimated value of municipal services is at least 15 times as much as the average water bill, while value estimates are not significant for private and community-managed systems. Value differentials are discussed considering the performance of water utilities and their institutional arrangements

Socio-ecological distribution conflicts in the mining sector in Guatemala (2005–2013): Deep rooted injustice and weak environmental governance

Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu MdM-2015-0552This study characterizes ecological distribution conflicts (EDC) related to the mining industry and derives a series of political implications for Guatemala. The characterization includes a placement in the context of Central America, regional location, intensity of the EDC and the trends in social and environmental consequences, with special emphasis on the groups of social actors affected and the degree to which the institutional framework does not provide effective means of participatory environmental governance. The time period covers 2005 to 2013. In order to understand trends in actor behavior and diverse moments of high intensity we introduce the use of action and response timelines as a methodology for EDC analysis. We propose the notions of embedded conflicts to describe their relation with the structural social conditions prevailing in the country and swarms of conflicts to describe their escalation through time. We conclude that conflictivity is inherent to the unsustainable characteristics of metallic mining and is aggravated by Guatemalás history of social inequality and power concentration. The attempts to reduce "conflictivity" through CSR have been insufficient in addressing these structural conditions. EDCs may have helped create a positive environment for creative forces to seek sustainability and justice in Guatemalás development model