Through support from the FAO-EU Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Programme, the Organization Asociación Balam has connected local carpenters to legal timber producers in the northern Guatemalan department of Petén by building and strengthening cooperatives.

FAO’s partners also provided dedicated trainings to Municipal Government officials on good forest governance to reduce the rate of illegal logging and oversight of forest management plans.

 Building and strengthening cooperatives producers and buyers, and improving overall forest governance, has significant impacts on livelihoods and the overall sustainability of Guatemala’s timber industry.