Chevening alumni from Guatemala and Honduras have joined forces to tackle one of Central America’s most pressing ecological challenges: the pollution of the Motagua River. We find out more.
Funded by the Chevening Alumni Programme Fund (CAPF), Chevening alumni from Guatemala and Honduras brought together policymakers, environmental experts, and community leaders to confront the widespread contamination of the Motagua River, which threatens both local livelihoods and the health of the Atlantic Ocean.
The Motagua River, which flows from the Guatemalan highlands into the Caribbean Sea, has long suffered from industrial waste, plastic pollution, and untreated sewage.
Its degradation poses a serious risk not only to biodiversity and marine ecosystems but also to the communities that rely on it for water, agriculture, and fishing.
Recognising the serious threat to both people’s livelihoods and the environment, the Chevening alumni-led project aimed to foster dialogue, share knowledge, and promote concrete action on both sides of the border.
Key activities of the project included:
The culmination of these efforts was the development of a comprehensive policy brief outlining practical, evidence-based recommendations to mitigate pollution and encourage collective responsibility for the rivers health.
The document was formally presented to Guatemalan decision-makers, with the goal of influencing future environmental policy and infrastructure investments.
Despite facing challenges such as limited waste management infrastructure and historically weak coordination between Guatemala and Honduras, the project succeeded in building trust, opening lines of communication, and demonstrating the power of alumni networks in driving change.
The Motagua River project stands as a hopeful model for other regions grappling with environmental degradation and complex ecological issues.
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