Guatemala

Guatemala received a good score on the Justice pillar, a fair score for the Transparency pillar, and a poor score for the Participation pillar. Regarding the Transparency pillar, the law recognizes the public’s right to access environmental information; however, government authorities are not obliged to proactively disseminate environmental information to the public. For the Participation pillar, the law does not provide for public input in the preparation of rules, plans, policies, and programs that relate to the environment. For the Justice pillar, the law establishes review procedures by which aggrieved persons can challenge government decisions that violate their environmental rights. However, there are no adequate mechanisms in place to reduce financial or gender-related barriers to access to justice. By addressing these issues, Guatemala could provide the public with access to environmental information, a right to participate in environmental rulemaking, and an ability to gain access to courts to obtain redress.

Visit the Environmental Democracy Index to explore the EDI score.