The NSP is directly linked to and embedded in several climate change laws and policies as well as agriculture and livestock development policies and strategies. The following are the main legal and planning instruments:

• Guatemala’s 2013 Climate Change Framework Law (Decree 7-2013) created the government structure to address its climate change priorities: reducing vulnerability to environmental disasters, building adaptation capacity, and mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which are laid out in the 2009 National Climate Change Policy (Governmental Agreement 329-2009).
• In compliance with article 11 of this law a “National Action Plan on Climate Change-PANCC” was developed and approved by the National Climate Change Council in 2016. Reducing GHG emissions in the livestock sub-sector is an integral part of the PANCC.
  • The National Development Plan “K'atun Nuestra Guatemala 2032” (SEGEPLAN, 2014), affirms that the national planning system will work on policies, plans and budget based on results management, territorial and sectoral policies and will monitor and record public investment with transparency. “K´atun Nuestra Guatemala 2032” includes clear and concrete targets for GHG mitigation for all sectors, including agriculture and livestock.
• In its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC, 2015), the country committed to a reduction of 11.2 percent of total GHG emissions projected to the year 2030 based on the 2005 inventory. In the same NDC, the country offers a more ambitious reduction of up to 22.6 percent of its total GHG emissions projected to the year 2030 (on the basis of the 2005 inventory), conditioned on new and additional technical and financial support from the international community.
• Through the USAID/LEDS project (2014-2019), Guatemala receives support to build institutional capacity to respond to climate change. In formulating Guatemala´s LEDS, the government is working with key private sector counterparts, including industry associations, farmer associations, and cooperatives, to implement practices and technologies that reduce GHG emissions, improve competitiveness, and increase manufacturing efficiencies in the Guatemalan economy. The LEDS formulation has enabled Guatemala to develop more consistent and up-to-date GHG inventories, generate more precise sectoral baselines and emissions forecasts, and effectively measure and report on climate mitigation activities; it is also one of the key operational instruments for implementing concrete mitigation actions and for the country to meet its commitments in the NDC.

The LEDS (Draft LEDS 2018-2050, Government of Guatemala) includes four specific measures for the cattle sub-sector:

(1)   Intensive rotational grazing and pasture management (promotion of intensive grazing with rotation and supplementation with forage produced on farms, promote associations of grasses with legumes, promote the use of improved pastures).

(2)   Establishment and improvement of silvopastoral systems (e.g. dispersed trees within pastures, live fences, fodder banks, pastures and specific tree arrangements) to increase carbon sequestration in cattle farms.

(3)   Integral management of manure (promote adequate storage, treatment and manure application practices to soils, promotion of biodigesters in cattle farms and dairy operations for the production of biogas and energy from manure).

(4)   Efficient management and use of water for cattle production (improve the efficiency of existing irrigation systems, promote rainwater harvesting systems and promote the installation of efficient mini-irrigation systems).

• In 2013, the National Bovine Livestock Policy was approved and in 2017, Guatemala elaborated its National Low-carbon and Sustainable Bovine Livestock Strategy (NLCSLS). This national strategy gives life to the National Bovine Livestock Policy (MAGA, 2013) and involves concrete measures in the cattle sub-sector that contribute to the mitigation of GHG emissions and achieving Guatemala´s targets in its NDC.

Together, the National Bovine Livestock Policy and NLCSLS conform Guatemala´s Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action (NAMA) for the cattle sub-sector as they refer to a sector-wide and national in scope program, country-driven and anchored in before mentioned policies and development strategies that Guatemala will implement as part of its commitment to reduce GHG emissions. As such, the policies and financial mechanisms will serve to create an enabling environment and channel financial flows into low-carbon investments.

The NLCSLS will be implemented nationwide in 15 years. Implementation will happen in three, 5-year phases starting in a priority area that covers the departments of Izabal, Petén and Alta Verapaz (Phase 1). The proposed NSP would be the key instrument to implement Phase 1 of the NLCSLS during 5 years in the priority area. The priority area was selected as over 50% of Guatemala’s cattle can be found in this area and expansion of cattle rearing in the past 10 to 15 years has taken place mainly in this area. In Phase 2 and 3, more livestock farms and pastures in the priority area as well as in other regions would be phased-in; this is however not part of the proposed NSP, but refers to its upscaling.

The sector policy (NLCSLS) mitigation ambition is to reduce the milk carbon footprint from 5.8 kgCO_2e/l milk to 2.2 kgCO_2e/l milk in 15 years and to reduce the beef carbon footprint from 16.5 kgCO_2e/kg beef to 7.9 kgCO_2e/kg beef in the same period.

• Synergies will be possible with initiatives from the private sector, such as ASODEL that has developed an environmental and best practices guide for milk producers; and has agreed with its members from the milk industry to pay a better price for milk produced using good practices and that has a lower carbon footprint.
• From a socio-economic perspective, small-scale cattle farming represents the main income source and livelihood of many rural families, while contributing as well to their food and nutritional security by providing high quality protein. Estimates from the National Agricultural Census of 2003, reveal that 62.1% of the farms (with less than 5 animals per farm) produce milk for self-consumption and another 31.6% of the farms (with herds between 5 and 49 animals per farm) belong to small producers who market part of their production and use for self-consumption the rest. These data highlight the importance of cattle raising as a means of livelihood for a significant number of rural families in the country.

The sustainable development co-benefits of the NSP relate to the increase of income for the livestock raising small and poor producers; as such the NSP will have a positive effect on improving livelihoods and reducing poverty. Increase of income will come from increased milk and beef production, the sale of poles, wood and fruits from silvopastoral systems, and less production costs, amongst others. In addition, the competitiveness of the sub-sector in international markets will improve as consequence of reduced production costs and farm and product carbon certifications. Due to a better productive performance in the sub-sector there will be an increase in the generation of employment in the rural area.

• Additionality of the NSP lies in the expected GHG abatement benefits which have been calculated for 5 years (end of NSP) as follows: (i) a reduction of the milk carbon footprint from 5.8 to 3.9 kg CO2e/kg milk; (ii) a reduction of the meat carbon footprint from 16.5 to 11.2 kg CO2e/kg meat; (iii) avoided GHG emissions: 152,996 tCO2e; and (iv) removed CO2: 9,296 tCO2e.