El Salvador assumed leadership of the Trifinio Plan to spearhead efforts to protect natural resources, such as forest reserves and watersheds, that it shares with Guatemala and Honduras in the border areas of the three countries.
490 Salvadoran public schools have been intervened
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490 Salvadoran public schools have been intervened
The new trinational executive secretary, Jorge Urbina, will lead the program from 2026 to 2030, prioritizing environmentally sustainable initiatives in a region of approximately 7,500 km².
The Trifinio Plan, in force for about 35 years, is based on a treaty that declared the border area of the three countries as an ecologically indivisible unit, due to its strategic environmental value.
This area constitutes one of the most relevant water systems in Central America and is home to eleven natural reserves where agricultural production and biodiversity conservation converge.
Water priority and productive challenges
Jorge Urbina also stressed that “our slogan is waters without borders”, reflecting the logic of collaboration that inspires the Trifinio Plan in terms of water resources.
Urbina explained during an interview on Diálogo 21 that the main institutional challenge is to balance regional economic development with environmental protection.
The technical assistance work promoted by the Trifinio Plan covers all productive chains, mainly the cultivation of coffee, vegetables, avocados and peaches, in a region where the highlands present optimal conditions for agriculture.
The participation of rural families in coffee growing is significant; according to the data presented, 26% of rural families depend directly on this production, which covers nearly 52,000 hectares and reaches more than 1.2 million quintals of coffee annually between the three countries.
Maintaining a balance between economic development derived from these activities and environmental preservation is considered key by the new trinational leadership.
26% of rural families in the region depend directly on coffee production, which occupies 52,000 hectares and exceeds 1.2 million quintals annually. Photo courtesy Environment.
The strengthening of sustainable management has the support of the Italian Cooperation, which has promoted a technological program in the Salvadoran municipality of Metapán.
This program not only provides agricultural technical assistance, but also promotes research and has foliar and soil analysis laboratories to determine if there are contaminants, lack of nutrients or other factors that affect harvests.
International support is reinforced with the participation of the KFW Bank of Germany, which together with the three governments allocates an investment of more than $22 million until 2027 exclusively to environmental protection.
Projects have been planned to improve water security, highlighting the delivery of 180,000 water filters in the region during the first quarter of the year; of these, 60,000 will remain in El Salvador. In addition, water collection systems are being developed to supply more than 100 local families in the department of Santa Ana, underlining the importance of guaranteeing sustainable access to the resource.
The upper basin of the Lempa River, which originates in the high mountains of Chiquimula, Guatemala, represents a priority area for water distribution in El Salvador.
Urbina emphasized that more than 40% of the drinking water in the metropolitan area of San Salvador is supplied by this river, which runs approximately 390 kilometers in Salvadoran territory and supports four hydroelectric dams as well as two irrigation districts.
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