Over 15–16 November 2025, the Duchess of Edinburgh used a two‑day visit to Guatemala to put community forestry and child protection on the agenda. Stops in Guatemala City and the Maya Forest underlined a shared UK–Guatemala focus on biodiversity, human development and good governance, following meetings with President Bernardo Arévalo and Vice‑President Karin Herrera.

The programme opened at La Alianza Guatemala (ALA) in Mixco, where staff support adolescent girls and young mothers recovering from trafficking and sexual violence through shelter, psychosocial care and legal accompaniment. ALA forms part of Covenant House International’s network, with recent UK‑supported work extending prevention and reintegration services.

Later, at Street Kids Direct, mentors and volunteers explained how consistent one‑to‑one support keeps children off the streets and in school, complemented by creative workshops in music and art. Founder Duncan Dyason-recognised with an MBE in 2017 for services to street‑connected children-joined the visit.

A lunch with Guatemalan women leaders focused on widening leadership pipelines and safety for girls and young women, before an evening reception at the National Museum of History to celebrate UK–Guatemala ties. The engagements reinforced civil society’s role in delivering change alongside government.

In Petén, the Duchess toured Tikal National Park-one of the few UNESCO sites recognised for both cultural and natural value-set across 57,600 hectares and embedded within the much larger Maya Biosphere Reserve. The visit highlighted archaeology and wildlife conservation as two sides of the same story.

North of Tikal, the community of Uaxactún presented its 83,558‑hectare forest concession, managed under contract with Guatemala’s protected‑areas authority, CONAP. The plan mixes zones for non‑timber harvests with areas for strict protection and year‑round monitoring by community rangers.

Income here comes from forest‑friendly products-xate palm fronds for floristry, chicle gum and allspice-harvested under rules that keep the resource renewing. Xate has held Forest Stewardship Council certification since 2007, and community patrols, fire prevention and measured harvest cycles are routine.

Uaxactún is among communities linked to the UK’s Biodiverse Landscapes Fund in northern Mesoamerica, a Defra programme delivered in the Selva Maya and neighbouring regions by a WCS‑led consortium with Guatemalan partners including ACOFOP. Recent field missions by the British Embassy and Defra evaluated progress on forest restoration, biodiversity monitoring and water management.

Why it matters: US Fish and Wildlife Service data and research by the World Resources Institute show community concessions in the Maya Biosphere Reserve sustain near‑zero deforestation and fewer fires than surrounding areas-around 0.4% annual tree‑loss-while strengthening livelihoods and climate resilience.

Seen together, the city‑to‑forest itinerary links survivor services with the people protecting one of Mesoamerica’s last great tropical forests. It shows how diplomatic visits can help lift institutions already proving what works-care for young people, and community‑led conservation that keeps the Maya Forest standing.