Guatemala is located in Central America, bordering the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea; it has a rich topography composed of mountain ranges that reach up to 4220 masl. Guatemala has a population of 17 million inhabitants. Inequality is persistent and the population faces deprivation in access to basic services and rights (MARN, SGCCC, & UNDP 2021). The economy is mainly concentrated in agriculture, and activities linked to the use of natural resources such as livestock, hunting, forestry, and fisheries sub-sectors (World Bank Group, 2021). 

Its location and topography make it especially vulnerable to hydrometeorological phenomena, such as tropical storms or the El Niño events, which generate extreme events in the territory, such as floods, droughts, extreme temperatures or landslides. In fact, 74% of settlements are exposed to at least one of these hazards (MARN, SGCCC, & PNUD, 2021). 

During the last decades, climate change has generated a temperature and precipitation increase. Temperatures are expected to continue to rise, but total precipitation is expected to decrease and rain patterns are expected to become more unstable. These predictions, coupled with socioeconomic conditions, place the majority of the population in a situation of high vulnerability to the effects of climate change (MARN, SGCCC, & UNDP 2021). The agriculture sector is particularly vulnerable as small agricultural producers are highly impacted by droughts associated with climate change, for example, droughts can cause up to a 55% production loss (World Bank Group, 2021).