Country Forest Note
El Salvador




Summary for Policymakers
Forests are essen al for the development of El Salvador, contribu ng directly to its
economy and society’s well-being. With an extent of 817,000 ha, forests cover 38% of the
country’s land area and are linked to most produc ve sectors. The forestry sector accounts
for 1.5% of GDP, generates approximately 12,000 direct jobs, and supplies the popula on
with firewood. Salvadoran forests also protect water and soil, which are in turn essen al for
agricultural produc on, nature conserva on, and protec on from natural disasters. They
also represent an opportunity to recover the economy a er the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite their relevance, 21,700 ha (2.6%) of forests are lost every year, mainly due to the
expansion of agriculture and urbaniza on. Other causes include firewood and charcoal
produc on, logging for mber products, and fires associated with forest degrada on. All
these processes are driven by poverty, rural fragmenta on, and demographic growth. Most
of today’s forests are young and fragmented between a mosaic of crops, and only 141,000
ha are associated with Natural Protected Areas, biosphere reserves, and Ramsar sites.

Rapid deforesta on and forest degrada on in El Salvador threaten water availability,
food security, and agricultural produc on and increase exposure to natural
disasters. Over 25% of the na onal territory suffers from soil erosion due to the loss of
forests. This includes lands that are prone to landslides but were previously produc ve.
In addi on, large areas of the country that are important for freshwater recharge and the
banks of major rivers lack forest cover.

The country’s growing climate vulnerability is accentuated by forest loss. The loss of
infrastructure associated with climate change reaches US $215 Million annually. According
to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN, in Spanish), these numbers
could be aggravated since about 10% of the country is suscep ble to flooding, 20% to
landslides, and 50% to droughts. Also, the country has the lowest freshwater availability
per capita in Central America. These risks are projected to increase with forest loss but
could be minimized if forests are recovered and be er managed.

The country has the opportunity to impulse a transforma on towards be er forest
management. Although most forests are young, fragmented, and exist in mosaics within
agricultural farms, they con nue to provide goods and income for subsistence farmers and
ecosystem services for the na on. One of the main challenges to achieving sustainable
forest management is the reconcilia on of the opportuni es for produc on, protec on,
and forest restora on with the limita ons, capaci es, and needs of the large number of
subsistence farmers who own the forests. To achieve this, most forest-based solu ons will
be small-scale, but aggregated, they can have an enormous impact.
Through be er management, El Salvador has the opportunity to reverse the trend of
forest loss in favor of its development and resilience. It is necessary to promote climate-
smart and sustainable produc on prac ces that include tree management on farms.
A list of Opportuni es for El Salvador associated with forests iden fied in the Country
Forest Note is presented below. To achieve large-scale and successful adop on of these
systems, behavioral changes at the farm level are needed. These changes can be induced
by incen ves or subsidies, greater access to technical assistance and credit, as well as
building awareness through educa onal campaigns. The proposed forest management
interven ons could be combined with tradi onal crops and other high-value investments
(livestock, vegetables) to ensure cash flow, food security, and increased farmers’ incomes.

The path to sustainable forest management for El Salvador requires public and private
actors and the civil society. In order to implement these alterna ves, the country needs to
integrate forest, water, environmental and agricultural policies, for example, by reconciling
forest and water legal frameworks that limit mber use and discourage tree plan ng.
This includes changing current agrarian policies, incen ves, and extension programs for
basic grains and livestock; making the delivery of current subsidies condi onal on the
use of sustainable techniques; and incorpora ng forest technical assistance into exis ng
programs. Their implementa on requires close coopera on and coordina on between
the MARN, the MAG, the DGFCR, other ministries, and municipali es. Public pla orms
and structures should be complemented with the par cipa on of private sector and civil
society actors, alone or in public-private partnerships, helping to reduce reliance on public
investment. Finally, forest interven ons should be accompanied by be er planning and
control of peri-urban land use and greater job crea on to provide subsistence farmers with
alterna ve income sources.


Opportuni es for El Salvador associated with forests
 Conserva on or restora on of forests based on natural regenera on. This alterna ve
  would allow to recover the natural capacity of soils and water reten on at a low cost
  while improving agricultural produc vity. It could be encouraged through private
  environmental compensa on, water use fees, or payments for environmental services
  (e.g., reducing greenhouse gas emissions). Experience exists in the country through
  FIAES and FONAES, focused on farmers located in marginal and rugged land on slopes
  (> 40%) and aquifer refill zones, where opportunity costs are low and poten al benefits
  in environmental protec on, and ecosystem services are high. Restora on opportuni es
  have been iden fied in 60,000 hectares with steep slopes, and conserva on opportuni es
  in 148,000 hectares of forests, crea ng up to 50,000 jobs.
 Commercial wood from secondary forests and shaded coffee systems. Older forests
  and agroforestry systems like shaded coffee have significant quan es of high-value
  exportable wood (5.74 million m3) and lower quality mber (7.55 million m3). With
  proper management, the quan ty and quality of wood can be improved, allowing entry
   to a rac ve neighboring markets in Central America and the United States. For this, a
   public-private supply aggrega on mechanism through a collabora ve virtual pla orm,
   including technical support, could help organize industry par cipants, improve their
   opera ons and market access, and thus increase their profitability. This mechanism’s
   key components would include government-formulated forest management plans,
   quota systems based on annual limits and fees for cer fied mber, virtual or real
     mber collec on centers with public prices, and technical assistance to improve wood
   quality. In this way, the system would be more profitable and transparent, with high
   social impacts through coopera ves and posi ve environmental outcomes through
   sustainable management.
 Considerable expanses of secondary forests with poten al for producing firewood or
   biomass for renewable energy. The recent expansion of secondary forests represents
   a poten al resource to meet the demand for wood and woody biomass. Low-cost
   woodlots can be established on farms, improving farmers’ incomes, maintaining
   biodiversity, and providing ecosystem services such as water or greenhouse gas capture.
   A management design for these systems is required, including strategies to enhance
   their sustainability and produc vity. These systems could also generate synergies in
   partnership with annual crops, diversifying the sources of income of small and medium-
   sized farmers.
 Shaded coffee and cocoa crops with valuable commercial wood. Tradi onally
   important coffee produc on in El Salvador has decreased in importance to growing
   interna onal compe on, climate change, and diseases such as rust. This crop can
   generate significant income for farmers and environmental benefits but requires large
   investments in ac vi es and labor during the first year of implementa on. Coffee could
   be recovered by renova ng old planta ons in high eleva ons, conver ng low eleva on
   planta ons into cocoa, and improving their management prac ces. The promo on of
   these systems should be aligned with the limita ons, capaci es, and needs of farmers
   through government support with incen ves such as technical assistance and the
   supply of plan ng material.
 Perennial fruit planta ons. They can be complementary to other tree planta ons,
   genera ng income from early stages, and forest-like environmental benefits. Adop on
   of fruit planta ons could be increased through incen ves and support services such as
   technical assistance and access to credit to cover their establishment and maintenance
   costs.


Characteris cs and strengths of the forestry sector in El Salvador
 Growing recogni on of the importance of forests by poli cal leaders.
 Na onal public legal and policy frameworks and interna onal commitments.
 Leadership of the country in the area of forest restora on.
 Exis ng ins tu onal structures and important advances in forest restora on within
   the Ecosystem and Landscape Restora on Program (PREP in Spanish), a collabora on
   between the Ministry of Agriculture and MARN; that can provide a basis for new
   ac vi es related to forest produc on, management, conserva on, and restora on.
 Non-governmental and civil society organiza ons with experience and interest in
   promo ng and par cipa ng in improving Salvadoran forests’ management.
Pilot experiences to finance improved forest prac ces through user rates or environmental
compensa ons and pla orms that could be adapted to mobilize payments for forest
conserva on or restora on, providing technical assistance.