Local governments, civil society organizations, and academic institutions in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador are calling for action to save the Lempa River.

San Salvador, December 5, 2025. The water quality of rivers located in the upper Lempa River basin has declined to “Fair” over the last 15 years, reaching 65 points on the Water Quality Index (WQI) and coming very close to “Poor” water quality, according to the report “Water quality variability 2010-2025 and determination of heavy metals in the hydrological network of the upper Lempa River basin,” presented by the Environmental Management Engineering research team of the Centro Universitario de Oriente (CUNORI) of the University of San Carlos of Guatemala, at the “Regional Forum for the Life of the Lempa River: Territory, Cooperation, and Governance in the Face of the Climate Crisis in Central America,” held at a hotel in the capital.

The regional event was convened by the Tri-national Network for the Rescue of the Lempa River and the Network for Territorial Development of El Salvador (Red DT), as part of Territorial Development Week 2025, with the aim of creating a space for reflection, dialogue, and inter-institutional and tri-national coordination in the face of the rapid socio-environmental deterioration of this shared basin.

The report presented concludes that in the period from 2010 to 2025, the water quality index (WQI) has reached 65 WQI points, meaning it has changed from good (89-70) to fair (69-50), a drop of 25 points, placing the region in a critical situation. If the WQI reaches 50 points, it would be classified as “poor” water quality, limiting its use in every sense of the word.

“This means that we are 15 points (at 50 WQI) away from having no water for farming or drinking, but if we take immediate action, we can rescue some watersheds and rivers, so we would have more water to drink and produce more food in the future,” said Ramiro García, coordinator of CUNORI and the research team, which conducted its work in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador.

Similar results were presented by Rubén Sorto from the Coatepeque Foundation in El Salvador, who discussed the “Current state of water quality in Lake Coatepeque” and questioned the approval of urban development projects that are degrading the lake's natural resources. “We cannot call it development when we are affecting the present and future of new generations,” he warned in his presentation, given the pressure that will be caused by the ‘Amanelli’ Towers, which will be developed by the company “Urbania” and authorized by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of El Salvador, tripling the population living in such a vulnerable natural area.

Faced with this situation, “we need to raise awareness and unite to solve these serious pollution problems throughout the Lempa River basin,” said Martín Leiva, mayor of Chalatenango Centro, El Salvador, and vice president of the Lempa River Tri-national Border Community (MTFRL).

“I have been blessed to live about 300 meters from the Lempa River, where I have bathed, but as the speakers have said, pollution is increasing. If we do not raise awareness and unite, we will no longer be able to bathe or cultivate, and this will increase the problems not only in Chalatenango but throughout the country,” said the mayor.

“These research results challenge the states, because they need to be challenged in order to move forward, and we need to rise up and walk together, as the Popol Vuh teaches us,” said Héctor Aguirre, manager of the Tri-national Association and part of the coordinating team of the Tri-national Network for the Lempa River.

However, the member institutions of the Network not only presented the results of their latest research, but also gave examples of “good environmental, water, and land management practices carried out by local entities in the basin, such as: ”Sistema Agroforestal Quezungual" (SAFQ) in southern Lempira, Honduras, where burning has been suspended, the use of chemicals has been reduced, and they have been gradually replaced by organic fertilizers and foliar products, explained Leonel Amaya Alemán, mayor of Candelaria, Lempira, Honduras.

Another successful project, the “Trinational Agroecological Training Farm,” which is being developed in Candelaria de la Frontera, Santa Ana, El Salvador, was presented by Dr. María Julia Medina, coordinator of the local public policy “Zero Hunger,” implemented by the Trinational Border Community of the Lempa River (MTFRL) in municipalities of the Trinational region.

According to Medina, the farm is not only a school for learning sustainable agriculture, but also a place where people can learn how to farm tilapia and bonsai trees, and increase their income with surplus crops. But above all, it is a place for education on food security, where we teach farmers about the nutritional benefits of each vegetable and other crops, which helps reduce malnutrition in families.

Another speaker was Magdalena Mejía, a community leader from the San Simón River basin in Morazán, El Salvador, who, together with a group of women, works on the “Protection of the San Simón River sub-basin.” Their techniques in alternative agriculture and their knowledge of human rights and gender issues enable them to improve the environment and the family economy.

The work carried out by the 516 farmers who are members of the Atiocoyo Sur Irrigators Association in Santa Ana, El Salvador, was another example of good practices. By developing tilapia farming, reducing chemical fertilizers, collecting plastic containers, and reusing water, according to Anibar Santos, manager of ARAS.

To conclude the event, Patricia Gálvez, president of the Cítala Community Development Association (ADECOCIT), and Caleb Padilla, president of the non-governmental organization “Un Pulmón Más” (One More Lung), called for action by presenting eight proposals for joint work: i) Establish a dialogue table for the three countries—El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras—convened by the Government of El Salvador; ii) Establish a permanent meeting space for the Lempa River with specific agendas and goals for restoration and protection, iii) Have the Government of El Salvador declare the Lempa River basin a priority area for the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0). We request that specific goals be included, iv) That the Ministry of Education institutionalize March 14 as National Lempa River Day, as an annual day of environmental education and action, so that all schools in the country develop ongoing activities to raise awareness, learn about, and care for the Lempa River, v) Implementation of a comprehensive restoration program for the entire basin, vi) A new legal framework for the conservation and restoration of the basin, vii) Institutions that design agricultural programs should accompany and train farmers in sustainable agroecological practices, thereby reducing pressure on soils, water, and forests, and, viii) Civil society, private enterprise, institutions, and citizens should make a collective, responsible, and long-term commitment. Join us in this effort, because the future of the Lempa is in our hands.

With these results, the institutions that make up the Network seek to motivate central governments, local governments, civil society entities, universities, the private sector of the three countries, and international cooperation, among others, to coordinate joint actions in favor of the comprehensive management and decontamination of the Lempa River, as a contribution to peace, cooperation, and development in the Central American region.

The Lempa River, which is 422 km long, originates in Olopa, Guatemala, crosses western Honduras, flows through El Salvador, and empties into the Pacific Ocean, making it the most important basin on the Pacific slope in Central America. Its territory covers 17,926 km², with 214 municipalities and districts and an estimated population of 5.42 million inhabitants, who depend directly on the environmental services provided by the basin, such as water, air, ecosystems, among other benefits. Of these, 1.5 million in the San Salvador metropolitan area are supplied by this important river.

The project “Shared Waters: Governance for integrated management and adaptation to climate change in the Tri-national Lempa River Basin in the dry corridor of Central America - PHASE II” is implemented by the Tri-national Lempa River Border Community and funded by the Heinrich Boell Foundation and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), AECID, through the Catalan Fund for Development Cooperation. Its objective is to “improve multilevel governance for the integrated management of the Lempa River Tri-national Basin, as a contribution to improving the quality of life of its inhabitants.”