The Guatemala Coastal Restoration Project will improve community livelihoods through employment, the restoration of the environment, and building sustainable agroforestry businesses that empower the community. The restoration of the mangrove estuary and coastal forests in the area will benefit communities through supporting agriculture, increasing access to water, and increasing the area’s natural biodiversity.

For decades, Guatemala's southern coast has experienced degradation due to unsustainable agricultural practices that have led to the desertification of the region. The quality of the soil has made traditional agriculture difficult, and pollution and erosion have damaged the water channels in the mangrove estuaries, which has led to decreased natural seafood sources.

Long-term environmental change cannot happen without first addressing the communities’ needs. To transform the socioeconomic and environmental conditions of the area, community members will be employed to plant millions of native mangrove and coastal forest trees. In addition to planting, agroforestry initiatives will be supported in the area's abandoned agricultural lands. Local fishermen will be benefited through the increase in fish and shrimp that return to the restored estuary.

The species to be planted in this project include
Mangroves: Rhizophora mangle (red mangrove), Laguncularia racemosa (white mangrove), Avicennia germinans (black mangrove)
Native Coastal Savanna species: Conocarpus erectus (buttonwood), Tabebuia rosea (matilisguate), Tabebuia donnell-smithii (primavera), Parmentiera aculeata (Cuajilote), Ceiba aesculifolia (Palo lagarto), Crecentia cujete (Calabash)
Agroforestry: Hylocereus undatus (Pitaya), Citrus latifolia (lime) and Mangifera indica (mango), Manilkara zapota (Chicozapote)