News — 25 January, 2025
Strengthening Competencies in Natural Resource Management with ODK in Latin America

Guatemala, in collaboration with HOT, UNDP and MARN, is working on waste and natural resource management by identifying critical sites and training officials to improve infrastructure.
Versión en español / Versão em português
Guatemala Faces Significant Challenges in Managing Natural Resources and Solid Waste. In collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme in Guatemala (UNDP) and the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARN), the LAC Hub of the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT) has developed a participatory methodology since October 2021 to identify illegal waste dumps, particularly in the Motagua River basin. Over a year and a half, free technologies and collaborative data approaches were demonstrated, public officials were trained, and tools were created for the inventory of waste management and wastewater treatment infrastructure. This initiative lays a solid foundation for future government actions and marks a critical step toward addressing these challenges.
Demonstrating the Potential of Open Technologies to the Ministry of Environment in Guatemala
The first phase of collaboration showcased to the Ministry of Environment the potential of open technologies to generate and visualize data, focusing on pollution management of the Motagua River in Guatemala and its outlet in Honduras. HOT supported the creation of a pilot experiment with UNDP to address solid waste management at the household level, identifying gaps in services, many of which were poorly regulated by the private sector, affecting residents and leading to improper waste disposal.
HOT and UNDP developed a household survey strategy using Open Data Kit (ODK), piloted in various areas of Guatemala City. The qualitative results were shared with the Ministry and visualized through an interactive dashboard in Power BI by the UNDP team. This demonstration motivated the Ministry to develop a more sophisticated strategy aligned with its needs before the administration’s term ended, recognizing the potential for a complete inventory of municipal infrastructure nationwide with the technical and methodological support provided.
Subsequently, the three institutions collaborated on structuring a georeferenced survey tool for municipalities to uniformly, comprehensively, and promptly report information on the infrastructure, capacity, conditions, activity, coverage, and costs of wastewater and solid waste treatment to the Ministry. This eliminated the need for manual intervention at various data collection and aggregation points, a common issue.
In parallel, a practical reflection was carried out on data sovereignty and its appropriate localization within the Ministry’s services. At the same time, sustainable access was ensured despite impending administrative changes. Given MARN’s limited IT capabilities, the information was entrusted to UNDP, which could deliver it to the incoming government.
Building Capacity in Data Management with ODK
Overcoming administrative challenges and ensuring sustainability in data management were crucial for continuity. Ministry officials were convinced of the need for a free, configurable platform, leading to the training of a diverse group, including technical coordinators, survey technicians, and supervisors. This maintained capacities among officials with a high likelihood of staying or transferring to other administrations.
The administrative transition in January 2024 resulted in some trained personnel moving to other institutions, spreading technical knowledge for future needs. Additionally, a broad group from UNDP was trained, serving as permanent technical support for the Ministry and other public institutions in the country. These training efforts established more permanent knowledge nodes available for future administrations and public institutions.
The collaboration and pilot project led to notable expansions that demonstrated the high applicability of participatory mapping methods and open technologies like ODK in national public administrations. Numerous municipalities have used these new skills to report waste management and wastewater treatment issues to the Ministry, underscoring the success and relevance of this initiative.
The ODK training addressed the immediate need for a free, flexible, and autonomous inventory tool for municipal infrastructure and waste treatment services in a short time. It also equipped participants with essential skills to design, implement, and manage data collection forms effectively in the long term.
The training program spanned three days, covering basic concepts to advanced techniques, including practical exercises and the near-complete development of a tool within the application. Participants gained both theoretical and practical knowledge, learning to design basic and complex forms, improve usability and efficiency, and integrate georeferences, multimedia elements, and other advanced functions.
In open data management, continuous adaptability is essential for successful solutions. ODK stands out as a tool that enables form customization and offline georeferencing—crucial features to meet evolving data collection needs, ensuring ongoing relevance and effectiveness.
The success of ODK relies on a deep understanding of the organizational context, considering internal processes, specific objectives, and technological and human resource limitations, as well as data transmission and storage characteristics. The program’s final phase emphasized the importance of integrating multimedia elements to enrich the quality and context of collected information. The ability to attach multimedia files and use advanced features was identified as key to capturing richer and more comprehensive data, providing greater depth to monitoring efforts.
Challenges and the Future of Data Management
The importance of this initiative lies in the fact that data management for natural resources relies on community participation to obtain accurate data and strengthen connections with the environment. Using the ODK platform facilitates data collection by individuals with varying skill levels, empowering communities. This approach also promotes trust and respect among all stakeholders, ensuring ethical and secure use of information and enabling communities to participate in decision-making about its use and impact.
In the Ministry and other local administrations in Latin America, the lack of financial and technical resources and the absence of a data management strategy hinder the creation and maintenance of data servers. This has led to a situation where databases are stored on individual computers, increasing the risk of losing critical information for territorial management. To address this issue, it was proposed to host the data on an external and neutral server while training personnel to install their own ODK servers, ensuring the continuity and accessibility of information for current and future administrations.
In a context where data management is essential for conserving natural resources, the importance of adaptability and collaboration in the success of implemented solutions is clear. ODK emerges as a powerful tool that allows form customization and ensures the ongoing effectiveness of our actions. We invite all readers to share their experiences and insights to enrich our collective understanding and foster collaboration.
We also offer additional resources for those interested in exploring the potential of ODK and open data management further. Additionally, we call on public officials to familiarize themselves with the free infrastructure available, such as ODK, as an efficient tool for local information exchange with various levels of government. Together, we can make a significant difference in conserving natural resources and enhancing the well-being of our communities.