The Riecken Foundation promotes a network of innovative community libraries in Honduras and Guatemala that awaken the spirit of discovery and social participation through activities in the libraries. We have shown that community libraries are essential to a democratic society. Libraries are institutions that citizens use to make informed decisions and reach their full potential. They provide essential knowledge, encourage critical thinking, and encourage self-education and lifelong learning.
Like many other Latin American countries that share the Pacific and Caribbean coastline, Guatemala is experiencing a crisis of development and overfishing, exacerbated by the lack of opportunities, income alternatives and the scarcity of scientific knowledge about the true state of the different fishery resource populations, mainly chondrichthyans. Faced with this situation, Mundo Azul Foundation has initiated its efforts to generate scientific information that advances the level of knowledge about sharks, rays and other fisheries.