South-South Learning in the Trifinio Region : Transforming borderlands into areas of peace and development

The creation of the Trifinio region, a sensitive biosphere reserve in northern Central America where the borders of El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras meet is a unique example of South-South Cooperation (SSC). Based on their experiences and lessons learned from the joint management of the Plan Trifinio, the three Central American countries created a tri-national entity that redefined their borderlands as a consolidated area for integration and development. The three countries, which share similar development challenges, recognized that this was the most effective way of responding to the social and environmental challenges they were facing.