Scarcity, Abundance, and Environmental Policy in Guatemala: An Analysis Based on theTheory of Limited Resources

Abstract

This article analyzes the relationship between scarcity, abundance, and environmental policy in Guatemala from a theoretical and institutional perspective. Drawing on the praxeological approach of Mises and Hayek, the ecological economics of Daly and Georgescu-Roegen, and Ostrom’s theory of the commons, it argues that Guatemala’s environmental crisis stems not from a lack of natural resources but from an underlying institutional and moral scarcity that prevents cooperative management. The study combines a documentary review of public policies (MARN, CONAP, INAB, SEGEPLAN) with a comparative analysis of the main gaps identified by ECLAC (2020) and Cardona (2023): fiscal deficit, technical weakness, and lack of incentives. Findings show that despite normative abundance, the environmental system lacks polycentric coordination mechanisms and an ethic of shared responsibility. Consequently, the paper proposes an environmental policy based on “responsible scarcity”, aimed at strengthening cooperation among the state, communities, and markets under shared rules, sustainable incentives, and explicit ecological limits.