 Honduras
Environment Summary
With an average per capita income of approximately $800 per
year, Honduras is among the poorest countries in Latin America.
That poverty is exacerbated by lingering devastation from
Hurricane Mitch which killed about 5,600 people and caused
an estimated $2 billion in damage in 1998. The three days
of rain that followed Mitch caused landslides and floods that
buried towns and destroyed over 100 bridges throughout the
country. When the Río Choluteca flooded, it devastated
Tegucigalpa, the capital, sweeping houses and more downriver
and leaving behind an ocean of mud. By 2000, much of Mitch's
mess was cleaned up, but many environmental practices that
exacerbated the flooding, such as clear cutting, monoculture
farming and rapid urban expansion, have continued.
USAID's crosscutting environmental program in Honduras focuses
on improving the management of critical watersheds in Honduras,
including protection of habitats containing important biodiversity,
through the provision of technical assistance, training, and
commodities to municipalities, communities, and public and
private organizations and improving economic growth from natural
resources through environmentally-sound, legal practices.
USAID's environment activities in the following sectors are
summarized below:
Environment Updates:
Biodiversity & Conservation
USAID's biodiversity programs in Honduras focus on helping
the country's public and private sector organizations to develop
the capacity and commitment to properly manage Honduras' protected
areas and forests. In FY 2004, the Agency focused on conserving
water and biological resources in drought-stricken areas of
Honduras through community-based development programs. In
FY 2005, USAID supported the protection and management of
the Choluteca Watershed, focusing on the 23,165 hectares of
protected lands in the El Jicarito, Berberia, and San Bernardo
Species Habitat Reserves. USAID worked with municipal governments
and local water boards to halt deforestation within and around
the protected areas. Agroforestry and sustainable hillside
agricultural practices were promoted as an alternative to
shifting agriculture in buffer zones around the habitat reserves.
An environmental education component promoted increased awareness
among school children and the overall population.
Honduras has 31 cloud forests, which cover approximately
90,000 hectares of land area in the country and are some of
the last areas in the country not fully encroached by human
development. In close cooperation with the Peace Corps and
two highly motivated volunteers, USAID supported the development
and production of a cloud forest plant guide for the Sierra
de Agalta protected area in the region of Olancho - the first
ever created for Honduras. Experts in the field have labeled
this guide a "necessity" for Honduras and a "very
professional piece of scientific work." This guide is
a technical reference for researchers and students to raise
awareness about the importance of biological diversity, and
it will serve as a baseline document for future biodiversity
inventories.
Partners include: PanAmerican
Agricultural University at El Zamorano, the National
Forest Management Agency (COHDEFOR), and the U.S.
Peace Corps.
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Forestry
Forests soak up, store, and slowly release water, and protect
watersheds from erosion due to the winds and torrential rains
of hurricanes, such as Hurricane Mitch. Poorly managed forests
and ongoing drought conditions in Honduras have contributed
to an environment in which ecosystems are susceptible to forest
fires. USAID/Honduras has supported demonstration activities
to help communities understand how to improve the management
of the forest, including how to glean dried, downed wood while
maintaining healthy stands. In addition, USAID has trained
community volunteer brigades on proper forest fire responses.
In drought-stricken southern Honduras, USAID continues to
support the protection of some 250,000 hectares of critical
pine forest against forest fires and severe pest outbreaks.
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Water
In addition to watershed protection activities USAID/Honduras
supports the operation and maintenance of a network of satellite
telemetry stream gauges and rain gauges and the production
of high-quality hydrological data. This network and the data
it produces will be used for disaster preparedness and mitigation,
water use such as irrigation and energy production, and land
management.
The Choluteca region is heavily deforested and farmers who
are experiencing lower crop production as a result of depleted
soil nutrients are starting to move up-hill into protected
areas and what little forested land remains. USAID has helped
these farmers to improve water use and other farming practices
to make more efficient use of their own lands. One USAID partner,
the Pan-American
Agricultural School at Zamorano, has established improved
water utilization, particularly small-scale irrigation systems,
on 210 hectares of farmland, and installed five demonstration
water-harvesting systems. Zamorano has also completed preparation
of a detailed basin-wide study of the complex and densely
populated Choluteca River watershed, which will assist decision-makers
in improving efficiency of water use, development planning,
and resource allocation. Specific activities include low-cost
practices to protect the water supplies, improve water storage
for farming, implement better soil conservation and irrigation
practices, and practice community-based watershed management
and protection.
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Climate Change
USAID's crosscutting environmental program in Honduras has
assisted the country in protecting its natural resources,
thus increasing the resilience of ecosystems and mitigating
the potential effects of climate change. Through continued
USAID assistance, Honduras will likely maintain and expand
its protection of carbon stocks as well as increase its capacity
to deal with natural disasters. For more information see USAID
Climate Change Activities in Honduras.
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