Honduras

Programme Summary

In the central area of the country projects have planted approximately 200,000 trees with Aldea Global and the CEASO system, with overall targets set for 3 million trees within Honduras during 2009. Immense efforts have been made to monitor the planting of seeds in the Southern and Eastern projects, including the largest planting initiatives, however, political unrest continues to be an issue for Peace corps in verifying progress in these regions, undeterred partnering organisations continue sending seed to Peace Corps volunteers and other participating groups around the country to ensure the diverse needs of each region are met.

Partners Network

FUNDARBOL - Healthy Schools Program - Peace Corps - Global Village - CEASO (Centro Educativo de Agricultura Sostenible) - Lancetilla Botanical Garden

Background

There are three key areas in the much varied environment of Honduras. In the hot humid North Coast there is secondary forest vegetation, in the cooler humid Altiplanos there is lush rainforest and in the semiarid south drier fertile interior valleys. Each place has unique and significant problems.

The highly eroded pasturelands have been severely effect due to years of cattle pasturage in the north coast, meanwhile once abundant hardwood have been destroyed by constant logging. In the highlands cultivation of steep terrain and the high use of agrochemicals in coffee and vegetable production has left streams and aquifers polluted and full of silt. In the Central valley’s, further extensive logging has damaged important watersheds leaving the population with less and less water. Southern Honduras (with its longer dry season and lower levels of rainfall) has suffered from centuries of free range cattle farming, and shortening of the cycle of slash and burn agriculture, leaving once beautiful hills barren and streams which used to run all year now run dry in February leaving communities without water until the rainy season begins in May.

Honduras has been a centre of recent sales in tropical timber, both the abundant pine and less common tropical hardwoods. For this reason the government has instituted a certification process and disallowed the harvesting of natural hardwood stands.

2008 saw the effects of these government policies with logging dropping as the main reason for loss of forest cover in Honduras, only to be replaced by firewood production. Higher energy prices have driven many people living in towns and cities to return to cooking their food using firewood. This has led to the doubling of the price of firewood, making the cutting of trees for firewood more attractive to residents of rural areas. Also the badly designed stoves have taken their toll with more people afflicted by respiratory diseases.

The Response

Partnering organisations are trying to tailor projects to the needs of each area. For example in  the north coast they are working with Lancitilla Botanical Reserve and Botanical Gardens supporting a program which is providing fruit and timber species to farmers who then plant in the most fragile pastures thus protecting areas in risk of erosion. They are also currently providing educational material explaining the advantages of some tree forage species and stable fed dairy cattle.

In the highlands they are working with local NGO’s and Peace Corps volunteers, to teach soil conservation practices using leguminous species to maintain soils and improve the quality of soils. They are also providing fast growing timber species to coffee farmers to encourage the diversification of income and coffee shade. These seedlings will be certified by local government institutions so that farmers will have the opportunity to legally sell the timber thus improving the economic situation of their families.

In the central valley’s they are working with local groups planting trees to protect important watersheds which provide water to population centres.

In the South Trees they are providing forage species to cattle producers and teaching the advantages of minimal or no pasture cattle. We are also encouraging the use of Moringa Oleifera  for its nutritional benefits.