Ecobreves – HONDURAS: First Trimester Sees 150 Forest Fires

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

TEGUCIGALPA, Apr 7 2008 (IPS) - Honduran officials reported 150 forest fires so far in 2008, most of them in the central department of Francisco Morazán, where the national capital is located. Most of the fires are related to burnings of fields following harvest, which have occurred without regulation, in addition to intentionally set forest fires, Ramón Alvarez, of the government's forestry agency, told Tierramérica.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), since 1980 the country has seen an annual average of 2,300 forest fires. In Francisco Morazán alone there have been 108 this year.