Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Adiós to Controversial Forestry Agency

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

TEGUCIGALPA, Sep 15 2008 (IPS) - The much-criticized Honduran forestry development agency, Cohdefor, officially halted operations on Monday, Sep. 15, after more than three decades, and ceding the way for the new governmental body, the Forest Conservation Institute (IFC). The news came from the new IFC director, Suyapa Otero, who is entrusted with developing a national policy for the country's forests and preserving wildlife and protected areas, as part of the functions detailed in the new law on forestry, approved a year ago.

The creation of the IFC came about as a result of pressure from civil society and environmental groups who reacted against the repeated charges of corruption against Cohdefor related to illegal logging and the granting of permits to lumber interests without due process.