Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Hearings on Forestry Law

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TEGUCIGALPA, Nov 24 2008 (IPS) - The governmental Forest Conservation Institute (ICF) of Honduras announced the beginning of hearings about integrating communities in the protection and conservation of forests. “We are working on a basic document with an eye on the approval of the enactment of the Forestry Law, and for it we hope to hold hearings and votes in the next two months to achieve effective community integration in managing this resource,” ICF director Suyapa Otero told Tierramérica.

The Forestry Law, approved a year ago, includes the creation of community forestry, which should be regulated so that past mistakes are not repeated, “because we want this effort to function with high participation of the population, especially in reserves and deforested zones,” said Otero. Earlier this month, environmental organizations demanded that the ICF approve the regulation.