Spain has granted Honduras 1.9 million dollars to develop sustainable programs in the habitat of the endangered emerald hummingbird (Amazilia luciae). The resources will be channeled through the Secretariat of Public Works.

The official in charge of the portfolio, José Rosario Bonanno, told Tierramérica that in the next 18 months the management and mitigation plan will be ready in the area where the emerald hummingbird lives, in the northern region of Olanchito, where a stretch of highway is being built.

The money from the Spanish government is part of the Honduran commitments to ensure preservation of the tiny bird species, he added.

A unique species, this hummingbird is on the Red List of Endangered Species of the World Conservation Union (IUCN).