Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Oil Exploration Threatens Marine Resources

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

TEGUCIGALPA, Jun 1 2009 (IPS) - The oil exploration effort that the Honduran government plans for parts of the Caribbean coast endangers the marine areas of the Mesoamerican biological corridor, warned the Environmental Prosecutor's Office. Although oil exploration projects are good for the country, “their impacts on the protected stretches of the Mesoamerican biological corridor, such as coral reefs, have not been considered,” environmental prosecutor Aldo Santos told Tierramérica.

“We are requesting information about this type of exploration project because international agreement impede them from taking place in protected zones,” he added.

The areas slated for exploration are in the departments of Gracias a Dios, Atlántida, and Islas de la Bahía, which include a large Honduran portion of the regional biological corridor.