Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Indigenous Groups Denounce Logging in Protected Areas

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

TEGUCIGALPA, Aug 30 2010 (IPS) - Representatives of the Federation of Xicaques and Tolupanes Tribes denounced the illegal incursion of loggers into the forests where Honduran indigenous communities live, in the central department of Francisco Morazán and the northern department of Yoro. Xicaque leader Santos González told Tierramérica that for the last two months there have been chainsaws active in the reserve, “violating the conventions and laws that declare our region an archeological sanctuary, where it is prohibited to cut down timber” without proper permits.

The area most affected is Montaña de la Flor, in Francisco Morazán, where the greatest number of Xicaques are concentrated, dedicated for millennia to caring for the forest.

A group of indigenous peoples, led by González, traveled to the capital to demand that authorities enforce the laws and punish those responsible for cutting down the forest.