Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Social Pact for Forest Conservation

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

TEGUCIGALPA, Jul 11 2011 (IPS) - The local inhabitants, authorities and environmental groups in the municipality of Ojojona, a 20-minute drive away from Tegucigalpa in the central Honduran department of Francisco Morazán, have agreed to a 40-year moratorium on the use of forests in the area, in order to protect them from the advance of illegal logging. The mayor of Ojojona, Abelardo Martínez, told Tierramérica that after a lengthy participatory consultation process, all parties agreed to “close ranks to protect our natural environment, because we are losing the forests and there is an awareness that this must stop.”

Ojojona’s main source of income is tourism. The area is known for its handcrafted clay wares and its stunning natural surroundings, which include a mountain chain covered in 15,000 hectares of forests.

The agreement reached establishes the implementation within the next three months of training programs in forest management and conservation, as well as civilian security patrols to prevent illegal logging.