Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Fires Destroy 5,000 Hectares of Forest

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TEGUCIGALPA, Apr 9 2012 (IPS) - In the last two months, 5,000 hectares of forest have been destroyed by fire in Honduras, particularly in the jungle region of La Mosquitia, on the Atlantic coast. In La Mosquitia alone, 1,830 hectares have burned down. Other departments (provinces) heavily affected are Francisco Morazán and Comayagua in central Honduras and Olancho in the northeast, José Trinidad Suazo of the Forest Conservation Institute, a government agency, told Tierramérica.

In Tegucigalpa an average of seven fires are reported every day, most of them the result of criminal activity, firefighter Óscar Triminio told Tierramérica.

In 2011, a total of 155 forest fires were recorded in Honduras. The authorities are hopeful that an early arrival of the rainy season will alleviate the current heat wave and stem the outbreak of fires.