The International Tropical Timber Organization (ITTO) has ratified its support for forest protection initiatives in Honduras, and especially those that involve communities in responsible forest management, the country’s vice president, María Antonieta Guillén, told Tierramérica. Guillén reported that one of the areas of cooperation with the ITTO will be community forestry, in which the population participates in the protection and conservation of forests and in combined agricultural and livestock production, through cooperatives or micro enterprises.

The ITTO is currently participating in three projects in Honduras: the strengthening of a forestry statistics center, the industrial use of forest species, and the management and conservation of mangrove forests.

The projects have been implemented in coordination with the Forest Conservation Institute, which is responsible for regulating the exploitation of forest resources and preserving protected areas.