Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Out of Firefighting Funds

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

TEGUCIGALPA, Mar 13 2004 (IPS) - The national government has left the forestry development agency COHDEFOR without funds for preventing and fighting forest fires, denounced the entity's director, Gustavo Morales. He said he expects the officials to amend the error, but that for new he is seeking help from the U.S. Agency for International Development and other potential donors.

On Mar. 10, an official commission, including COHDEFOR, firefighting services and the armed forces, met to draft a plan to combat the ongoing problem of forest fires.

Each year, an average of 55,000 hectares of forest are destroyed by fires, many of which are intentionally set, especially during the summer months, according to COHDEFOR.

The agency is pressing landowners to implement fire prevention measures, or face lawsuits for crimes against the environment, Morales told Tierramérica.