Ecobreves – HONDURAS: Residents of the Capital Clean Up Their Neighborhoods

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

TEGUCIGALPA, Jun 18 2012 (IPS) - Residents of 39 districts and neighborhoods in Tegucigalpa are participating in the Barrio Limpio (Clean Neighborhood) project, clearing trash from ravines, ditches and roads to help prevent flooding during the upcoming rainy season. Lisandro Rosales of the Standing Committee for Contingency Planning told Tierramérica that the vulnerability of the Honduran capital makes citizen participation the best option for confronting the risks of natural disasters.

The areas of the city targeted in the first stage of the project are the ones where the greatest damages are reported during the rainy season.

But the initiative will eventually be extended to other areas of the capital, where three straight hours of rain can be enough to cause flooding, in large part because of trash clogging the drainage systems.