Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gvvz8 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T00:31:25.605Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Protected areas, people and incentives in the search for sustainable forest conservation in Honduras

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2009

Michael Richards
Michael Richards*
Affiliation:
Forestry Programme, Overseas Development Institute, Regents College, Regents Park, London NW1 4NS, UK
*
* Dr Michael Richards Tel: +44 171 487 7578 Fax: +44 171 487 7590 e-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Attitudes and incentives of people living around protected areas are widely considered to constrain successful management of these areas. Two contrasting protected areas in Honduras, a Biosphere Reserve of high biodiversity rainforest, and a cloud forest providing essential environmental services to the capital city, are analyzed in terms of their management problems and the strategies used for their protection. The response at the national level to the issues raised in these case studies is then assessed, focusing on the impact of government policies, legal changes affecting land tenure and use, and the role of state institutions in protected area management. The case studies indicate that while the non-government organizations (NGOs) have tried to promote a more participatory approach to conservation (with mixed success), the Honduras Government has tried to follow a more regulatory approach but without the resources and political will to implement it effectively. Opportunities have been missed to provide positive incentives for protection, for example in the area of eco-tourism and community-based natural forest management in situations where this would appear to be a viable option. The participatory approach has also been complicated by policies and land legislation which have sent out negative or ambiguous signals to local communities. Above all the case studies show how critical local attitudes are to the achievement of conservation objectives, and demonstrate the need for positive economic incentives that link development with conservation in buffer zones and surrounding areas.

Keywords

deforestationprotectionHondurasincentivespolicies
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , September 1996 , pp. 207 - 217
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brockett, C. (1990) Land, Power and Poverty: Agrarian Transformation and Political Conflict in Central America. Boston, USA: Unwin Hyman.Google Scholar
Buckles, D. (1994) Velvetbean: a ‘new’ plant with a history. Unpublished paper, CIMMYT Economics Programme, Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maiz y Trigo, Apartado 6–641, Mexico 6, D.F., Mexico: 21 pp.Google Scholar
Chambers, R., Pacey, A.A. & Thrupp, L.A., eds. (1989) Farmer First – Farmer Innovation and Agricultural Research. London: Intermediate Technology Publications: 219 pp.Google Scholar
COHDEFOR/KFW (1992) Proyecto Manejo de la Reserva de la Biosfera del Rio Platano. Feasibility Study Final Report, Corporacion Honduren˜a de Desarrollo Forestal and Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau, Departamento de Areas Protegidas y Vida Silvestre, COHDEFOR, Apdo 1378, Tegucigalpa, Honduras: 153 pp.Google Scholar
Dodds, D. (1993) Miskito land use in the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve. Preliminary research report to the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History. University of California, Los Angeles, USA. Copy with MOPAWI, Apdo 2175; Tegucigalpa, Honduras.Google Scholar
Herlihy, P. & Leake, A.P. (no date) Propuesta: Reserva Forestal Tawakha Sumu. Unpublished report, Tawakha Indigenous Federation of Honduras and Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History. Copy with MOPAWI, Apdo 2175, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.Google Scholar
Herring, U. & Jaendl, A. (1993) Explotación agropecuaria dentro de la Reserva de la Biosfera del Rio Platano: el manejo de la ganadería en las riberas del Rio Tinto Negro. Unpublished report, Sociedad Carl Duisberg/Programa Asa and MOPAWI, Apdo 2175, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.Google Scholar
Pearce, D., ed. (1991) Blueprint 2. Greening the World Economy. London: Earthscan: 232 pp.Google Scholar
Richards, M. (1993) Lessons for participatory natural forest management in Latin America: case studies from Honduras, Mexico and Peru. Journal of World Forest Resource Management 7: 1–25.Google Scholar
Romero, R. & Martinez, F. (1990) En Honduras: Agua para una ciudad sedienta. In: Hacia una Centroamerica Verde: Seis casos de conservatión integrada, ed. Heckadon, S., Archibold, G., Romero, R., Martinez, F., Budowski, T., Cardenal, L., Benitez, M., Godoy, J. & Quesada Mateo, C. pp. 53–72. Editorial DEI (Departamento Ecunemico de Investigaciones), Apartado 390–2070, Sabanilla, San Jose, Costa Rica.Google Scholar
Salaverri, J. (1992) La Situatión Actual de la Reserva. In: La Reserva de la Biosfera del Rio Platano: Herencia de Nuestro Pasado, ed. Murphy, V., pp. 5–8. Paseo Pantera. Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Copy with Departamento de Areas Protegidas y Vida Silvestre, COHDEFOR, Apdo 1378, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.Google Scholar
SANAA (National Water Authority) (1993) Project Proposal: Proteccion del Parque Nacional La Tigra con Participacion Comunitaria. Departamento de Manejo de Cuencas, Servicio Autónomo Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, Tegucigalpa, Honduras: 16 pp.Google Scholar
SANAA (no date) Problemas. Unpublished report, Departamento de Manejo de Cuencas, Servicio Autonomo Naciónal de Acueductos y Alcantarillados, Tegucigalpa, Honduras: 6 pp.Google Scholar
Schreuder, G. (1992) Environmental analysis of the impact of the new Honduran Agricultural Modernization Law with respect to the Forestry Sector. Consultancy Report for Inter-American Development Bank, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.Google Scholar
SECPLAN, DESFIL & USAID (1989) Perfil Ambiental de Honduras 1989. Report for US Agency for International Development. Secretaria de Planificacion, Coordinacion y Presupuesto, Tegucìgalpa, Honduras: 346 pp.Google Scholar
Stanley, D. (1991) Communal forest management: the Honduran resin tappers. Development and Change 22: 757–79.Google Scholar
UNDP (1993) Programa Integral de Proteccion Ecologica y Rescate de la Gerencia Cultural: La Mosquitia y el Litoral Atlantico. Unpublished proposal, United Nations Development Programme Office, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.Google Scholar
Utting, P. (1993) Trees, People and Power. Social Dimensions of Deforestation and Forest Protection in Central America. London: Earthscan: 206 pp.Google Scholar
Walker, I. (no date) Concluding thoughts from CEASPA study on the environmental impacts of structural adjustment in the forestry sector in Honduras. Unpublished report, ESA Consultores, Apartado 4227, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.Google Scholar
Walker, I., Suazo, J., Thomas, A. & Jean-Pois, H. (1993) El Impacto del Ajuste Estructural Sobre el Medio Ambiente en Honduras. Unpublished report, ESA Consultores, Apartado 4227, Tegucigalpa, Honduras.Google Scholar
Wells, M. & Brandon, K. (1992) People and parks. Linking protected area management with local communities. Report to World Bank/World Wildlife Fund/United States Agency for International Development. World Bank, 1818 H Street, Washington, DC 20433, USA: 99 pp.Google Scholar