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Honduras THE ENVIRONMENT
The 1980s saw a heightened awareness and concern over
ecological
issues. Even though Honduras is not overpopulated, its
land
resources have been overexploited, and there are numerous
reasons
for concern regarding deforestation and the prevalence of
unsustainable agricultural practices. Enforcement of the
few
regulations already in effect is uneven.
Honduras has two major national parks. One is the Tigra
Cloud
Forest Park near Tegucigalpa. The other is the Copán
National Park
near the border with Guatemala, which houses the Mayan
ruins.
Honduras also has established the Río Plátano Reserve.
Furthermore,
the government has attempted to encourage ecotourism in
the Islas
de la Bahía, where biologically rich coral reefs are
located.
As a consequence of the expansion of environmental
consciousness, the Honduran Association of Ecology
(Asociación
Hondureña de la Ecología--AHE) was founded in the 1980s.
Following
the example set in the foundation of the AHE, many other
groups
formed with the stated purpose of promoting ecologically
sound
policies. Unfortunately, in 1993 many sources of
international
funding dried up following the discovery of corruption in
a number
of Honduran ecological groups. Despite the continued
presence of
many environmental problems, ecologists are encouraged by
the
increasing environmental consciousness among all sectors
of the
population. The fact that environmental concerns are part
of the
policies advocated by peasant organizations, labor unions,
and
other interest groups is a sign that the ecological
movement has
come to maturity.
Honduran society provides examples of the most severe
problems
faced by developing nations. Yet within that same society,
the
unique relationship between social and political forces
provides
potential for progress in alleviating the country's
problems.
* * *
The body of literature available on Honduran society
and
environment has never been comprehensive. Although
somewhat dated,
Richard N. Adams's Cultural Surveys of Panama,
Nicaragua,
Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras remains a good
source.
Population and Urban Trends in Central America and
Panama,
by Robert Fox and Jerrold Huguet, is also a basic text.
More recent
publications such as the report issued by the United
States Agency
for International Development, Latin America and the
Caribbean, are also helpful. The Human Development
Report published by the United Nations is an
invaluable
statistical look at all major indicators.
Three texts providing solid information regarding
economic
trends, population pressures, and their effect on land
tenure and
use of resources are The War of the Dispossessed:
Honduras and
El Salvador, 1969, by Thomas P. Anderson; Land,
Power, and
Poverty: Agrarian Transformation and Political Conflict in
Central
America, by Charles Brockett; and Scarcity and
Survival in
Central America: Ecological Origins of the Soccer War,
by
William H. Durham. Understanding Central America,
by John
Booth and Thomas Walker, also provides some interesting
perspective
and statistics.
Little recent research has been done on non-Hispanic
groups
living in Honduras. Old standard sources remain, such as
Mary W.
Helm's Asang: Adaptations to Culture Contact in a
Miskito
Community. Studies on the Black Carib in Belize and
Guatemala
shed light on those groups living in Honduras. Of interest
are
Women and the Ancestors: Black Carib Kinship and
Ritual, by
Virginia Kerns, and Black Carib Household Structures: A
Study of
Migration and Modernization, by Nancie L. Solien
Gonzalez. (For
further information and complete citations,
see
Bibliography.)
Data as of December 1993
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