By MARÍA FIALLOS

TEGUCIGALPA -- In a press conference last Friday (Oct. 22), Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Xiomara Gomez and representatives of the World Wildlife Fund and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) presented two studies considered of vital importance to conservation efforts in Honduras: The List of Important Fauna to be Conserved in Central America and Mexico; and the Honduras National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

The minister stated that the Greenhouse Gas Inventory is part of Honduras’ compromise made during the 1992 Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to confront diminishing biodiversity, ocean and land degradation, forest destruction and ozone depletion. Honduras is a signatory of the United Nations Framework on Climatic Change (UNFCCC) and has taken the first step in keeping this agreement by producing the two studies. Step two calls for legislation regulating ozone depleting gases. To this end, the ministry has already submitted for congressional consideration a law regulating vehicle emissions. Step three requires the elaboration of a National Climatic Changes Adaptation Plan.

The greenhouse gas inventory revealed that in Honduras the energy sector, dairy farming and land use changes are the largest contributors to ozone depletion, and therefore global warming. According to the study, controlling harmful emissions will entail, in the energy sector, vehicle emissions regulations, measures improving the efficiency of energy generation and use. In the agricultural sector, it entails finding alternatives that reduce methane produced by cattle, mainly in the dairy industry, eliminating or reducing the combustion of agricultural waste as a method of field clearing (one alternative method mentioned would be the use of methane generated from burning agricultural waste as a means of reducing the use of fossil fuels), preventing forest fires, reforestation and the adequate implementation of forestry management plans.

The List of Important Fauna to be Conserved in Central America and Mexico is a result of Honduras’ commitment to the 1994 Central American Ecological Summit for Sustainable Development held in Managua, Nicaragua. During the summit, Central American countries became signatories of the Sustainable Development Alliance (ALIDES) and agreed to establish: the Central American Biological Corridor by strengthening the Protected Areas System, biodiversity centers and botanical gardens to promote research concerning the use and conservation of biodiversity and; prepare a list of Central American flora and fauna in danger of extinction.

The study cites close de 250 species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals in danger of extinction in Central America and nearly 750 in Mexico. Eleven endangered species common to all eight countries were found. It is hoped that by preparing the list, the signatories will join forces to conserve those species that are most threatened throughout the region. Information relating to flora is unavailable at the moment.

Among the endangered or threatened species in Honduras are the conch, tarantula, black corral, cuyamel fish, crocodiles, Bay Islands boa, sea turtles, lizards, dolphins, porcupines, eagles, macaws, parrots, toucans, anteaters, manatee, deer, tapir, jaguars and ocelots. Also, one speaker announced that while preparing the list in Honduras, several new species were found. Such is the case of the garrobo (a large lizard, slightly smaller than the iguana), where before it was believed only two species existed in the country, it was discovered that there are actually six. For this reason, conservation of the biodiversity of Central America is of vital importance since the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor provides for the transference of biodiversity between the American continents, as well as housing the largest number of species today, many of which are found only in this region.

By MARÍA FIALLOS

TEGUCIGALPA -- Nearly eight years after first being submitted to Congress, it would appear that the decree declaring the Tawahka Asangni Biosphere Reserve a protected area has finally been approved. Although still not officially published in the Gazette (the official government newspaper), several sources have confirmed that the decree was voted on and approved by the National Congress on Oct. 20.

Protected area status of the reserve is of national importance. As home to the Tawahka ethnic group, it classifies as an anthropological reserve, and since it also houses primary forest ecosystems in their natural state, thus conserving genetic resources as well as important watersheds, it qualifies as a biosphere reserve. Covering an area of approximately 251,000 hectares, the area has great economic potential in as much as tourism and biodiversity are concerned.

Located in the departments of Olancho and Gracias a Dios, the reserve is bordered to the north by the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve (a World Heritage Site), to the south by the Patuca National Park, and to the east by the Bosawas National Park in Nicaragua, making it extremely important to the national park system and the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. Honduras is cosignatory to the Sustainable Development Alliance (ALIDES) that established this corridor at an international level to preserve biodiversity in 1994. (See related article.)

As home to the Tawahka indigenous group, it provides a unique way of life dependent on natural resources. Although the entire tribe is comprised of 9,000 members, only about 1,000 are Honduran, the rest living in Nicaragua. Preserving their language and culture is of vital importance to these people, who in the last 10 years have managed to revive the use of their language as well as integrate it into their primary school system.

The Tawahka communities of Krautara, Krausirpe, Yapawas, Kamakasna and Parwas are located along the Patuca River (one of largest in Honduras), which provides the most common mode of transportation as there are few roads into the area. The river also supplies a means of livelihood for fishermen and gold panners.

However, despite the isolation of the area and legislation passed last week, there is no guarantee that the reserve can be preserved in its natural state and developed in a sustainable manner. The ever encroaching agricultural and cattle fronts, caused by ladino settlers who move into the area in search of land, is one of the greatest threats the reserve faces. According to inhabitants, illegal logging is also rampant in this zone as well as in the rest of the Mosquitia.

Tawahka leader Edgardo Benitez says an adequate management plan, taking into account the needs and desires of the Tawahka people on every level, must be implemented for the reserve in order for it to run successfully. However, he is not sure this will be the case, and refused to comment on the decree until the official version is published.

He added that one of the main reasons the decree was not approved sooner was the fact that it initially included an article conferring the Tawahka Confederation management of the park. However, this article was later changed in favor of the Honduran Forestry Development Corporation (COHDEFOR) to speed up its approval. He also expressed the unfairness of this alteration, citing the cases of such protected areas as Punta Sal, Cuero y Salado, Cusuco National Park and La Tigra, all of which are managed by private foundations. It remains to be seen, therefore, upon whom management of the park will fall and how management plans will be implemented.

The cover of the new publication, Honduras National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.