A dugout canoe navigates the Platano River above the community
 of Las Marias in the Mosquitia.  The Rio Platano Biosphere, a World Heritage Site, is now host to The Nature Conservancy's largest conservation project in Honduras.

By SUYAPA CARIAS 

TEGUCIGALPA -- For nearly 50 years, The Nature Conservancy (TNC), a private international conservation group headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, has helped to protect more than 10 million acres of ecologically significant habitat in the United States and more than 55 million acres in the rest of the American continent, Asia and the Pacific.

In the early 90s, the program arrived in Honduras, where it has focused its efforts on two key areas: El Cusuco National Park in the Merendon mountain range and the Rio Platano Biosphere in La Mosquitia, both of which are part of a system of 107 government protected areas.

Karen Luz, current TNC director for Honduras and Nicaragua, said they first started purchasing privately-owned lands in the United States with funds raised from private and corporate donations.  However, innovations and adjustments have been made to their preservation and funding strategies as the organization has progressively expanded its coverage in and outside the sponsor country.

"We realized that our strategy abroad had to be different from the one applied in the United States, where there is a good national park system that is adequately protected by the national government, while in Latin America, most of these systems are underfunded," said Luz.  "But we understand that it would be very hard for the Honduran government alone to do a good enough job with the resources they have available.  Environment is just not a high priority in a country this poor.  That is a fact, and that is why we are here."

The expansion of the agricultural frontier is the greatest threat to the fragile ecosystems of La Mosquitia.

Although the constant clearing of forest land by small farmers is considered as the greatest threat for the conservation of Honduras' biodiversity, Luz said that this practice is nothing more than the consequences of the country's extreme poverty.  "It is their only way to assure their survival, and if they remain as poor as they are in the countryside, there is no way to stop them from doing what they need to do to support their families," she pointed out.

PARTNERSHIPS

Rather than buying private lands or looking for guilty parties, the TNC has found it much more effective providing technical and financial assistance to local non-governmental organizations dedicated to protecting specific sites in Central America.  "This is a more sustainable approach to conservation, because if we want long-term results, we must count on local people that worry and care about the issue."

Pine savannah in La Mosquitia.

So far, the Hector Rodrigo Pastor Fasquelle Foundation and the MOPAWI organization, created to preserve the natural resources at El Cusuco National Park and the Rio Platano Biosphere, respectively, are the main TNC partners in Honduras.

"In Cusuco, we have offered assistance in terms of training park guards, and doing education and reforestation projects with the local residents," said the former World Bank environmental specialist.  Here, TNC also helped to produce a "rapid ecological assessment," a survey through which they discovered that some of the most important areas in terms of biodiversity were actually outside park boundaries.  With the results in their hands, they immediately called government environmental authorities to make the necessary corrections.

Since 1997, TNC has been involved in protecting La Mosquitia, a unique, assortment of different ecosystems threatened by the expansion of the agricultural frontier in several areas, even though the indigenous population seems to have a harmonious relationship with their ecosystem. 

LOW PROFILE, HIGH POTENTIAL

Although they receive financial assistance from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and some U.S. private donors, the organization's budget seems always minimal compared to the amount of work that needs to be done.  "Roughly, I estimate, we are using around $225,000 a year in Honduras, but it's never enough," said Luz.

However, she expressed satisfaction over the fact that at least one Honduran firm has already demonstrated a real interest in supporting the TNC cause: ELCOSA, a private power company headquartered in Puerto Cortes.  "Hopefully, other companies will... follow their example," she added.

 According to Luz, one of the principal problems they face in increasing their budget is the lack of knowledge the North American people have with respect to Honduras.  "Unfortunately, Honduras does not have a very high profile in terms of being a country that people visit or know about; when they talk about ecotourism in Latin America they usually refer to Costa Rica, Brazil or Belize.  But Honduras has all the potential to develop that sector," she said.

Precisely, Luz mentioned TNC's interest in expanding their program to the North Coast and the Bay Islands, given the great economic possibilities they represent as international recreational destinations.  "Tourism is very important for protected areas, because it demonstrates to people that conservation pays off, that it can bring true economic development."

Moreover, she applauded the initiative of the governments of the region to establish the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.  "It is a very simple concept to grasp, so it communicates very effectively to people an important issue, which is trying to make sure that we don't deforest the whole Central American isthmus, and it provides mechanisms for more coordination across borders."

For more information about TNC in Honduras, call 238-7016/220-4570, or contact their headquarters in Virginia at (703) 841-5300, web site <http://www.tnc.org>.