The EU-funded project, which calls for an investment of around 16 million euros over a six-year period, will be implemented under an agreement that will also help Honduras meet its commitments under two international agreements with the European Union: the Forest Partnership and the Voluntary Partnership Agreement for Forest Governance.
Tegucigalpa, 24 June 2024 (IICA). The Forest Conservation Institute (ICF), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the European Union (EU) are to mount a joint effort to protect and strengthen Honduras’ threatened forest resources by means of the “Living Forests of Honduras” project, designed to mitigate the effects of climate change and the loss of biodiversity, and improve the quality of life in the Central American country.
The EU-funded project, which calls for an investment of around 16 million euros over a six-year period, will be implemented under an agreement that will also help Honduras meet its commitments under two international agreements with the European Union: the Forest Partnership and the Voluntary Partnership Agreement for Forest Governance.
“Living Forests of Honduras” will include the implementation of activities that contribute to the application of the country’s forestry laws, through the development and implementation of the Timber Legality Assurance System (SALH), an initiative that will help ensure that the timber in every stage of the supply chain is legally sourced.
It also aims to facilitate the reforestation and restoration of at least 20,000 hectares of forest in degraded and priority areas of the towns of Francisco Morazán, Olancho and El Paraíso, as well as the prevention of forest fires on at least 10,000 hectares of forest based on the use of advanced techniques and community participation.
Other actions planned under the initiative are:
- The implementation of ecotourism projects that protect forests and create jobs, promoting local economic development.
- Innovation in the forestry sector, by promoting agroforestry value chains and sustainable practices.
- Assistance in complying with new European regulations on deforestation, ensuring that Honduras can continue to export forest products to the European Union.
- Institutional strengthening of the Forest Conservation Institute (ICF) and the Property Institute (IP) for land titling and management, thus promoting effective and sustainable governance of forest resources.
“Today, the European Union is fulfilling its promise not to let these agreements be just part of the narrative in our discussions, and to finance their implementation. This financing is a demonstration of the EU’s commitment, and we expect and trust that Honduras will use all its energy and knowhow to ensure the success of this collaboration,” said Felice Zaccheo, Head of the Unit for Mexico, Central America, Caribbean and Regional Operations of the European Commission’s Directorate-General of International Partnerships.
“The ‘Living Forests of Honduras’ project is the first in the world to respond globally to the FLEGT Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs), and it will generate the knowledge required to scale the results for trade in sustainable timber,” commented Muhammad Ibrahim, IICA’s Director of Technical Cooperation.
The FLEGT licensing scheme establishes a set of procedures and requirements to ensure that timber products entering the European Union have been legally produced. Timber-producing countries can become part of the FLEGT licensing scheme by signing voluntary partnership agreements (VPAs) with the EU. These are bilateral voluntary trade agreements.
Honduras’ Under Secretary of State for International Cooperation and Promotion at the Secretariat of External Relations, Cindy Rodríguez, reaffirmed her nation’s commitment to cooperating with the EU and IICA to speed up its sustainable development.
The agreement was signed in Tegucigalpa by Zaccheo and the IICA Representative in Honduras, Santiago Vélez, in a ceremony attended by Honduras’ Secretary of External Relations and International Cooperation, Enrique Reina, and the Director of the Forest Conservation Institute, Luis Soliz.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
