The Honduran government hopes its recently approved forest-carbon law will help it access economic incentives approved under the Paris Agreement to promote climate friendly woodland-conservation initiatives. (Photo by Martín Cálix/Aguamala)
In July, the Honduran Congress approved ground rules for climate-protection transactions designed to incentivize conservation and augmentation of the country’s stores of forest carbon. It did not take long for the vote to draw fire from critics who view these transactions—such as debt-for-nature swaps, sales of forest-carbon credits, and pay-for-performance woodland-conservation initiatives—as deceptive means of allowing corporations to continue spewing greenhouse gases. “We Indigenous peoples cannot continue to bear the consequences of pollution produced by big capital,” read a statement issued July 27 by the Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras (Copinh), a leading Indigenous-rights network. “[T]hose who pollute must take responsibility for the environmental consequences they are causing!” Conservation and sustainable use of forests and watersheds has ranked among Honduran President Xiomara Castro’s top stated environmental priorities since she took office in January 2022, the... [Log in to read more]
