Home |
Site Map |
Oil Industry |
Honduras |
Trujillo Bay
On the north shore of Honduras, Central America, lies Trujillo Bay, a beautiful bay with high mountains reaching right down to the sea. Trujillo was settled by the Garifuna Indians noted for their dancing and food specialties. Before that it was the site for one of Christopher Columbus' landings. Now it is being developed as a tourist destination.
At the beginning of this year a group of Honduran businessmen (Honduran Petrochemical Corporation, S.A.) petitioned the Honduran government to build a $2 billion refinery in this developing area. Tentative approval was given, and just as word got out to the press, the people of Trujillo and surrounding communities immediately expressed their shock. They feel it could lead to pollution of the bay as well as allowing ocean currents to pollute other areas as far away as Belize and even the Yucatan peninsula.
Those who support the refinery say it will provide much needed economic growth. The refinery owners promised to subsidize local gasoline consumption and provide all the asphalt needed for road construction. They also said the refinery would provide massive employment. The Honduran government has stated that an "environmental impact evaluation" must be submitted and that construction will not be permitted until a study is approved. As yet the report has not been filed.
Those who oppose an oil refinery in the Trujillo area say that it poses a variety of environmental threats. Not only would an oil spill be catastrophic to the growing regional tourism, but the nearby Capiro and Guaimoreto refuges are home to a wide variety of native species and well as families dependent upon the fishing industry. "When oil is refined, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and sulphur dioxide are emitted into the air, where they heat up and pollute the atmosphere. Other gases can cause acid rain and ecological imbalances. But a refinery would affect more than the air. Marine life would be at risk from the tank washes oil ships perform at sea and the greatest danger of all, an oil spill, would be a long lasting tragedy that would harm not only the people, the economy and the wildlife of Trujillo, but the Honduran people as well, both directly for several years and indirectly for a lifetime." (Honduras This Week, April 30, 1994, page 4)
Architect Arturo Suarez, a private development consultant says "tourism could generate $18 million annually and would offer other benefits like jobs, agricultural growth and increased fiscal revenues." He also said that Trujillo Bay has more tourism potential than other more popular sites like Belize, Cancun and Costa Rica's Culebra Bay. Residents feared that economically speaking this refinery would provide few jobs for the local inhabitants.
Instead, the people of Trujillo wish to protect their natural resources for what they see as a more sustainable investment - tourism. They feel a refinery would frighten away tourists and potential tourism investors. "We're not against economic growth in Trujillo," said Chirinos, who is a former Trujillo mayor and president of the Trujillo Ecological Committee. "But we want to protect the beauty and ecology of the bay."
Home |
About |
Advertise! |
Books |
Central America |
Ecotourism |
Headlines
Learn Spanish |
Mexico |
Media |
Site Map |
South America |
World Travel |
Updates