February 1998
Español/Spanish version
The proposed Patuca National Park would be located along the border with Nicaragua between the similarly proposed Tawahka Asangni Biosphere Reserve in Honduras and the existing Bosawas Natural Reserve in Nicaragua. The establishment of the Patuca National Park is extremely important for conservation in Honduras and Central America since its location makes it an essential link of the Central American Biological Corridor. Furthermore, with a proposed area of 2220 km2, it would be the largest national park in the country and the third largest protected area next to the Río Plátano and the Tawahka Asangni Biosphere Reserves. These two reserves together with the Bosawas Natural Reserve and the Patuca National Park would comprise the largest continuos block of protected areas in Central America covering an area greater than 20,000 km2.
The Patuca National Park is of special importance for the conservation of biodiversity in the country since it is one of the few lowland protected areas-most protected areas in Honduras are cloud forests on mountain tops. Also, the broadleaf rainforest (which covers most of Patuca National Park) is the most endangered forest in Honduras since it is disappearing at the fastest rate and has the slowest rate of regeneration. The greatest biodiversity in the country is found in high precipitation, warm lowlands with some topographical variation such as those found in the proposed Patuca National Park.
In November of 1993, President Rafael Callejas signed a Presidential Agreement stating the Honduran government's intention to protect this valuable area. COHDEFOR (the government agency in charge of protected areas in Honduras), in recognition of the park's extreme importance, has included it in its list of 33 priority protected areas among the 103 existing in the country. Now, it is up to the National Congress to issue the decree that will legally declare it a national park. Yet, Congress is stalling the issue to avoid controversy over the park's establishment.
Unfortunately, the so-called "agricultural frontier" has reached the Patuca National Park area which means it is being degraded for economic interests, mainly cattle ranching. Large areas of pristine tropical rainforest are being cut down for the financial gain of economically and politically powerful individuals including high army officers and government officials. The area slated to become the park is being lost to the economic interests of a few while the common interests of natural resource conservation and the protection of the country's biodiversity are not being represented.
International organizations such as The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the German Government (GTZ) have shown an interest in working in the Patuca National Park area, yet they are reluctant to do so due to the lack of legal backing in the form of a legislative decree-any investment in conservation could be easily lost since the legal status of the area is undefined. The Honduran Indigenous Tawahka Federation (FITH) also advocates the legal declaration of the Patuca National Park as a way to slow down the advance of the agricultural frontier. Moreover, they consider that, in the future, the park could become part of a system of United Nations Biosphere Reserves which would include Río Plátano, Bosawas, and the Tawahka Reserves.
Likewise, MARENA (the government agency in charge of protected areas in Nicaragua) has demonstrated an interest in coordinating activities with Honduras in the protection and management of what would be the binational protected area consisting of the Bosawas Reserve and the Patuca National Park. Yet, they are waiting for Honduras to legally recognize, as they have already done, the importance of this area. This project provides a unique opportunity for Honduras and Nicaragua to cooperate in a worthy endeavor and coincides with the renewed interest in the political union of Central America.
We should be reminded that the presidents of the isthmus committed themselves in the XII Central American Summit (Managua 1992) through the Central American Biodiversity Agreement to advance initiatives for environmental cooperation in the region such as the Central American Biological Corridor. The Central American Commission for Development and the Environment (CCAD) was created to address such issues. Considering that the Honduras-Nicaragua border zone is the only one in Central America lacking an international protected area, the creation of the Patuca National Park is precisely the type of initiative the CCAD should support.
The formal process to establish the Patuca National Park will have to occur with the consultation of all interested parties including the surrounding communities, indigenous groups, land owners, conservation and development NGOs, and the Government of Honduras. A management plan can then be drafted and funds sought to implement it. However, this process can only start when the National Congress, leaving aside individual interests, issues the decree legally declaring the Patuca National Park.
Once established, the Patuca National Park will become not only a jewel of the Honduran system of protected areas with which to promote ecotourism and the environmentally sustainable development of the area, but it will also become a key piece of the Central American Biological Corridor that will greatly help us conserve our biological wealth.
Alexis Leonel Aguilar Henriquez is a doctoral student at UCLA and can be reached via email at alexagui@ucla.edu.
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