Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua

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Society of American Foresters

International Society of Tropical Foresters

1 Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua

Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua

Glenn Galloway, CATIE

Country Data and Forest Types

Although Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua are relatively small contiguous countries in Central America, they are characterized by a wide host of ecological conditions, forest types and diverse social and cultural settings. In general terms, the major forest types of all three countries are conifer forests, broadleaf forests and narrow swaths of mangrove forests along some sections of their respective coastlines (Table 1).

Table 1. Estimates of areas under different forest types in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua in thousands of hectares (CCAD 1991; Harcourt and Sayer 1996)

Overall, tropical and subtropical broadleaf forests predominate in terms of area, although in Honduras one finds nearly equal distributions of broadleaf and conifer forests. The greatest concentration of broadleaf forests in Guatemala are found in the northern Peten region, while in Honduras and Nicaragua, broadleaf forests are distributed primarily along the moister Caribbean side of these countries. Conifer forests, in contrast, are more common in the hilly, drier interior regions, except for stands of Caribbean pine found in some regions of the Caribbean lowlands. The Pacific side of Central America is much drier and some remnants of dry, tropical and semitropical forests can be found, although these forests have been subject to extreme pressure for a considerable period of time. Finally, although the mangrove forests are quite limited in extension, they fulfill extremely important ecological functions and provide a wide host of products to local populations living in their proximity.

From a purely land-use perspective, a the largest proportion of the land area is considered best suited for forests. In Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua this percentage is estimated to be 51, 87.7 and 50% respectively. Deforestation, however, has markedly reduced the actual forest area to 36% in Guatemala, 41% in Honduras and 43% in Nicaragua (FAO 2005), and forest loss continues to this day (Table 2).

Table 2. Forest resources in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua are recent estimates derived principally from FAO (2001).

Current Issues

Deforestation in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua has many causes, some social and cultural in origin, others due to governmental policies and institutional shortcomings. With growing populations and increasing demand for land for agricultural production, forests have often been removed to make way for crop production on lands not well-suited for that purpose. On an even larger scale, huge tracts of forest have been and continue to be converted to pastures for extensive cattle production. Although forest harvesting alone seldom leads to forest loss, land-use conversion, especially to pastures often follows timber harvesting, since access roads facilitate penetration into selectively-logged forests.

There are many examples of governmental policies that have led to deforestation. For example, the Guatemalan government encouraged colonization of the Peten region, in part to create opportunities for persons displaced by civil war. The resulting influx of people into the Peten led to rapid forest loss and land degradation. In the San Juan River region of Nicaragua adjacent to Costa Rica, forested land was distributed in thirty hectare tracts to landless families following that countries civil war. The colonists quickly removed forest cover for cattle production and subsistence agriculture, the predominant production systems utilized in their regions of origin.

Indigenous groups, in contrast, have lived in the tropical forests along the Atlantic side of Honduras and Nicaragua for centuries, without diminishing them. Indeed, these groups depend on forests for their traditional livelihoods including subsistence agriculture in lowland sites along river ways, hunting and fishing. In many areas, these groups are facing increasing colonization into their traditional lands, in large part due to an inadequate definition of land tenure and recognition of traditional rights.

Initiatives for Sustainable Forestry

A number of promising initiatives are underway which seek to stem forest loss and increase the contribution of forest production to local and national economies. Many forest management programs have been implemented with rural communities and indigenous groups, which seek to increase their capabilities to take on the complex task of forest management and become more successful from a commercial perspective. The best example of this approach is the Community Concession initiative in the Multiple Use Zone of the Mayan Biosphere in the Peten, Guatemala. Before community groups were given the opportunity to apply for concessions in this region, deforestation, illegal logging, frequent fires and destruction of archaeological sites characterized the Peten. Now nearly 500, 000 hectares are under management, certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) (Carrera et al. 2004). Efforts now concentrate on improving the commercial success of these concessions and on using a portion of the resources generated to contribute to local development. Another challenge involves expanding markets for non-traditional species to reduce commercial dependency on mahogany, a species often quite limited in the concessions. Fires and illegal logging have been decreased in the community concessions.

Efforts to encourage sustainable forest management are also underway in Honduras and Nicaragua. Social forestry in both conifer and tropical broadleaf forests has been promoted in Honduras since the early 1980s. Again efforts initially concentrated on technical aspects of management, including the development of simplified management plans. Gradually, more emphasis has been given to commercial aspects of forest management and rural enterprise development. In Nicaragua, several indigenous groups have become involved in forest management, and in some cases, in the processing of timber. Some of these groups have established commercial agreements with private companies to market their timber. Again, land tenure problems, weak local institutions and deficient infrastructure represent daunting obstacles to the success of these initiatives (Galloway and Stoian 2006).

In all three countries, forest plantations have played a secondary role to natural forest exploitation and management. Nonetheless, current policy in Guatemala seeks to encourage the establishment of 15-20,000 hectares per year through the use of incentives to generate wood and other products for forest industry and local consumption. A new policy (2006) has been announced in Honduras which will require that for every tree harvested, three must be planted. Although the details of implementation of this policy have yet to be defined, seed banks and nurseries are already experiencing rapidly increasing demand for their products. In Nicaragua small scale plantations along the Pacific side of the country, of Eucalyptus spp. have played an important role firewood production and wood for local consumption for the last two decades.

Finally, an important source of tree products and services in all three countries stems from their incorporation into agricultural systems and landscapes. Trees utilized as shade in coffee plantations are an important example. Live fences and boundary-line plantings are also important sources of wood, and also serve as corridors for birds and wildlife. Small-scale plantations and fence-line plantings in southern Guatemala have helped reduce the pressure on mangrove forests, which until recently were the sole source of wood for the drying of tobacco, an important market for poles in neighboring Mexico.

Without question, a considerable number of promising experiences in forestry and agroforestry have been accomplished in all three countries. Nonetheless, destructive pressure on natural forests persists. Lessons learned indicate the central role local communities can and should play in the conservation and sustainable management of forest resources. The consolidation of this important role depends in large part on the commercial viability of these activities and an enabling policy and institutional environment that facilitates local participation. Capacity building through training and technical assistance has also been seen to be paramount to success.

References and Further Reading

Carrera, F., Stoian, D., Campos, J.J., Morales, J., and G. Pinelo (In Press). “Analysis of the Forest Certification Process in Guatemala: Progress, Achievements and Challenges. Yale, New Haven. Symposium “Forest Certification in Developing Countries in Transition.” 2004.

Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD). Plan de Acción Forestal Tropical para Centroamérica: Documento base. 1991.

FAO 2001. Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000 (on-line). Rome. http://www.fao.org/forestry/fo/fra/index.jsp (14 April 2006)

FAO. 2005. The State of the World’s Forests 2005. Available at: www.fao.org/forestry/index.jsp.

Galloway, G. and D. Stoian. “Barriers to Sustainable Forestry in Central America and Promising Initiatives to Overcome Them.” (In Press). Journal of Sustainable Forestry (2006).

Harcourt, Caroline S. and Sayer, Jeffrey A., Editors. The conservation atlas of tropical forests. International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN): 1996.

Guatemala_Honduras_Nicagua_V3; 22 April 2007