Resource information
This country note briefly summarizes
information relevant to both climate change and agriculture
in Honduras, with focus on policy developments (including
action plans and programs) and institutional make-up. Like
most countries in Latin America, Honduras has submitted one
national communication to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) with a second one
under preparation. Land use change and forestry are by far
the largest contributors to green house gas (GHG) emissions
in the country. The emission reduction potential of the
sector is large, but not sufficiently explored. Honduras
counts with the largest number of registered CDM projects in
Central America, 15 Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
projects, of which three are in the agricultural sector. It
is estimated that Central America produces less than 0.5
percent of global carbon emissions, but it is one the most
vulnerable regions to climate change related impacts on the
planet. In 2004, the United Nations identified Honduras
among the first 20 most vulnerable countries in the world in
terms of vulnerability to floods and the most vulnerable to
hurricanes. Honduras was also identified as the most
vulnerable country in Central America by the British society
Maplecroft in their study titled 'vulnerability index
to climate change.' Agriculture is highly vulnerable to
climate variability and weather extremes, this coupled with
problems of land degradation in the country. A greater
emphasis on reducing soil degradation, reforestation and
developing and applying adequate insurance mechanisms can be
placed for better management of public resources in light of
natural disasters in the agriculture sector.
