Water resources management in Honduras
Water resources management (WRM) in Honduras is a work in progress and at times has advanced; however, unstable investment and political climates, strong weather phenomena, poverty, lack of adequate capacity, and deficient infrastructures have and will continue to challenge developments to water resource management.
[2] Of a historical note, research and subsequent literature of Water Resources Management in Honduras from the Late Classic period (A.D. 600-900) in Copán, a water-rich region of western Honduras, have suggested that lagoons located in Copán's urban residential sectors may have been conceptualized, utilized, and maintained by the inhabitants of surrounding domestic groups.
Early 20th century developments in Honduran water resources management were in some ways a response to an expanding export market for bananas during the twenties.
These irrigated banana fields were located in the fertile valleys of Sula, Aguán y La Ceiba along the Atlantic coast.
[2] And today, irrigation is still very important for the agriculture sector of Honduras as it provides for internal consumption and seeks to amplify exports in non-traditional crops.
[5] In spite of ongoing efforts to improve water resources management in Honduras, many challenges continue to exist such as insufficient employment generation, unfavorable investment climate, overvalued currency, lack of credit, high commercial interest rates, deficient infrastructure (water delivery, electricity, communications, and roads), weak legal institutions, inadequate education and workforce productivity, burdensome bureaucratic obstacles, and an unstable political climate.
[2] Source for tables above: FAO 2000 Groundwater availability is not precise in Honduras, however, wells located in the lowlands of the Atlantic coast historically have good yields and are able to sustainably supplement water needs there.
[2] In 1973, CEPAL (La Comisión Económica para América Latina), estimated that 9.09 km3 of renewable groundwater could be sustainably exploited for use.
[2] Water pollution to both surface and groundwater is primarily due to agricultural run-off and untreated effluents from mining activities.
Honduras produces coffee for export along the Atlantic coast and many of the pesticides used become toxic effluents that contaminate rivers and seep into groundwater tables.
Heavy metals that escape from mining operations along the Gulf of Fonseca have become a problem and untreated wastewater originating from large towns and cities has often been discharged into nearby waterways, especially in the case of Lake Yojoa.
In addition to Yojoa, there are five dams and reservoirs with the purposes of storing water for consumer consumption, irrigation, and hydroelectric power operations.
[12] In response to the continuous increase in water utilization, a "25-year master plan" is being promoted by the Honduran government for both irrigation and drainage with total investment of US$143 million.
Geographically situated in the tropics, Honduras receives large totals of rain from powerful storms and hurricanes, and flooding is an important concern.
Drainage problems in Honduras are most prevalent in the Patuca, Aguán, Plátano, Ulúa, and Chamelecón river basins and cover approximately 340,000 ha.
This growth in hydropower potential resulted from the efforts of former president, Ricardo Mauduro, whom set up a Special Commission for the Development of Hydroelectric Projects.
[2] El Cajon, as of 2001, was the largest civil engineering project ever undertaken and produced between 45 and 50 percent of the consumed electricity (650-700 kW in 2000) within Honduras.
[8] Jon Strand, professor of economics at the University of Oslo in Norway, released a paper in 1998 on water pricing in Honduras and its capital city of Tegucigalpa.
A notable strategy of the framework is to reduce poverty through proper management of water resources and by promoting sustainable development.
There are a total of 101 articles in the law and the newly created National Water Authority (Autoridad Nacional de Agua) was the principal decision by legislators.
This type of management promotes administration of water, its land and related resources, so as to maximize social and economic well-bring.
A major component of the CONASA mission is to set national policy, strategies, and plans regarding coverage of water services.
No international agreements exist with the aforementioned countries to regulate the joint utilization and management of shared water resources.
Deforestation, poor water resource management and climate change may all factor into the future health of these protected areas.
[35] Yet climate change is expected to bring even greater weather variability to Honduras with less precipitation overall but more powerful storms and heavy rain during hurricane season spawning landslides and floods.
Tegucigalpa and neighboring Comayagüela (which together form the Honduran capital) are the most affected, due to deforestation and the increased vulnerability to landslides.
According to the first national communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the following future impacts from climate change are expected in Honduras: 1) Temperature increases will occur that may alter precipitation patterns and irrigation schedules with the highest temperature increases in May and June.
[2] Without forest in place, rains have eroded large areas of land and rivers are carrying valuable topsoil downstream.
The Canadian International Development Agency is supporting the Honduran water sector in the following avenues: Sources: USAID has implemented a four-year, US$23 million program called MIRA (Manejo Integrado de Recursos Ambientales) or Integrated Management of Environmental Resources.
MIRA promotes stakeholder dialogues that involve local authorities, private businesses, other donors, NGOs, and the beneficiary communities.
