Date established: 2000

Partner: Honduran Association for Development (AHDESA)

Number of trees produced (through 2010): 61,500

Program history: TWP has established watershed protection, crop diversification, and tree nursery projects in Honduras. We have concentrated these efforts in the Guacerique watershed outside of Tegucigalpa. The Guacerique is a very critical watershed because it supplies 30% of the drinking water for the people of Tegucigalpa.  To help protect this vital resource, TWP and AHDESA have been working with communities there to protect forest, water, and soil resources.

As part of our efforts in the Guacerique, TWP has initiated a variety of projects. Like many of our projects, TWP first initiated community tree nursery projects with various communities. After the tree nurseries were established, we began crop diversification, soil conservation, small-scale irrigation, and latrine projects in this region to help these communities protect their natural resources.

TWP and AHDESA have also worked to protect mangrove forests in the Gulf of Fonseca on the south coast of Honduras. Mangrove forests world-wide have been reduced by half in the last fifty years due to cutting of trees for fuel wood, shrimp farming, salt extraction, and urban development. The loss of mangroves is a serious environmental issue: mangrove forests serve as buffers from tropical storms, reduce erosion, and help sustain the biodiversity of these fragile ecosystems. Each acre of mangrove also produces between 1,000 - 10,000 pounds of fish and shellfish, as the mangrove roots act as a protected breeding ground marine life. By planting trees in this area, local community members do not have to cut the mangrove forests to meet their needs for wood.