Management of the Cusuco Cloud Forests in Honduras

The main objective of the forest research programme in Honduras is to complete standard surveying effort on a range of biological groups from 150+ sites, spread across the rainforest and cloud forest of Cusuco National Park. The Operation Wallacea teams produce an annual ‘state of Cusuco National Park’ report, to assist with its management. In addition, social science teams work in villages in the park’s buffer zone, to assess the village economies and social structures, and how the local people interact with the park. Plans have also been proposed for improving ecotourism usage of the Park.

These data are being used to support a $1 million GEF application in conjunction with the UNDP to establish Cusuco National Park as a best-practice example for forest management in Honduras. The basis of this application, as for the similar Indonesian project is to agree a contract with each buffer zone community that commits the entire community to no logging or hunting and maintaining the current forest/farm boundaries. In exchange the contracted villages receive investment in businesses designed to increase their income.

From 2008 management of the expedition logistics was devolved to a Honduran NGO (Expediciones y Servicios Ambientales de Cusuco - ESAC), so that the facilities built up by Operation Wallacea in the park can be used outside the Operation Wallacea season. This will increase ecotourism income for the buffer zone communities. In addition, progress has been made on obtaining higher prices for villagers in the buffer zone for products such as coffee, using the Wildlife Conservation products scheme.