Forest Protection

National Congress member Juan Sauceda of Colón warned that deforestation could intensify future droughts and called for forest protection and adaptation measures such as silvopastoral systems and livestock feed reserves.

The Public Ministry's environmental prosecutors arrested eight people caught clearing protected forest in Esquías, Comayagua, to plant crops; satellite monitoring had flagged the site.

Military police arrested two suspects for illegal logging and seized a chainsaw in the Lagunitas sector of Santa Bárbara, recovering about 2.5 acres of mixed forest cleared for coffee cultivation.

A proposal by National Congress member Carlos Cano would create a pilot program to protect Olancho's forests and water resources while generating up to 345 forestry jobs through fire prevention, forest management, and restoration work, funded by a planned L168 million (about $6.7 million) budget from multiple sources.

Military and police seized 565 board feet of illegally logged cedar wood in Quimistán, Santa Bárbara, following anonymous reports of environmental crimes and illegal forest harvesting in the region.

An Environmental Protection Battalion patrol in Las Agujas, Catacamas, Olancho stopped the illegal felling of about 98 mixed hardwood trees following a citizen report; two chainsaws were seized and the suspects fled.