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Two years after a 2024 decree banned mining in protected areas and ordered restoration of Carlos Escaleras National Park's core zone, Honduras has not executed the law or allocated resources to dismantle mining infrastructure, while local officials warn a new agroindustrial law could weaken protections.

Honduras's College of Biologists has criticized Decree 107-2026, which accelerates environmental permits for agribusiness, energy, and tourism projects, arguing the law weakens environmental protections, limits public participation, and risks irreversible damage to ecosystems and protected areas.

Civil-society organizations and lawmakers in Cortés are challenging the Forestry Conservation Institute's plan to redefine the boundaries of the El Merendón protected forest reserve, arguing it would benefit private real-estate projects while the reserve supplies 80% of San Pedro Sula's water and is vital to regional biodiversity.

Honduras's Forest Conservation Institute (ICF) confirmed that the El Merendón protected reserve near San Pedro Sula will remain under municipal management following public opposition to a proposal that would have changed its legal status.