Honduras News

Below are summaries of the most popular stories by our Spanish language service, Mongabay Latam, from the week of April 30 – May 6. Among the top articles: more than…

GUALCINCE, Honduras — The Lenca call it a sacrificial stone, where their indigenous  ancestors went to make offerings to deities. A triangle of rock with different circles inscribed on its surface,…

On March 2 Honduran authorities arrested a hydroelectric company executive they say orchestrated the murder of indigenous activist Berta Cáceres two years earlier to the day. David Castillo Mejía is…

A recent report tracking the health of the Mesoamerican Reef indicates that conservation efforts might be helping to turn the tide for the reef itself and the people who depend…

BOSAWÁS BIOSPHERE RESERVE, Nicaragua - To get to Napoleón’s house requires traveling on a gravel road near Siuna on a mule. It is the last dwelling before penetrating the core…

Deforestation is a big source of atmospheric carbon, one that is increasingly targeted by climate change mitigation projects around the world. Now, even forests in protected areas can be “significant”…

Global Witness, a London-based NGO, published a report yesterday examining the involvement of government officials and foreign aid in violent conflicts over mining, hydroelectric, tourism, and palm oil projects in Honduras.…

n a Tuesday in March, indigenous activist Nelson García was shot in the face in northwest Honduras. The next day, in Guatemala, unknown attackers found environmentalist Walter Méndez outside his…

The risk of murder is higher for environmental activists and wildlife officers than for police officers. Protecting the planet is a dangerous job. Schoolyard massacres and suicide bombers make the…

Two weeks ago, the activist Berta Cáceres was shot and killed while she slept in her home, in the city of La Esperanza, in western Honduras.The news of her assassination travelled around the world…

If you were to fly over Central America on a small plane, from north to south, starting in Guatemala and ending in Panama, you'd be able to see isolated yet…

Berta Cáceres' colleagues allegedly kept a eulogy for her for years, one they never hoped to use. "Her murder would not surprise [them]," read last year's Goldman Environmental Prize announcement, published when Cáceres…

An assessment of ecosystem health in the Mesoamerican Reef found that marine protected areas (MPAs) are aiding greatly in its recovery as coral cover slowly expanding. Coral cover in the…

The United Nations today announced 21 winners of the 2015 Equator Prize, a prestigious award that recognizes community-led environmental initiatives. The winners, selected from a pool of 1,461 nominations across…

Forest conversion for agriculture in Colombia. Photos by Rhett A. Butler. Over 62 million hectares (240,000 square miles) of forest across Latin America — an area roughly the size of…

Residents of El Eden, one of the 28 Pico Bonito communities that banded together to protect their water supply. Photo credit: Pat Goudvis. There hasn't been much good news out…

Soy field in the Brazilian Amazon. Again this year, Brazil has the highest number of murders of environmental and land defenders. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler. The assassination, murder, and…

Media coverage of ruins raises controversy among scientists, but leads to stepped-up protection efforts in long-neglected region Temple at Tikal, a Mayan city in Guatemala. Photo by: Rhett A. Butler.…

Click charts to enlarge Loss of tropical forests accelerated roughly 60 percent during the 2000s, argues a paper published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The findings contradict previous research…

Advancements allow on-the-ground genetic analysis, can be used by scientists and novices alike For decades, genetic analysis has been limited to the laboratory domain. It required heavy, expensive equipment, and…

David Reyes plunges his hand into a black smelly liquid at the bottom of a cut-off plastic jug tied around a palm tree and pulls out a dead horned beetle.…

In 2006, Mexico intensified its security strategy, forming an inhospitable environment for drug trafficking organizations (also known as DTOs) within the nation. The drug cartels responded by creating new trade…

A camera trap survey along the Sikre River in Honduras has discovered that the region is home to a menagerie of rare mammals, including giant anteaters. The survey, published in…

From massive hotel development through the agriculture industry, humans are destroying the second largest barrier reef in the world: the Mesoamerican Reef. Although global climate change and its effects on…

One-hundred and fifty years after a treaty with England granted the Miskito people rights over their land--a treaty which was never fully respected--the government of Honduras has officially handed over…

A male Bothriechis guifarroi, the newly discovered green palm-pitviper from Honduras. Photo credit: Josiah H. Townsend A stunning new species of pit-viper has been discovered in the cloud forest of…

One-hundred-and-ninety-seven illegal loggers across a dozen Central and South American countries have been arrested during INTERPOL's first strike against widespread forestry crime. INTERPOL, or The International Criminal Police Organization, worked…

Located in a mountainous area near the border with Guatemala, Cusuco National Park in Honduras is recognized by researchers as a critical refuge for endangered amphibians in a country that…

Latin American countries lose 4% of dry forests in 9 years Click image to enlarge Countries across Latin America lost 78,000 square kilometers of subtropical and tropical dry broadleaf forests…

Before and after satellite images of flooding in Ayutthaya Province, Thailand. Photo by: NASA. The year 2011 has presented the world with a shocking increase in irregular weather and disasters…