One of the last great rainforest areas in Central America is acutely threatened by deforestation. Poverty, greed, and the indifference of the Government, that alone in the National Park of Patuca, Honduras, every day an area of 92 football fields slash and saw the victim fall lead despite designated protected areas. If this process continues unabated, the Park is completely cut off with an unimaginably large for German conditions area of 3,700 square kilometres in 17 years. Naturefund works for two years with the Asociacion Patuca, to stop the deforestation. The first results are already visible.
Within this short period of time 19 nurseries in the National Park Patuca could be built, where currently 30,000 tree saplings to grow. Now, in the rainy season in October and November, these seedlings selected, bald area planted. The Asociacion Patuca has early 2000 transfer get and tried currently with 15 employees, the national park management of the National Park protect. A true Herculean task and the area is vanishingly small given the size of the National Park which can be reforested with 30,000 trees. Yet Naturefund and the Asociacion Patuca have achieved more in the short time of cooperation, perhaps even the ultimate.
Slowly, very slowly begins a process of rethinking among people to use? Many families live in the National Park itself moved years ago by the Government there approved and then on his own. They are poor, know only livestock and agriculture. A abgeholzter rain forest land and thus power and a source to survive means to them. A rain forest abgeholzter is so good. But the soil is fertile only a few years, the strong rains wash out it and in the summer the water sources dry up more and more often, because there are no more roots that store the water in the soil. So far, the solution was to cut down more rainforest. Now Naturefund and the Asociacion Patuca have started to show the families in the Park in many discussions, such as an intact rain forest for them is important and what opportunities for example, cocoa, mango, and Cashewbaume instead of cattle and corn, to achieve food and also an income. Together, the nurseries were rebuilt, where the people could always decide which trees should be planted. This is important, because to maintain the trees later and protect. The seedlings are also numerous jungle trees. You are planted around the water sources, with the aim of permanently securing the water supply. Quietly, in the words and discussions is to hear that something changed. People now talk about ‘their’ National Park and visits the seedlings appear proud and they are grown as well. A good tree is not only abgeholzter. Naturefund and the Asociacion Patuca decided therefore on last weekend, to continue the cooperation and to increase the number of trees on 50,000 units.