Earlier this month, Juan Lopez, an environmental activist who gained recognition for his protests against mining and hydroelectric projects in northern Honduras, was murdered. Lopez is far from the first Honduran activist targeted for trying to protect the country’s forests and rivers. To the contrary, Honduras has one of the highest murder rates for environmental defenders globally, with at least 148 activists murdered there between 2012-2023. In perhaps the highest-profile case, Berta Caceres, a celebrated Indigenous leader, was assassinated in 2016 for her opposition to a hydroelectric dam project.

The targeting of Honduras’ environmental activists is no coincidence. They often stand in the way of mining and development projects backed by powerful vested interests, in a country where corruption and weak rule of law have created a culture of impunity for both environmental destruction and violence against those seeking to prevent it.

But unlike previous administrations, which were often accused of ignoring or exacerbating environmental destruction—and in particular deforestation—the administration of President Xiomara Castro has taken a more proactive stance. Since taking office in 2022, Castro has declared a state of emergency for the country’s forests, and her administration has launched an ambitious “Zero Deforestation Strategy by 2029.”

However, given her government’s limitations, she is unlikely to succeed without actively supporting the efforts of the country’s endangered environmental activist groups.

Honduras has consistently ranked among the top 10 nations with the highest deforestation rates. Between 2002 and 2023, it lost roughly 4 million acres of total tree cover, including over 1.25 million acres, or 24 percent, of its humid primary forest.

A primary driver of deforestation is clearing land for agriculture and cattle ranching. Intentional fires to make room for crops and livestock have particularly affected areas like the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve. The illegal extraction and sale of valuable timber species, such as Honduran mahogany, has also significantly contributed to forest loss. Narco-trafficking activities also play a major role, with some estimates suggesting that cocaine trafficking is responsible for 15-30 percent of annual deforestation in Honduras, through the construction of clandestine airstrips, roads and other infrastructure by drug-trafficking groups. Finally, the illegal occupation of Indigenous lands for small-scale farming and logging strip communities of their traditional territories, disrupting sustainable forest management practices.

As noted, the Castro government’s current strategy aims to halt all deforestation in Honduras by the end of the decade, by implementing stricter regulations, deploying an “environmental protection battalion” of 8,000 troops and conducting operations to protect critical areas like the Rio Platano reserve. The plan also involves coordinating various government entities to tackle illegal logging and land-grabbing, allocating over $766 million for these efforts through 2028. Before the Castro administration’s initiative, around 97 percent of environmental crimes went unpunished in Honduras.

Military operations have involved curbing deforestation, especially in regions like La Mosquitia as well as the Rio Platano reserve. These operations include patrolling forest areas, dismantling illegal logging camps and seizing illegally harvested timber. As a result, between 2022 and 2023, deforestation within the core zone of the Rio Platano reserve was reduced by 66 percent. In addition, the government has set up checkpoints to control timber trafficking, conducted operations to remove illegal settlements and canceled extractive forest management plans.

However, the Honduran military rarely receives training for environmental protection or forest management. Its Ecosystem and Environmental Management Support Command does have specialized personnel, including forest engineers and biologists, and conducts training programs such as the International Fire Management Course. However, the focus of these efforts is primarily on disaster response rather than the broader aspects of sustainable forest management and conservation practices. This can lead to ineffective operations and a lack of understanding of the ecological nuances required to combat deforestation effectively, especially given the military’s limited resources and the vast area to be covered.

Relying on the military for environmental issues can also create the perception that the government views force as superior to sustainable community engagement and legal methods, which can alienate local communities and environmental activists. Military operations are also costly and divert resources from other, more sustainable and community-based approaches to forest management and protection.

In any case, despite these military and nonmilitary interventions, deforestation still outpaces the government’s efforts, in part due to systemic problems such as corruption, weak law enforcement and conflicting land use policies. The lack of coordination among various governmental agencies and the complex interplay of local and federal regulations, which sometimes contradict each other, further hamper deforestation efforts. Funding limitations also complicates enforcement, as governmental institutions lack the resources for regular inspections and follow-up actions against illegal deforestation activities.

This is where the country’s environmental activists and Indigenous groups come in, as they can help address the gaps in the government’s deforestation efforts. These groups have historically played a crucial role in exposing corruption and illegal deforestation-related activities, while also mobilizing local communities to protect their lands and attracting international support and scrutiny of destructive mining and development projects. Environmental activists and organizations often form “territorial watch committees” to patrol and protect forested lands from encroachment.

One of the country’s most influential environmental organizations is the Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of Honduras, or COPINH, which has been leading the way in advocating for Indigenous rights and environmental protection. Another organization, Moskitia Asla Takanka, or MASTA, represents the Miskitu people in La Mosquitia, and focuses on defending Indigenous land rights and promoting sustainable development within their communities. The Association of Water Committees of the South of Intibuca, or AJAASSPIB, dedicates itself to protecting water resources in the Intibuca region and stopping deforestation in watersheds, which is crucial for local communities’ water supply.

Organizations like MASTA and local environmental boards also engage in reforestation and agroforestry projects to restore degraded lands. Crucially, they promote the cultivation of native trees alongside crops to provide sustainable livelihoods while protecting the environment. Indigenous communities like the Miskitu, Pech and Lenca have long practiced sustainable land use and forest conservation, relying on their ancestral knowledge to manage their territories and maintain the ecological balance.

However, as Caceres’ and Lopez’s murders underscore, environmental organizations and Indigenous communities often face significant resistance and danger without adequate government protection. According to Human Rights Watch, from January through August 2023, 236 human rights defenders faced harassment, threats or attacks in Honduras, and at least 13 were killed. Seventy-five percent of those attacked and over 90 percent of those killed were environmental or land defenders.

Indigenous leaders from Rio Platano believe they can conserve and reforest the entire reserve if allowed to manage it independently. However, they have faced significant challenges in gaining management rights, including a lack of governmental support, criminalization and persecution. Despite favorable rulings from international bodies like the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in support of Indigenous land rights, the Honduran government has been slow to implement these decisions, leading to ongoing conflicts and violence against community leaders.

Environmental activists in Honduras often gather support and resources by collaborating with international organizations like Global Witness and Amnesty International to amplify their message. They have also built grassroots support within local communities affected by deforestation, while using traditional and social media to share their stories and attract attention to their cause. Despite these efforts, however, environmental activists continue to face significant challenges and risks in their work to combat deforestation and protect the country’s natural resources.

Given the limitations in the government’s military and nonmilitary strategies to halt deforestation, it should shift its efforts to focus on supporting the efforts of the country’s environmental activists, by offering grants, subsidies and legal protections to the organizations and individuals fighting deforestation. To this end, it’s important to have strong legal frameworks, like the Escazu Agreement, in place to safeguard environmental defenders from harassment and violence. The Escazu Agreement is a landmark regional treaty to enhance environmental democracy, public participation and protection of environmental defenders in Latin America and the Caribbean. In addition to signing it, the Honduran government must also establish a dedicated task force or body to ensure environmental activists’ security.

Collaborative management models for protected areas will also be necessary. By working together, environmental groups and government agencies can combine local knowledge with government resources. In addition, the government and international organizations should offer training programs in sustainable forest management, legal rights and advocacy to activists and local communities to empower them to be more effective in their efforts. Finally, all policymaking processes should include environmental activists and organizations, to ensure that laws and regulations reflect the realities on the ground to effectively stop deforestation.

Increased government support for environmental organizations would in turn align Honduras with international priorities and attract more funding for the country’s deforestation efforts. However, such funding will depend on the government taking concrete actions, not just making promises. In particular, the Castro administration must demonstrate a sincere commitment to and tangible progress in anti-corruption efforts and environmental activist safety.

The government’s current efforts may yield short-term results against the illegal activities causing deforestation, but they will not be sustainable or effective in the long term. Instead, empowering environmental activists and local communities is critical. This approach can foster more sustainable and inclusive forest management strategies, with local needs and knowledge at their core.