Honduras at the moment does not present serious problems of desertification, but it has zones that are being affected by long droughts causing a process of degradation of the soils which are much eroded. In Honduras as in other countries, the reasons that aggravate the desertification and drought are the climatic variability and the human activities. The deforestation has altered the hydrological regime of the country, causing big floods, droughts and high erosion levels; at the same time, the cultivations in lands with superior slopes to 30% without any type of works of conservation of soils, cause a strong water erosion. The desertification and drought undermines the productivity of the land and contributes to the increase the poverty, therefore, it provokes disorders in the food production affecting the economy.

The WAFLA regions of Honduras are located to the south of the country in the department “El Paraíso”, with three municipalities: Texiguat (with the community El Comercio), Liure (with the community Monte Grande) and Vado Ancho (with the community San José). The above mentioned communities cross annually a period of drought of 6 months (November to May) for what they have been qualified inside the range of dry sub-humid ecosystems by average rainfalls of 900 mm per year and by a predominant topography of strongly waved to scarped by soils of scanty capacity of infiltration once saturated.  The degradation of the soils due to the effects of the water erosion is one of the environmental problems that more affects to these communities, this is due to the wrong agricultural practices that have been come implementing through the time together with the adverse effects of the climate that have hit to the zone as long droughts and floods, nevertheless there exist experiences of productive systems where they include the tree as another component of the system that has allowed to resist the adverse conditions of the climate and that they possess a great potential to recover degraded soils and improving the standards of living of the population.

In the WAFLA zones of Honduras the principal practice of management of the natural resources consists of the utilization of agricultural practices appropriate like not burning and the combination of trees with annual crops taking advantage of the stubbles of trees and crops to preserve moisture in the soil. Few water resources exist in the studied communities of Honduras, simultaneously the above mentioned resources are being threatened for the long summers that provoke water rationings to the inhabitants of the communities, it is for this reason that the trees play a basic function in the conservation of this one water sources.

 

The predominant agroforestry system is the dispersed trees in annual crops (Corn, Bean and maicillo), with predominance of fruit trees and fixing species of nitrogen. Inside the principal contributions to the production of these Agroforestry systems we can find as principal products grains for familiar consumption of corn (Zea mays), beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) and maicillo (Sorghum bicolor) fruits of Spondia, Mangifera and Anona reticulata and as secondary products we have: pastures for equine, firewood and manure. These systems in addition contribute with the biodiversity, in the capture of carbon, control of the erosion, conservation of the water sources, it produces major quantity of biomass, incorporates nitrogen in the soil.

PESA FAO

SERNA- Secretaria Recursos Naturales y Ambientes.

SAG- Secretaria de Agricultura y Ganadería.

AFE-COHDEFOR- Administración Forestales del Estado Cooperación Hondureña de Desarrollo Forestal.