Field visits to Celaque National Park · Capacity building and workshops in rural communities

By Eugenia Lagutkina

Project

Designing nature-based solutions with an ethnic and gender-equity approach, to increase the resilience of rural mountain communities in protected natural areas affected by extreme weather events in Honduras

Client

Climate Technology Center Network (CTCN)

Partners

INCEBIO, MAPANCE

The OIKO team has begun conducting risk and vulnerability assessments as part of our CTCN-funded project in Honduras. The main work is taking place in the Celaque National Park in the west of the country. The OIKO and INCEBIO technical team, represented by Joe Ryan and Héctor Orlando Portillo Reyes, with MAPANCE support, is visiting three mountain indigenous communities of Malsincales, Rio Negro and Chimis Montaña.

Experts are conducting community meetings and collecting information on areas of greatest impact from hurricanes Eta and Iota. Through these activities, the team is mapping the risks and threats that have affected and are still affecting the community. The main purpose of this work is to raise public awareness of risks and build up capacity to tackle extreme weather events, such as landslides, and mitigate their impacts.

In September, our international team will hold a series of workshops for local communities, local governments, and the private sector. Each session will focus on a different aspect of preserving indigenous cultural heritage related to climate, biodiversity, resources and disaster risk management.

The mission of our project in Honduras is to boost mountain community resilience through integration; stakeholder engagement; and capacity building of indigenous groups, institutions, and local governments.