Environmentalists in Honduras say they feel threatened

Defending the environment has become a high-risk task in many parts of the world, but according to experts, few places are as dangerous right now as Honduras.

For the non-governmental organization Global Witness, which monitors the exploitation of natural resources globally, the Central American country is among the top five in terms of risks for environmentalists.

So far in 2022, there are almost 90 Honduran environmental defenders who have filed complaints, according to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

“More than 88 people who have denounced attacks of all kinds, harassment, threats and even death for defending those natural resources that belong to the country,” Isabel Albaladejo, OHCHR representative in Honduras, told the Voice of America.

Global Witness counts the murder of at least 120 Honduran environmentalists since 2010, for which organizations in the sector demand a response to the threats and deaths.

“For Honduras, it is urgent to adopt measures to guarantee life and a safe environment for environmental work,” Laura Palmessi, an environmental activist, told the media.

Those attacks were related to the exploitation of forest resources, mining and agribusiness, hydroelectric dams and other infrastructure.

From the government they guarantee a new environmental and protection policy for defenders. Lucky Medina Minister of the Environment said that “for this year there are funds of 33 million dollars for the program of restoration of hydrographic basins and humanitarian protection”

Among the murdered Honduran environmentalists, Berta Cáceres is mainly remembered. For her murder in 2016 was sentenced in June spent 22 years in prison the last of eight convicts.

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