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exacerbated
by the lack of flood control infrastructure and
flood warning systems. To stabilize the hillsides
of critical watersheds in 34 municipalities, USAID
is supporting local NGOs and the corresponding
municipal governments in implementing sustainable
management practices in 15,100 hectares of agricultural
land and 18,500 hectares of forests. The 34 municipalities,
with assistance from USAID and the NGOs, are also
developing micro-watershed management plans for
73,000 hectares, which will help protect the drinking
water supplies of more than 200 communities in
these municipalities.
USAID
and USDA are executing intensive agriculture conservation
and forest protection practices in all of the
hillside areas selected in the 34 municipalities
being assisted.
Eight
local NGOs working on sustainable land management
practices have established 24 field offices staffed
with 143 technicians. They are assisting 4,851
farm families to implement soil conservation practices,
one of which has been the production of 1.2 million
trees in 600 small nurseries. Training in watershed
protection practices has been provided to 7,000
participants and in sustainable agriculture to
14,000 participants. Partners of the Americas’
Honduran Conservation Corps has implemented environmental
activities through 24 camp sessions with 946 volunteers.
USAID
is working with the Honduran Permanent Commission
on Emergencies (COPECO) to develop a program to
improve the management and control of emergency
operations at the regional and municipal levels.
This effort follows the successful implementation
of a similar program at the national level developed
with assistance from OFDA and the US Southern
Command. The new program will be funded by the
Central American Mitigation Initiative (CAMI).
A
new automatic and fully integrated accounting
system (hardware and software) has been installed
at COPECO by Pricewaterhouse Coopers. The new
system will improve the agency’s administrative
and financial controls.
USGS
and NOAA have installed an early flood warning
system for the Choluteca watershed, including
a system of rain gauges, stream flow monitoring
stations, a data processing center within the
National Weather Service, a flood watch program
monitored by the Ministry of Natural Resources,
and a wide area network giving COPECO instant
access to flood alert data.
The
U.S. NGO Pan American Development Foundation has
completed installation of community-based early
alert systems in 8 micro-watersheds in 3 municipalities
in the Aguan River Basin. This early warning system
has been selected as a model for nationwide replication
with World Bank funding.
The
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has completed construction
of 14 of the 15 flood control sites in the Aguan
and Choluteca River Basins.
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