U.S. Climate Finance

As part of a larger economic growth and environment program, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) is providing $3.8 million to work with the government, local businesses, and key conservation institutions in Honduras to improve management practices in protected forest areas and to strengthen national policies related to adaptation to climate change. Honduras' National Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Strategy identifies climate change as a specific threat to biologically-sensitive ecosystems such as protected areas. Project activities will help the government and its management partners, including local communities, design and carry out ecosystem protection and resiliency measures in ten targeted protected areas. USAID will also strengthen local community capacity to respond and communicate in the face of climate change-related disasters such as floods and droughts. The program will also address threats to protected forests by supporting ecological impact monitoring, improved environmental enforcement, and better income opportunities for local businesses, thereby mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.