Wings of Change has begun circulating the Pico Bonito Reforestation Plan, below, to potential supporters. “Pico Bonito National Park is one of Honduras’ and the world’s treasures,” declared Bryce Appleton, Executive Director of Wings of Change, “yet it is partly deforested and continually threatened by the needs of local farmers.”

The main threat to Pico Bonito is the cutting of the forest by farmers who need land to grow food their families. Yet, after several years, the land is no longer fertile because the rainforest trees that provide the nutrients have been removed, so the farmers cut a new area. The Pico Bonito Reforestation Plan aims to change that cycle with a program of reforestation and sustainable farming in the deforested areas of the park.

Wings of Change proposes a partnership with FUPNAPIB, the foundation responsible for the preservation and management of Pico Bonito National Park, scientist Michael Hands who has led a fifteen year University of Cambridge commitment to finding and demonstrating an alternative to shifting agriculture, FHIA, the Honduran Agriculture Research Foundation with whom Hands has developed sustainable farming techniques at the CADETH and CURLA agricultural stations, and others interested in the project.
.
“Our hope is to bring together local and international support for the reforestation of the park and the establishment of sustainable farming practices in surrounding communities. Twenty-five years from now we’d like to fly over Pico Bonito and see natural rainforest and successful, sustainable neighboring farms”, says Appleton.

The Pico Bonito Reforestation Plan

This will introduce you to Wings of Change's involvement in Pico Bonito National Park in Honduras and a plan for implementing a reforestation and sustainable agriculture program in deforested areas of the park.

Pico Bonito National Park is the second largest conservation park in Honduras. It covers more than 264,000 acres (107,000 hectares) from lowland forests to cloud forests and contains 17 major watersheds in the departments of Atlántida and Yoro on the Caribbean coast of Honduras. There are nine mountain peaks with elevations over 2000 meters, spectacular waterfalls and a tremendous diversity of flora and fauna including many endangered species.

These forest resources are vital for the region, supplying potable water to numerous communities, stabilizing soil erosion and seasonal flooding as well as offering opportunities for environmental education, scientific research and eco-tourism. Their protection is of utmost importance for the conservation of biodiversity and for the economic and social welfare of the entire region.

Over several years, Wings of Change has flown hundreds of missions over and around Pico Bonito National Park. These missions have dramatically increased awareness of the park, its condition, and how the condition changes year to year. The main threat to Pico Bonito is the cutting of the forest by campesinos who need several hectares to grow corn and beans to feed their families. These local farmers are increasingly being forced out of the fertile lowlands by the expansion of large corporate agriculture. However, once the rainforest (which contains most of the nutrients to replenish the soil) has been cut, the land is productive for only several years of farming. After a few years, the land is unproductive and the campesino must move and cut another part of the forest to grow his crops.

The Pico Bonito Reforestation Plan would change that cycle with a program of reforestation and sustainable farming in the deforested areas of the park. Wings of Change will partner with FUPNAPIB, the foundation responsible for the preservation and management of Pico Bonito National Park, scientist Michael Hands who heads a fifteen year University of Cambridge commitment to finding and demonstrating an alternative to shifting agriculture, FHIA, the Honduran Agriculture Research Foundation with whom Hands has developed sustainable farming techniques at the CADETH and CURLA agricultural stations, and other interested parties.

Michael Hands and FHIA have developed a farming method using the native Inga tree as the source of nutrient renewal for the soil while growing row and vine crops between and below the trees. The Inga is a fast-growing tree which can be heavily pruned, thus allowing light and air to reach crops planted between rows of trees, and allowing the pruned leaves and branches of the trees to provide mulch and nutrients to renew the soil.

The plan is threefold. First, Wings of Change will conduct a complete aerial survey of the park, identifying deforested areas and pictorially mapping the entire park. Working with FUPNAPIB, FHIA and Hands, areas suitable for reforestation to their natural rainforest state will be identified and prioritized for reforestation. Areas suitable for sustainable farming within and at the borders of the park will be identified.

Second, after a series of community information meetings sponsored by Wings of Change, FUPNAPIB and FHIA, and co-sponsored by local communities and CODEFOR, the Honduran Forestry Agency, local farmers will be identified to begin sustainable farming in several areas at Pico Bonito. This will actually put into practice the successful Inga tree sustainable farming methods proven at CADETH and CURLA.

The farmers will be financially sponsored and coached over a three-year period in the design and implementation of sustainable agriculture, using the Inga tree as the native renewable nutrient source under which corn, beans and cash crops such as black pepper or vanilla can be grown without the use of chemicals year after year. This will demonstrate that the current cycle of unsustainability can be changed to protect the natural rainforest in the park while ensuring sustainable livelihoods for neighboring campesinos. The success of these farmers will inspire constituents for the use of sustainable farming methods and on behalf of the preservation of the park.

Third, based on the priorities developed from the aerial mapping, restoration of the cut areas with native rainforest trees will begin. The goal is to reforest the entire park to a rainforest state within 25 years. Commitments and funding will be sought to support the goal of a reforested Pico Bonito. Policies and practices will be facilitated and designed so that both rainforest conservation and sustainable rural livelihoods become a reality at Pico Bonito and are a working example of the real possibility of combining both conservation and sustainable living.

Wings of Change is now seeking partnership and support for a multiyear program to implement the above plan for Pico Bonito. To have the chance to leverage the hard work and relationships developed over the past years, the ability to create new and different points of view, and to facilitate possibilities for future action is a great opportunity. The greater opportunity lies ahead, actually reforesting the park and creating sustainable livelihoods, exemplifying that conservation and sustainable living can coexist.