Defining the area of a microbasin (Swiss Red Cross)

Issuing a Decree to Ensure the Legal Protection of a microbasin (Honduras)

Declaratoria (Issuing a Decree to ensure Legal Protection)

Description

Honduran Forest Legislation establishes the strict protection of microbasins from human exploitation. However, in practice, there is an accelerated rate of microbasin degradation brought on by land use changes that turn forest lands into crop lands. Through sensitization, raising awareness, and training aimed at the general population and Water Management Boards, Local Emergency Committees (in Spanish, Comités de Emergencia Local, CODEL) and Health Committees in particular, a negotiation process involving land users is promoted to protect microbasins that provide water by issuing a decree.

One of the main obstacles faced by communities in the Department of Olancho, Honduras, is access to water systems providing water in the required quantities and quality. In recent years, inadequate use of these microbasins has increased erosion in these regions. Changes in land use resulting in transforming forest lands into lands for agricultural and livestock production affect the cycle for recharging water. Furthermore, the pollution caused by agrochemicals and waste water derived from coffee processing reduces water quality and damages the health of the area's population

Honduran forest legislation establishes strict protections for microbasins exploited for human consumption. However, enforcing these laws frequently causes conflicts. The “Resiliencia” project headed by the Honduran / Swiss Red Cross, together with competent authorities, supports issuing decrees in order to protect microbasins; this is based on sensitization, raising awareness and providing training to the general population, specifically at the Water Management Boards, Local Emergency Committees (CODEL) and Health Committees. Local structures led by Water Management Boards are the main actors in this process and participate in community assemblies, surveys, delimitation of microbasins, collection of documents and negotiation with users, etc.

During the negotiation process, many Water Management Boards have carried out diverse fund-raising activities to compensate those users who give up the land plots they use in the microbasin. The Forest Conservation Institute (in Spanish, Instituto de Conservación Forestal, ICF) and the Environmental Municipal Unit (In Spanish, Unidad Municipal Ambiental, UMA) as well as the Red Cross, help to collect data, to define the area that will come under protection, to draft theme maps, to consolidate information required for clearance by the National Agrarian Institute (in Spanish, Nacional Agrario, INA). This also facilitates negotiations and agreements with people exploiting the aforementioned areas. The process required to issue a decree increases the community's sense of property, as well as ensures protection and conservation of microbasins and comprehensive water management systems. The nucleus of the approach involves strengthening Water Management Boards to help them manage their own water system through training in environmental issues, management and fee estimation, as well as providing them with tools to improve their water provision system. Thus, Water Management Boards become key players in protecting microbasins.

Location

Location: Dulce Nombre de Culmí, San Esteban and Catacamas municipalities, Olancho, Honduras

Geo-reference of selected sites
  • -85.85472, 14.86118

Initiation date: 2011

Year of termination: n.a.

Type of Approach
Participative mapping of the water system (Honduran Red Cross)
Field inspection by the Honduran Red Cross, ICF, UMA and Water Management Board representatives (Honduran Red Cross)

Approach aims and enabling environment

Main aims / objectives of the approach
Strengthen community capacities, specifically Water Management Boards leading the process, to ensure decrees are issued and strict protection measures are decreed in favor of microbasins to allow recharging underground water and ensure water quality and quantity.
Conditions enabling the implementation of the Technology/ ies applied under the Approach
  • Availability/ access to financial resources and services: Fundraising activities undertaken by Water Management Boards compensated land users in areas that required reforestation/protection. In other cases, they also allowed buying additional plots for the community to expand protected areas.
  • Institutional setting: The process to issue decrees for protection is a highly concerted effort involving competent authorities and local structures
  • Collaboration/ coordination of actors: Coordination and cooperation among all actors involved is very important for comprehensive water management aimed at reducing disasters
  • Legal framework (land tenure, land and water use rights): Honduran legislation sets forth a legal basis to implement the technologies described in the approach and constitutes the basis of the approach itself.
  • Knowledge about SLM, access to technical support: The project has facilitated the implementation of SLM Technologies by raising awareness and training as well as technical support,
  • Workload, availability of manpower: A signifcant amount of labor is required to implement SLM Technologies. The interest demonstrated by the population in protecting their microbasin was crucial to provide significant amounts of volunteer labor.
Conditions hindering the implementation of the Technology/ ies applied under the Approach
  • Availability/ access to financial resources and services: Human needs lead to improper use of land and to expand the agrarian border into areas that are not apt for production. Scarce resources for municipal governments and short-term thinking in water management hinder investments in water infrastructure. The approach aims at addressing this issue.
  • Policies: Political instability and changes in competent government institutions and entities in the past years have resulted in delaying the decrees required to protect microbasins. The Red Cross Project supports communities in their follow-up efforts to issue the aforementioned decrees.

Participation and roles of stakeholders involved

Stakeholders involved in the Approach and their roles
What stakeholders / implementing bodies were involved in the Approach? Specify stakeholders Describe roles of stakeholders
community-based organizations Water Management Committees Local Emergency Committees (Comités de Emergencia Local, CODEL) Health Committees Leadership for the process required to issue decrees to protect microbasins Implementing reforestation activities and microbasin protection Follow-up efforts to ensure water quality
NGO Honduran/ Swiss Red Cross Sensitize, raise awareness, train, facilitate negotiations support data collection efforts and follow-up activities focused on the process, technical and material support to implement SLM technologies
local government Institute for the Conservation of Forests (Instituto de Conservación Forestal, ICF regional) Municipal Environmental Units (Unidades Municipales Ambientales, UMA ICF: Facilitate negotiations, support data collection efforts and follow up activities, submit the Decree UMA: Disseminate the process, facilitate negotiations, provide support in delimitation
national government (planners, decision-makers) Institute for Forest Conservation (Instituto de Conservación Forestal, ICF nacional) National Agrarian Institute (Instituto Nacional Agrario, INA) ICF: Approve and issue corresponding certification for protection decree INA: Ruling on legal nature of the area addressed in the decree (proof of land property)
Lead agency
Community organizations (Water Management Boards)
Involvement of local land users/ local communities in the different phases of the Approach
none
passive
external support
interactive
self-mobilization
initiation/ motivation
planning
implementation
monitoring/ evaluation
Flow chart

Abbreviations:
CRH - Honduran Red Cross
ICF - Institute for Forest Conservation (Instituto de Conservación Forestal)
CODEL - Local Emergency Committee (Comité de Emergencia Local)
INA - National Agrarian Institute (Instituto Nacional Agrario )
UMA - Municipal Environmental Unit (Unidad Municipal del Ambiente )

Author: Carlos Montes Lobo, Honduran/ Swiss Red Cross
Decision-making on the selection of SLM Technology

Decisions were taken by

  • land users alone (self-initiative)
  • mainly land users, supported by SLM specialists
  • all relevant actors, as part of a participatory approach
  • mainly SLM specialists, following consultation with land users
  • SLM specialists alone
  • politicians/ leaders

Decisions were made based on

  • evaluation of well-documented SLM knowledge (evidence-based decision-making)
  • research findings
  • personal experience and opinions (undocumented)

Technical support, capacity building, and knowledge management

The following activities or services have been part of the approach
Capacity building/ training
Training was provided to the following stakeholders
  • land users
  • field staff/ advisers
  • Water Management Boards
Form of training
  • on-the-job
  • farmer-to-farmer
  • demonstration areas
  • public meetings
  • courses
  • asambleas comunitarias
Subjects covered

Comprehensive Water System Management: Management, fee estimation, risk management, reforestation, water cycle, water treatment, drafting of action plans, developing requests for microprojects

Advisory service
Advisory service was provided
  • on land users' fields
  • at permanent centres
  • Water Management Board headquarters
Institution strengthening
Institutions have been strengthened / established
  • no
  • yes, a little
  • yes, moderately
  • yes, greatly
at the following level
  • local
  • regional
  • national
Describe institution, roles and responsibilities, members, etc.
Water Management Boards are responsible for managing the water system. It is composed of members of the community.
Type of support
  • financial
  • capacity building/ training
  • equipment
Further details
Monitoring and evaluation
Monitoring and assessment are part of the project cycle of Honduran/ Swiss Red Cross. Water Management Boards monitor water systems and reforested land plots, while the general population self-assesses resilience to disaster and health hazards.
Research
Research treated the following topics
  • sociology
  • economics / marketing
  • ecology
  • technology

Biophysical studies of the microbasin and socioeconomic studies of the microbasin performed by CRH, ICF, UMA, with participation from local institutions.

Financing and external material support

Annual budget in USD for the SLM component
  • < 2,000
  • 2,000-10,000
  • 10,000-100,000
  • 100,000-1,000,000
  • > 1,000,000
Precise annual budget: 18000.0
Swiss Red Cross
The following services or incentives have been provided to land users
  • Financial/ material support provided to land users
  • Subsidies for specific inputs
  • Credit
  • Other incentives or instruments
Financial/ material support provided to land users
Communities received material and tools to perform maintenance activities on the water system.

Impact analysis and concluding statements

Impacts of the Approach
No
Yes, little
Yes, moderately
Yes, greatly
Did the Approach empower local land users, improve stakeholder participation?

The approach particularly empowered the Water Management Boards and linked them with relevant government entities and institutions, thus improving stakeholder involvement.

Did the Approach help land users to implement and maintain SLM Technologies?

The approach set the bases on which trained community institutions were able to implement and maintain SLM technologies.

Did the Approach mobilize/ improve access to financial resources for SLM implementation?

Part of the approach involves training on fund management and applying to financial resources for developing microprojects.

Did the Approach improve knowledge and capacities of land users to implement SLM?

Water Management Boards and Local Emergency Committees (CODEL) significantly increased their knowledge and capacities and, to a certain degree, are able to implement SLM independently. However, technologies such as reforestation or upgrading the water tank involves specific knowledge requiring technical support.

Did the Approach build/ strengthen institutions, collaboration between stakeholders?

The approach strengthened community institutions, specifically Water Management Boards and cooperation among involved stakeholders and institutions.

Did the Approach mitigate conflicts?

Evicting land users settled in the microbasin can potentially lead to many conflicts. The approach emphatizes dialogue among communities and land users in the microbasins to reach common agreements on the protection of these lands.

Did the Approach encourage young people/ the next generation of land users to engage in SLM?

The approach includes training on environmental issues in schools and involves students and teachers to implement SLM Technologies, such as reforestation.

Did the Approach improve issues of land tenure/ user rights that hindered implementation of SLM Technologies?

The approach enabled enacting Honduran Legislation to provide strict protection to microbasins, by reaching an agreement with users who hindered the implementation of SLM Technologies.

Did the Approach improve the capacity of the land users to adapt to climate changes/ extremes and mitigate climate related disasters?

Some water sources that had been dry for years are showing increased levels of water

Did the Approach lead to employment, income opportunities?

Some communities relying on the approach managed to increase the amount of water available and have started microprojects involving fish farming and installation of micro-irrigation systems.

Did the approach improve land users' health?

Strict protection of microbasins and improvement of water infrastructure reduced the contamination of water sources, thus reducing the incidence of diarrhea in the communities

Main motivation of land users to implement SLM
  • increased production
  • increased profit(ability), improved cost-benefit-ratio
  • reduced land degradation
  • reduced risk of disasters
  • reduced workload
  • payments/ subsidies
  • rules and regulations (fines)/ enforcement
  • prestige, social pressure/ social cohesion
  • affiliation to movement/ project/ group/ networks
  • environmental consciousness
  • customs and beliefs, morals
  • enhanced SLM knowledge and skills
  • aesthetic improvement
  • conflict mitigation
  • increase of quantity and quality of water
Sustainability of Approach activities
Can the land users sustain what hat been implemented through the Approach (without external support)?
  • no
  • yes
  • uncertain

Conclusions and lessons learnt

Strengths: land user's view
  • Issuing the decree is a specific action that can provide the community with the required support to deal with intruders and implement microbasin protection measures.
Strengths: compiler’s or other key resource person’s view
  • The approach raised awareness among the population and provided training to the Water Management Boards to allow them considering and managing the water system based on a comprehensive approach.
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: land user's viewhow to overcome
Weaknesses/ disadvantages/ risks: compiler’s or other key resource person’s viewhow to overcome
  • Sometimes it is not possible to reach an agreement and, thus, the community can forcefully evict land users who settled in the microbasin's territory. This can lead to open conflicts that, in a context as delicate as Honduras, can become violent. Forced eviction must be the final resource. Close monitoring of this situation is required and dialogues must be established between the people affected and the community.

References

Compiler
  • Helen Gambon
Editors
  • Anton Jöhr
Reviewer
  • Johanna Jacobi
  • Alexandra Gavilano
Date of documentation: Nov. 25, 2016
Last update: Oct. 31, 2017
Resource persons
Full description in the WOCAT database
Linked SLM data
Documentation was faciliated by
Institution Project
Key references
  • Respuestas locales y desafíos globales: Reducción de riesgos desde la comunidad. Sistematización de los proyectos desarrollados del 2005 al 2014 en seis municipios de los departamentos de Olancho, Valle y Choluteca, Honduras. Cruz Roja Suiza, 2016: info@redcross.ch (gratis)
  • Guía metodológica #7: Protección de microcuencas. Cruz Roja Suiza (a publicarse):
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