La Mosquitia

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The Mosquitia area of eastern Honduras is part of the Greater Mosquitia Ecosystem that extends south into Nicaragua and is one of the last great wilderness regions in Central America. It is physically isolated from the rest of Honduras and the only ways in are by plane or boat.  Dugout canoes and small cesna planes are the main modes of transport once you are in the area.

Biodiversity

This region contains a rainforest corridor recognised as a world-class conservation area. Other outstanding habitats include wetlands with myriads of rivers and mangrove lined lagoon, pine savannah, and huge expanses of windswept beaches and dunes.

Wetland savanah

Rainforest

Beaches and dunes

Cultural Diversity

It is the homeland for four indigenous peoples - Miskito, Tawahka, Pech and Garífuna - who have maintained the forest cover through centuries of settlement.  The Miskito Indians are linguistically and culturally dominant throughout the region. 

They have traditionally made their living by subsistence agriculture, fishing, hunting, and gathering from the forest and occasional wage labour.

Main environmental threats...

~       Deforestation by landless farmers entering from outside the region

~       Uncontroled illicit logging operations

~       Illegal hunting

~       Cattle ranching on fragile soils

~       Degradation of water supplies and fish stocks due to sedimentation.

...leading to the gradual loss of the indigenous way of life.

MOPAWI

MOPAWI is a Honduran Christian development organisation established in 1985. It is widely recognised that change is inevitable in La Mosquitia and so MOPAWI works with local communities to try and ensure that when change does occur,  it is culturally, economically and environmentally sustainable.  Efforts are  focused on empowering local groups and community organizations to make their own decisions and  training them to manage their own projects, thereby  reducing their dependency on outside help.