To compliment the world-class scientific research
in the area of Maya archaeology that prestigious international
universities have conducted for decades at the famous Copan
Ruins, Honduras is eagerly seeking to attract researchers in
the biological sciences to study the country’s rich natural
diversity. High, pristine cloud forests, vast tropical rain
forest, teeming wetlands and some of the Caribbean’s richest
coral reefs make Honduras one of the most biologically diverse,
if least known, Central American states.
A new project sponsored by the Honduras Institute of Tourism
will target major US and foreign universities in its quest to
promote scientific research and tourism in many of its priority
protected areas.
The goals of the project include broadening the base scientific
knowledge about Honduras’ diverse ecosystems, flora,
and fauna. Yet other important benefits will come indirectly
from this research, such as word of mouth promotion throughout
the scientific community, which officials hope will amount
to an implicit certification of the quality of Honduras’
natural attractions. This kind of promotion fits well with
the country’s goal of attracting the kind of intelligent,
conservation-minded tourist that appreciate the value and
beauty of Honduras’ tropical biodiversity.
Initially, Project Director Vince Murphy will visit a variety
of wetland and the rain forest protected areas on Honduras’
Caribbean coast, including Jeannette Kawas and Punta Izopo
National Parks and the Lancetilla Botanical Gardens near the
former beachside banana town of Tela; Cuero y Salado Wildlife
Refuge and Pico Bonito National Park near the ecotourism hub
of La Ceiba; and Capiro y Calentura National Park and the
Guaimoreto Wildlife Refuge near the sleepy town of Trujillo.
Also on the list of priority parks are the tropical marine
coral reefs ecosystems of Honduras’ well-known Bay Islands,
including the Cayos Cochinos Biological Reserve, the Sandy
Bay Marine Park in Roatan and other protected reefs on the
Islands of Guanaja and Utila. Based on his research, Biologist,
Nature Photographer and former Honduras Peace Corps volunteer
Murphy will compile profiles of the various national parks
and other protected areas, as well as the NGOs that manage
them. Armed with this information, Murphy will travel to major
US universities to make presentations on the country’s
rich natural resources and the plentiful opportunities for
scientific research that exist in the areas of biological
science, tropical ecology, conservation biology and nature
interpretation. Murphy hopes to establish contacts between
international scientist and local park managers that will
lead to a variety of fruitful research collaborations, and
ultimately earn for Honduran nature some well-deserved promotion.
