Our Projects
Cinturón Verde Restoration Project
Project Overview
The Cinturón Verde (Green Belt) Restoration Project represents a critical intervention to protect and restore the forests that sustain Honduras’ capital city. Spanning 96,500 hectares surrounding Tegucigalpa, this innovative initiative integrates five protected areas and the biological corridors between them to create a resilient green belt that safeguards water resources for over one million urban residents.
At its core, the project focuses on restoring landscape connectivity between highland cloud forests, pine-oak forests, and broadleaf deciduous ecosystems—all critical for capturing, filtering, and regulating water. By implementing strategic fire management systems, facilitating natural regeneration, and partnering with local communities, the Cinturón Verde project demonstrates how landscape restoration directly enhances urban water security while fostering biodiversity and community wellbeing.
Download the Cinturón Verde Restoration Project Brochure
Learn more about this restoration project and its impact on local communities and ecosystems. Our detailed project brochure provides key information about implementation strategies, current progress, and partnership opportunities.Ecosystem
The Cinturón Verde hosts a remarkable diversity of ecosystems that provide essential services to Honduras’ largest urban center. Highland cloud forests above 1,500 meters capture both rainfall and cloud moisture, acting as irreplaceable water towers for the region. Resilient pine-oak forests create habitat for over 300 bird species, including the endangered Golden-cheeked Warbler and near-endemic Green-breasted Mountain Gem.
These vital ecosystems face mounting challenges, including a 16% loss of tree cover between 2000-2022, severe pine bark beetle infestations affecting over 14,000 hectares, and increasingly intense fire seasons exacerbated by climate change. The resulting fragmentation threatens both biodiversity and water security, making this landscape restoration initiative essential for building ecological and community resilience in Honduras’ increasingly vulnerable dry corridor.
| Stat Label | Stat Value |
|---|---|
| Project Area | 96,500 hectares |
| Forest Restoration Target | 43,956 ha high-priority restoration |
| Firebreaks Established | 107+ km of strategic firebreaks |
| Implementation Timeline | 15+ years (2024-2039) |
Community
The communities surrounding Tegucigalpa maintain a profound connection to the forested watersheds that sustain their water supply. Local water boards, municipal governments, and community organizations are essential partners in the Cinturón Verde restoration effort, bringing generations of knowledge about the landscape and its changes.
Through collaborative planning workshops, community members help determine specific restoration strategies and participate in implementation through sustainable livelihood opportunities. The project framework emphasizes building local capacity for forest management, fire prevention, and monitoring, creating long-term employment while strengthening community resilience.
With approximately 35% of the project budget dedicated to sustainable livelihoods, Cinturón Verde demonstrates how landscape restoration can foster community wellbeing while securing critical ecosystem services for both rural and urban populations across the region.
Technical Approach
The Cinturón Verde project employs a strategic, two-phase geographic approach that first focuses on protected areas and wildlife corridors before expanding to western watershed sub-basins. This methodical strategy ensures critical ecological infrastructure receives immediate attention while building capacity for broader landscape restoration.
Key restoration techniques include assisted natural regeneration to accelerate forest recovery, active reforestation with indigenous species in degraded areas, and agroforestry systems that integrate productive trees with agriculture to reduce expansion pressure. The project has developed an innovative fire management system combining NASA satellite monitoring with community-based response teams and strategic firebreaks.
Implementation occurs through close collaboration with Instituto de Conservación Forestal, municipal governments, local water boards, protected area co-managers, and community organizations. Regular monitoring tracks forest cover change, fire incidence, water quality indicators, and community participation to guide adaptive management throughout the project’s 15+ year lifespan.
Progress and Impact
As the Cinturón Verde project transitions from the Vision+Design to Implement+Innovate phase, significant progress has already been made in establishing the foundation for long-term success. The project team has completed comprehensive stakeholder engagement processes, developed an advanced fire prevention system with over 107 km of strategic firebreaks, and fostered strong partnerships with local institutions.
In 2025, the project aims to plant 800,000 indigenous trees, bring 300+ hectares under active restoration, employ 40 full-time restoration team members, and maintain over 100 km of fire breaks. These initial steps will build momentum toward the project’s broader goals of securing water resources, enhancing biodiversity, and strengthening community resilience across the landscape.
Regular monitoring will track changes in forest cover, fire frequency, water availability, and community wellbeing, ensuring the project adapts to emerging challenges while delivering tangible benefits for both people and ecosystems.
