Andrés Solórzano, President of FEHCAFOR and HAA:
We are worried by the fee for forestry regents

"A very important point that worries us is that the Forestry Regency would oblige all businesses and organizations that take advantage of the forest through management plans to contract the services of forestry regents, who would be paid according to the law. There are rural communities that do not have the capacity to pay technical personnel," explained Andrés Solórzano, president of the Honduran Agro-forestry Alliance (HAA).

This provision would limit the ability of some groups to manage and take advantage of the forest if they are not able to contract the professional services of a forestry regent, added Solórzano.

Nonetheless, he showed optimism in affirming that the Legislative Committee respected in large part the proposals of the Forestry Community, including community contracts and guaranteeing tenancy in forestry areas.

At the same time he compared the proposed legislation with the current Forestry Law and noted that "language about the user agreements has not had the legal substance to guarantee that these areas are to be managed exclusively by the communities."
He mentioned that the proposal that forestry areas under the control of individuals with suspicious titles be expropriated was left out by the Legislative Committee.

In this sense, the forestry leader expressed that "excessive grazing and illegal cutting are treated very loosely in the proposed legislation."

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