Honduras Environment - 2024

Environment - current issues

urban population expanding; deforestation results from logging and the clearing of land for agricultural purposes; further land degradation and soil erosion hastened by uncontrolled development and improper land use practices such as farming of marginal lands; mining activities polluting Lago de Yojoa (the country's largest source of fresh water), as well as several rivers and streams, with heavy metals

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 2006, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Climate

subtropical in lowlands, temperate in mountains

Land use

agricultural land: 28.8% (2018 est.)

arable land: 9.1% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 4% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 15.7% (2018 est.)

forest: 45.3% (2018 est.)

other: 25.9% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 60.2% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.48% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0.91% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 18.93 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 9.81 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 7.72 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 2,162,028 tons (2016 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

salt water lake(s): Laguna de Caratasca - 1,110 sq km

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 320 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 111 million cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 1.18 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

92.16 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)