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| Downtown San Pedro Sula, industrial capital of Honduras. |
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Funding Agency
Canadian International Development Agency (Americas Branch)
Timeframe
The assessment was based on a series of two field missions, one conducted in October 1998 and another during February/March 1999.
Geographic Focus
The project focused on two regions of Honduras: the Department of Atlántida in the north coast region and the Guayape Valley region within the Department of Olancho in the interior of the country. These two regions were the first and second territorial options recommended by CUI in its prefeasibility study.
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Project Partners
The Canadian Urban Institute led the study with participation by representatives of CIDA and the Honduran Fundación para el Desarollo Municipal.
Background
Honduras has been among the poorest countries in the Americas. Although it is predominantly rural, it has been undergoing rapid urbanization. Honduras has one of the strongest decentralization laws in Central America, but municipalities generally lack the capacity and revenue base to take on the responsibilities that have been assigned to them. While the central government at the time of the study was not actively promoting decentralization to municipalities, an increase in their activity and autonomy was taking place under the leadership of a strong municipal association and several dynamic mayors. However, an absence of intermunicipal and national-local cooperation was hampering municipal development and the potential for municipalities to take on new responsibilities devolved to them in the future.
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Project Description
The general mandate of the study was to analyze the opportunities and benefits of establishing a CIDA-funded municipal strengthening program in two regions of the country: the Department of Atlántida in the north coast region and the Guayape Valley region within the Department of Olancho in the interior of the country. The overall conclusion of the study was that a program of municipal strengthening based on the eight municipalities of Atlántida was feasible and desirable for both Canada and Honduras and should commence as soon as possible. Atlántida had a great need in the region in the aftermath of Hurricane Mitch. The project team believed that a program should operate not only at the level of individual municipalities and their constituent communities, but also at the intermunicipal/departmental and national levels. The team also concluded that Hurricane Mitch made the justification for the program greater and more urgent both from the standpoint of Honduran needs and in order to increase the impact of Canadian reconstruction and sustainable development programs. The study proposed a program for Municipal Strengthening in Honduras, designed to promote good governance by developing a model program aimed at finding practical ways to make decentralization work on a departmental basis. It was recommended that the goal of the program be to contribute to democratization, decentralization and sustainable development of Honduras through strengthening the capacities of Atlántida municipalities to work with their communities, with other municipalities and with the national government agencies.
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Approach
The project team conducted two field missions. It met with and interviewed a range of people and institutions in both geographical study areas in Honduras: all of the municipal governments, most of the major regional offices of national agencies, the Minister of Government and Justice, selected representatives of the private and non-governmental sectors, the Ministry of Technical Cooperation (SETCO), the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment (SERNA), a World Bank-funded institute for cadastral development, the Honduran Municipal Association (AHMON), the Foundation for Municipal Development (FUNDEMUN), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation (AECI) and representatives of national women’s organizations. The team also worked closely with the four CIDA-funded programs in sustainable natural resource development in both Tegucigalpa and in the study areas.
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