Philanthropic Landscape Restoration
The Cinturón Verde Restoration Project is a 96,500-hectare (ha) landscape restoration initiative designed to protect water resources, prevent and manage forest fires, restore landscape connectivity, and improve climate resilience.
Project Overview
Since 2000, the project area has lost 10,560 hectares of tree cover, with an additional 14,000 devastated by the pine bark beetle (Dendroctonus frontalis). The Cinturón Verde Landscape Restoration Project provides a nature-based solution to the region's urgent water crisis, complementing urban infrastructure improvements to play a critical role in climate resilience while creating co-benefits for biodiversity and livelihoods.
The reforestation and restoration project spans multiple forest types rich in biodiversity, such as highland cloud forests, pine-oak, and broadleaf deciduous forests. The project works across the entire catchment of Tegucigalpa's main water sources, prioritizing restoration across five protected areas, their buffer zones, and the biological corridors between them. By working across these areas, the landscape restoration project directly secures the water provision services of the landscape for over 1 million people, enhances biodiversity habitat, and develops sustainable livelihood programs for local communities.
By incorporating a holistic landscape approach, we are focusing on a mosaic of protected and unprotected forest types that support Tegucigalpa's three main water sources - Las Laureles Dam, La Concepción Dam, and La Tigra National Park. Our approach to supporting landscape restoration in this region includes:
By working together, we will build a restoration vision and co-develop project goals.
This will improve water availability for over 1 million people.
This will be achieved through agroforestry and regenerative agriculture on private and communally owned land.
Together, we will co-develop this initiative with communities and other stakeholders in the project design phase.
We train and manage firefighting brigades and volunteers to improve early warning systems and fight forest fires, improving urban air quality and stabilizing the natural fire regime.
We will work in coordination with firefighting brigades and volunteers.
We provide technical support on restoration planning to enhance protected area management plans.
Eden’s work in this landscape in Honduras focuses on fire prevention, tree planting, and assisted natural regeneration. Our fire monitoring and mitigation efforts bring communities together to fight and prevent uncontrolled forest fires. In 2022-2024 alone, our team combated 154 forest fires and constructed over 1200 km of fire breaks. These measures ensured that more than 95% of Eden’s landscape restoration sites were successfully protected from the debilitating impact of uncontrolled forest fires, increasing the long-term survival outlook for both planted and naturally regenerating trees in the landscape.
End poverty in all its forms everywhere
End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls
Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all
Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all
Reduce inequality within and among countries
Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels
Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development
ANTICIPATED IMPACT
By working together on the Cinturón Verde Project in Honduras we will support the protection of water resources, prevention and management of forest fires, restoration of landscape connectivity, and stabilization of long-term climate resilience. Over the next 15 years, Eden’s anticipated impact will create substantial benefits for the environment and communities, including:
With your support, we can generate a transformative global impact that fosters community well-being, mitigates climate change, and conserves natural habitats. Join us, and together we will restore environmental degradation, helping ensure a thriving world for all.
