Hurricane Mitch; Unnatural Disaster

Many farmers lost not only their homes and family members but also saw their topsoil wash down to bedrock.

"Not all the losses attributed to Hurricane Mitch were unavoidable."

While Hurricane Mitch caused damage to thousands of Central American farms in 1998, a recent study by World Neighbors found that it was largely preventable and induced by human activity.

Called the region's worst natural disaster, Hurricane Mitch left thousands dead, half a million homes destroyed, and entire farms washed down the mountainsides. Many farms got 50 inches of rain in three days -- the amount they usually get in an entire year.

But not all the losses were unavoidable. The flooding occurred because of erosion in the mountains. The hillsides were so degraded by unsustainable farming practices, they could no longer hold water or soil. The rain had nowhere to go but down.

Funded by the Ford, Rockefeller and Summit foundations, the study -- which included 2000 farmers as full partners in the research process -- showed that land use in Central America amplified the storm's damage. It also found that alternative farming methods can cut erosion by more than half, save topsoil and reduce runoff.

For over forty years, World Neighbors has worked in Central America to help such farmers learn to replace traditional soil-depleting methods with sustainable techniques.

Currently, 10,000 Central American farmers in the region use a variety of sustainable farming methods. The study showed that sustainably farmed plots suffered 58 percent less damage in Honduras, 70 percent less damage in Nicaragua, and 99 percent less damage in Guatemala, compared with nearby, similar conventional farms.

Vast areas of Central America's forests have been lost to logging, ranching and farming in recent years -- 5.5 million acres vanished between 1990-95 alone. The destruction continues today at a rate of more than 100 acres per hour. The region needs land use policies that will encourage conservation and help small farmers to improve their livelihoods at the same time.

For more information, contact
Gregg Biggs at GBiggs7775@aol.com or 415-648-9577.