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website 16 Sep 05 Honduran dilemma Profitable prawn farms: is there an environmental cost? One of the Millennium Development Goals least likely to be met is number seven, which calls on countries to "ensure environmental sustainability". Many countries have been going backwards rather than forwards as the race for economic growth puts ever greater pressure on natural resources. The BBC's James Menendez has travelled to Honduras to find out whether it is possible for poorer countries to lift themselves out of poverty without harming the environment. With a deafening crash, a container tips a huge mound of grey-coloured prawns onto a conveyor belt. On either side, there is a long row of women in white coats, boots and masks hard at work. They are taking the heads off the prawns but they are so quick, it is almost impossible to see what they are doing. This is prawn farming on an industrial scale and it is one of Honduras' biggest exports. After they are frozen, packed and loaded onto lorries, these prawns will make the long journey to the supermarkets of the United States and Europe. It is a business that is worth millions of dollars to companies like Sea Farms International, the biggest in Honduras. It is worth even more to the wider economy but is there an environmental and social price to pay? "We want this activity to be sustainable for generations," says Hector Corrales, Sea Farms International's operations manager. "The difference between a responsible producer and an irresponsible one is that the responsible producer is going to measure the impact and compensate for it. And that's what we're committed to doing." 'Window-dressing' Prawn farming in Honduras is centred on the Gulf of Fonseca, at the southern end of the country's Pacific coast. Here, thousands of hectares of flat, salty land fringed by mangroves have been given over to the farms. In some places, all you can see are the vast, man-made ponds where the prawns are cultivated. But at San Bernardo - one of SFI's largest farms - the company's environmental manager, Joaquin Romero, says the ponds have had a positive impact on the area. "You can see how mangroves are growing along the edges of the ponds. Well, they weren't there before. But now that the land is constantly flooded, they're thriving", he tells me. "In fact, we've actually increased the amount of mangroves here, since the farm opened in the 1970s." Mr Romero also points to the large number of birds that now come to the ponds all year round. But the company's critics say this is just window-dressing. They believe that prawn farming on such a huge scale can never be sustainable. It has changed this unique coastline beyond recognition, they argue, and devastated the area's traditional communities. Welcome Just along the coast at a village called Playa Negra, a group of fishermen are mending their nets. Antonio Lopez has lived off these waters for nearly 50 years. But times are hard. "We can't catch enough fish because the farms have polluted the sea," he says. "And we can't get to our usual fishing grounds because the farm owners won't let us. We're scared because sometimes the guards shoot at us to make us go away." According to Honduras' leading environmental campaigner, Jorge Varela, the companies need to clean up their act. "We believe it is possible to develop the area commercially with only a minimal impact on the environment and we would support that," he says. "But what we don't support is any company that tramples all over the community, that destroys the environment unnecessarily and that threatens the area's biodiversity. "If there is a company that really can provide sustainable development, well then they're more than welcome to come here." SFI insists it is that company. Slow progress It says water quality is constantly monitored, local fishermen are not stopped from going where they want and they point to the number of social programmes they have set up to support their workers and the rest of the local community. And, says operations manager Hector Corrales, if they are not up to scratch then they will have their clients to answer to. "The first thing they look at when they visit is whether we work in a responsible, sustainable way," he says. "And only then they do look at the product. So if we don't meet their social and environmental demands, they won't even consider buying from us." Consumers, it seems, are the driving force behind efforts to improve sustainability. But they do not provide effective regulation. The main aim of the Millennium Development Goal on the environment is to change that by encouraging governments, not individual companies, to take responsibility. But so far progress - in Honduras at least - has been painfully slow. links Related articles on Global: general environmental issues |
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