Repealing and Amendments to the Decree Creating Montaña Botaderos National Park

This law cancels previous mining permits and protects Montaña de Botaderos National Park as an untouchable forest zone. It orders the restoration of areas damaged by mining and prohibits new mining rights in the park, fulfilling Honduras' international climate commitments and environmental rights for all citizens.

Whereas the State of Honduras is obligated constitutionally, legally, and by regulation to the conservation of Forest Areas, which shall be declared of national convenience and collective interest.

Whereas Article 172 of the Constitution of the Republic establishes that "sites of natural beauty, monuments, and reserved zones shall be under the protection of the State".

Whereas the State of Honduras is a signatory to important International Instruments that, in harmony with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of International Law, establish that as a sovereign country it may exploit its own resources in accordance with its own environmental and development policies, but at the same time has the duty to ensure that activities do not cause damage to the environment.

Whereas the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change recognizes that changes in the Earth's climate and its adverse effects are a common concern of all humanity. Likewise, that human activities have been substantially increasing the concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, and that this increase intensifies the natural greenhouse effect, which will result, on average, in an additional warming of the Earth's surface and atmosphere and may adversely affect natural ecosystems and humanity.

Whereas Member States of the United Nations General Assembly in Resolution 76/300, including the State of Honduras, affirmed that climate change and environmental degradation form part of the most urgent threats to the future of human beings. Consequently, Member States are called upon to adopt concrete actions to combat climate change and the recognition of the right to a "clean, healthy, and sustainable environment". The aforementioned Resolution furthermore observed that the right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment is related to other rights and current International Law and affirmed that its promotion requires the full implementation of multilateral agreements relating to the environment in accordance with the principles of International Environmental Law.

Whereas in Article 4, Attribution 1) of Decree 297-2013, the principle "In dubio pro-natura" is defined as the "Precautionary principle adopted in the legislation of various countries to take actions for the benefit of the environment and nature, which in case of doubt regarding an action or omission that may affect the environment or natural resources, the decisions made must be in the sense of protecting it, even without scientific proof".

Whereas the National Congress is obligated to adopt the measures that are necessary to respect, protect, and guarantee the right to an environment without risks, clean, healthy, and sustainable in order to ensure the full enjoyment of Human Rights, including the right to life, to the highest possible level of health, to an adequate standard of living, to adequate food, to water, to development, among others.

Whereas in declaring a Protected Area, the State's primary objective is to ensure the conservation and protection thereof, due to its special importance for the environment, the rights of all persons, and the public interest, for which reason the State is obligated to adopt effective measures to prevent environmental damages in Protected Areas.

Whereas environmental laws and natural resources laws and international agreements on the matter contain prohibitions against conducting activities that contravene the regulations aimed at strict protection of natural resources and common goods contained in natural reserve areas.

Whereas the National Park Montaña de Botaderos, Carlos Escaleras Mejía is considered a priority within the National System of Protected Areas of Honduras due to the importance of protecting its ecosystems. Thereby constituting a Zone of Exclusion for Mining Rights, and the granting of title to private parties must be prohibited for any purpose that is contrary to the Protection of the Forest Zone.

Whereas Honduras in 2021, through the first update of the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) before the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), our country strengthens the strategic guidelines, where it improves and increases its ambition to adopt measures in favor of climate action. In this update of the NDC, Honduras increased its commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from 15% to 16%. It also increased, by 30%, the goal of forest areas to be restored, for a total of 1.3 million hectares, considering the significant importance of caring for forests that represent more than 55% of the territorial extension.

Whereas the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has indicated that scientific evidence is unequivocal: climate change constitutes a threat to human welfare and the health of the planet. If the implementation of coordinated action at the global level continues to be delayed, the brief and rapidly diminishing timeframe available to us to ensure a dignified future will be exhausted, which is why it is necessary to adopt measures against such adverse effects.

Whereas in light of the devastating effects of climate change on nature and its ecosystems and on human beings due to high concentrations of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels, and forest fires that have reached historic peaks in recent years, it is of urgent necessity to establish a legal framework that ensures climate justice through the predictability of decision-making by the authorities in the field for the conservation of natural areas, indispensable for the maintenance of biodiversity, the dignified and sustained development of humanity.

Whereas in accordance with Article 205, Attribution 5) of the Constitution of the Republic, it is the power of the National Congress to: Create, decree, interpret, reform, and repeal laws.