Agreement No. 129-2025
- Decree: No-129-2025
- Published: December 27, 2025
- Gazette: 37,029
- Category: Environmental
Summary
This regulation establishes how indigenous communities in Honduras can manage and sustainably use their forests. It defines that communities have the right to decide about their natural resources while respecting their own organization, guarantees prior consultation before projects, allows timber and forest product commercialization with fair benefit-sharing, and requires transparency in all decisions.
Considerations
That the Constitution of the Republic in its article 340 declares of necessity and public utility the technical and rational use of the natural resources of the nation, declaring of national convenience and public interest the conservation, restoration and rational sustainable use of forests.
That the State of Honduras through articles 16 and 346 of the Constitution of the Republic, respectively, declares that international agreements and treaties subscribed form part of its domestic law; and guarantees to indigenous communities the protection of their rights and interests, especially their lands and forests; Article 346 "It is the duty of the State to enact measures for the protection of the rights and interests of indigenous communities existing in the country, especially the lands and forests where they are settled".
That ILO Convention 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples and the Universal Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the first being of mandatory application by the State of Honduras and the implementation of national policies, in accordance with the Declaration.
That within the framework of what is established in article 21 of the American Convention on Human Rights, persons have the right to private property, whether individually or collectively. In the case of the Miskitu People, Honduras has recognized the titling of property of the territories in favor of the Miskitu communities, represented by the Miskitu Indigenous Territorial Councils.
That the Miskitu communities have the right of access to their natural resources, such as land, forests, water and others, in a sustainable manner and under a regulation that is approved by these communities, in agreement with the respective institutions of the State of Honduras, according to article 7 numeral 4 of ILO Convention 169 and its laws, provided that these do not violate the human rights of the Miskitu People.
That article 15 of the Constitution of the Republic, in relation to article 1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and,
That article 3 of ILO Convention 169: "Indigenous peoples have the right to self-determination. By virtue of this right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development".
That the Strategic Government Plan 2022-2026 is framed within the implementation of actions oriented toward the National Agenda 2030 linked with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Government Plan for the Refoundation of the Homeland and the Construction of a Democratic Socialist State and that is promoted and implemented through the ICF, which is based on the following principles: Construction of the Democratic Socialist State, the human being as the supreme purpose of society and the State, the protection of the rights of the sovereign and nature, participatory democracy as the central pillar of government and the fight against corruption and abuse of power.
That, in the Environment Sector of the Strategic Government Plan 2022-2026, actions are directed toward the Protection of common goods, and integrates the Forest Management and Agroforestry Systems Subsector, aimed at: Ensuring the protection of natural common goods for the availability of their sustainable use and management, including these: Ecosystem services, water resources for human consumption, production, hydroelectric generation, irrigation and other uses. This Subsector has as its specific objective: The management of forest goods through the Social Forest System and Community Forestry, generating dignified and permanent employment in rural areas, encouraging the production, protection and conservation of forests and other goods and ecosystem services.
That the Forest, Protected Areas and Wildlife Law (Legislative Decree N°98-2007) and its Regulation (Agreement N°31-2010) establishes the legal regime to which the administration and management of forest resources, protected areas and wildlife are subject, including their protection, restoration, use, conservation and promotion, fostering sustainable development in accordance with the social, economic, environmental and cultural interests of the country.
That the Forest Law has as a basic principle the regularization, respect, and legal security of state forest property investment and private forest property, guaranteeing the possession of peasant groups, communities, ethnic groups, and determining their rights and obligations related to the protection and sustainable management of forest resources, as well as promoting Co-management as a basic mechanism to incorporate civil society participation in the management of protected areas and improve the quality of life of communities.
That the ICF, in fulfillment of its powers and responsibilities and based on the principles of the Forest Law, enters into Community Forest Management Agreements with Community Organizations, comprised of Communities and the Agroforestry Organization, which are part of the Social Forest System (SSF) and represent the rights and interests of the inhabitants of indigenous communities living within or around the private intercommunal forest and which, for the purpose of generating benefits, formulate and implement the respective Forest Management Plan (PM) and Annual Operating Plan (POA).
That article 49 of the LFAPVS 156-2007 on "administration of private forest lands" determines that "The administration of private lands with forest vocation, as well as the obligations of protection, reforestation, and benefits derived from their management and exploitation, correspond to their owners, in accordance with this Law." In the case of indigenous communities where collective intercommunal property rights prevail, it is necessary that the decision-making mechanisms for collective access to and use of resources be participatory and transparent from the perspective of the rights of indigenous peoples.
That the ICF issued Agreement No. 026A-2013, approved on the twenty-sixth (26) of September of the year two thousand thirteen, by means of which the "NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR COMMUNITY FORESTRY (ENFC)" was approved, published in the Official Newspaper La Gaceta on the first (1) of November of the year two thousand thirteen.
That the ICF, at the request of the principal actors of the Social Forest System, initiated the process of technical and administrative standards for Community Forest Management in private intercommunal territories of indigenous peoples.
That, in accordance with the Forest, Protected Areas and Wildlife Law, the Executive Director of the ICF has the authority to approve Internal Regulations, Manuals and Instructions to carry out the management of the Forest Sector, Protected Areas and Wildlife and any determined procedure that requires the respective authorization for the benefit of community organizations that are part of the Social Forest System.
Articles
Regulatory framework: Indigenous communities have the right, from the international legal framework and from domestic law, to issue norms based on their own worldview that respond to guaranteeing the environmental sustainability of their resources, the administration of their territorial jurisdiction and the collective intercommunal right for the use and access to resources, as an instrument for the exercise of indigenous territorial governance. Among the norms and regulations that are established, the following aspects are determined. 1. FREE, PRIOR AND INFORMED CONSULTATION (FPIC) ▪ Any activity susceptible to affecting directly or indirectly indigenous peoples and communities, such as the preparation and implementation of Forest Management Plans and the extraction of forest resources through exploitation activities, must be consulted with the peoples involved to obtain the consent of the communities, taking into account languages and spirituality, respecting their own organization, legitimate authorities and systems of communication and information, in accordance with the procedure established in the Biocultural Protocol of indigenous peoples. ▪ Any activity involving the exploitation of natural resources and any type of development projects on indigenous lands and territories shall be subject to the procedure of Free, Prior and Informed Consultation (FPIC), which is already established in ILO Convention 169. ▪ The execution of activities that gravely or irreparably affect the cultural, social, economic, environmental integrity and/or means of livelihood or any other nature in the territories of indigenous peoples is prohibited. 2. SHARED AND PARTICIPATORY GOVERNANCE. Indigenous governance is understood as the way in which indigenous communities and peoples decide to administer and/or govern their territory, from their own worldview, with their values and cultural traditions, respect for their collective rights and community participation, where decision-making spaces for the management of their resources and territoriality are carried out within the framework of collective law. 3. INDIGENOUS INSTITUTIONS AND DECISION-MAKING: The existing indigenous institutionality is the indigenous communities' own way of organizing and defining their political-social structure, in accordance with their needs and expectations, traditions and customs. These indigenous institutions form the proper representation of indigenous peoples and communities, which by their traditional character guarantee collective rights, decision-making and the traditional form of government. Legitimate indigenous authorities are considered; when in collective instances such as assemblies, one or several indigenous communities, designate said positions through free and democratic decisions to leaders, with the qualities and character that represent the interests as an indigenous people and community, exercise their functions with integrity and responsibility within the framework of law. Communication for community processes corresponding to decision-making, all action corresponding to presentations of facts, discussions and reaching agreements shall be conducted in the native language of the indigenous people, in respect of the right that assists them as established in ILO Convention 169. The way of making decisions shall be made respecting collective rights, having the following hierarchy, according to their competencies:
- a)
Territorial Councils and their Different Commissions: The board of directors of the Territorial Councils for being the instance that represents all communities of a territory and by hierarchy, shall always have the leadership to convene and direct territorial assemblies for decision-making, including: Aspects related to land, forest and others, guarantors of respect for territorial rights and to resolve any internal conflicts between communities. Important decisions regarding rights of access and use of natural resources shall always be made in community collective agreements and consensuses, as well as the actions corresponding to the protection and conservation of resources and territoriality. Unilateral decision-making, when it concerns a matter of community interest, in exchange for favors in return for royalties or bribery, shall be considered as a generic situation of invalidity of the act. Commissions: The different commissions that accompany the Board of Directors shall comply with the responsibilities assigned to them in the internal regulations of the council and the agreements that emerge from the territorial general assembly, part of their functions is the monitoring and surveillance of the territory and its resources.
- b)
Community Councils and their Natural Resources Commission; is the instance of representation at the community level, which represents authority to resolve internal conflicts and guarantors of compliance with the community's collective rights and the proper use of community natural resources.
- c)
Councils of Elders: Represents ancestral knowledge and culture, experience and wisdom, to accompany community authorities with their guidance, recommendations and decisions on matters related to collective rights and access to natural resources and land.
- d)
Agroforestry Organizations: Is the instance organized by community members (indigenous men and women) to take on the responsibilities of productive management for economic purposes through orderly, responsible and sustainable access to resources with the purpose of generating self-employment.
MANAGEMENT AND EXPLOITATION OF FOREST RESOURCES IN PRIVATE INTERCOMMUNAL AREAS FOR COMMERCIAL PURPOSES: 1. The forest resources of private intercommunal lands of indigenous peoples, by the collective use right that assists them, shall be administered under the principle of Shared and Participatory Governance, where indigenous institutionality represented in Territorial Councils, Councils of Elders, Community Councils and Agroforestry Organizations shall establish through participatory community consensus agreements of collective responsibility for the protection and conservation of their resources and compliance with their rights for the use and equitable benefit thereof. 2. These agreements between Territorial Councils, Councils of Elders, Community Councils and Agroforestry Organizations shall be signed with transparency approved in community assemblies; subject to periodic evaluations to improve governance and community participation actions. 3. The agreements established by the Territorial Councils, Councils of Elders, Community Councils and Agroforestry Organizations for forest management and governance, internally within indigenous communities and territories, shall send a copy to the ICF for registration in the Social Forest System for its monitoring and technical accompaniment. 4. The ICF shall facilitate technical assistance to communities, through its different departments; Community Forest Development, Forest Management and Development, Forest Protection, Wildlife, Reforestation and other instances, aimed at training and strengthening technical and administrative capacities to productive organizations and indigenous institutionality in sustainable management of their resources. 5. Access to forest resources for the exploitation of forest products for commercial purposes shall be developed under the principle of sustainable use, complying with the administrative and technical provisions established by the national legal framework, through the preparation and execution of a Management Plan and/or Forest Operating Plans, as an instrument of technical and administrative planning. Where the participation of communities in the decision-making process is effective and transparent. 6. The volumes of Permissible Annual Harvest (VCAP) of intercommunal management plans shall be shared with the same right of equitable access and use among communities. The exploitation and commercialization of these volumes by productive agroforestry organizations are defined in the internal agreements of ACCESS RIGHTS that shall be established among communities and indigenous institutionality, with the proper technical assistance from the ICF to estimate the base price of timber. 7. Prior to the preparation of a forest management plan, the communities that exercise the use right over the area in question, through consensual agreements, through Free, Prior and Informed Consultation, shall issue a consent act for processing before the ICF. 8. Management Plans in indigenous territories (Coniferous Forest and Broadleaf Forest) shall be prepared under the categorization of multiple use, with ordering and zoning of the forest according to the interests of the communities. 9. Forest Management Plans in indigenous territories shall be managed and approved under the title of the beneficiary communities.
ACCESS TO FOREST RESOURCES FOR DOMESTIC AND/OR ARTISANAL USE 1. In the indigenous population, access to forest resources shall be carried out through compliance with current technical, administrative and legal norms for corresponding domestic purposes, based on their customs, ancestral and cultural tradition. 2. The indigenous population of a community territory has preferential access to the use of its resources; however, when there is interest from a person outside the community territory, this shall be regulated and assisted with consent from the local community authority, the community councils. 3. No exploitation authorizations shall be issued in private indigenous community areas without the signed consent of the community and territorial councils. 4. The regional and/or local ICF offices shall maintain a regulatory record of all non-commercial exploitation authorizations that are issued for access to forest resources in private indigenous territories. These records shall be shared in processed form, periodically, to help with decision-making for equal access. 5. The Forest Region shall issue the validity period to be granted for mobilization guides, having to assess the access conditions and distance of each community and/or territory to the Forest Industry, for this process the responsible TFC must address the Forest Region.
ACCESS FOR THE USE AND EXPLOITATION OF FOREST BY-PRODUCTS IN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY AREAS. 1. The intercommunal lands and forests in indigenous territories, due to their different ecosystem characteristics, possess broad potential in terms of environmental services, availability of timber and non-timber products and by-products, which by ancestral tradition the communities have used as a means of livelihood, as well as spiritual, medicinal and cultural value. Access to these resources by indigenous communities in their territories for their ancestral and traditional domestic use shall have no restriction whatsoever. 2. Forest By-Products with High Economic Potential: Various forest by-products are identified in indigenous territories that, allowing regulated and sustainable access, have the capacity to provide substantial economic income to improve the living conditions of indigenous families, among them, Forest seeds of different species among the main ones Mahoganies and Royal Cedar, Latex, Pine resin, charcoal production, seed oils such as Swa (Cedrela mexicana), ojón fruit (palm) for the production of Batana, wicker for crafts, tiques for roof construction of houses and kiosks in urban areas; roots and stems for medicinal purposes such as cuculmeca, hombre grande, etc. 3. The ICF with participation of Territorial Councils and communities shall facilitate the management of technical studies that allow evaluating the capacity of commercial production without risk to its sustainability, when communities so require to enter a process of production and commercialization beyond domestic and/or artisanal use. 4. For forest areas with multiple use management plans, there shall be a special section, with technical assessments for the exploitation of by-products with potential for extraction and commercialization, as well as the measures to be taken to guarantee their sustainability. 5. Production and Commercialization of Firewood and Charcoal: The ICF in coordination with territorial and community councils shall facilitate technical, administrative and legal assistance for its production, transport and commercialization, without limiting access to it, the sustainability of the resource shall be guaranteed with community participation. Among the measures to be established through collective consensus are: a) Organization and registration of producers at community level. b) Commitment to the protection of water sources or protection strips as established in ARTICLE 123 of the Forest Law. c) Establishment of areas with dendro-energy plantations through reforestation of local species. d) Commitment to protection against forest fires and adoption of non-burning responsibilities. 6. Production and Commercialization of Pine Resin: a) ICF shall facilitate the management and approval of special plans for Pine Resin exploitation in indigenous community areas, with specific technical assistance. b) ICF shall authorize regional offices, the process of review and approval of special plans for pine resin exploitation, as well as facilitate its transport and commercialization management, considering current regulations. Remitting a copy to the Department of Forest Management and Development and Community Forest Development. 7. Use and Exploitation of Fruits and Forest Seeds for Oil Production: a) In no circumstance is access limited to indigenous communities to exploit forest by-products such as seeds, their transformation and commercialization. b) To guarantee the sustainability of the resource, the felling of trees for seed exploitation is prohibited. Collection shall be done without damaging the productive trees, through climbing systems or collection on the ground when it falls naturally or due to climatic events. 8. Implementation of Agroforestry Systems:
- a)
The establishment and/or implementation of agroforestry production systems shall be promoted in indigenous territories, as a measure for product diversification for food security, to improve family economic income with planning for production in the short, medium and long term.
- b)
Improve the management and assistance to strengthen agroforestry plots with forest species of high economic value that guarantee better income. The ICF through regional offices shall facilitate technical assistance to communities entering this process through current regulations to approve Special Plans for Agroforestry Systems.
- c)
The promotion of agroforestry systems in indigenous territories shall be done through three primary approaches; Product diversification, systematic restoration of sites and to reduce the advance of the agricultural frontier. Consequently, the clearing of primary forests for the establishment of agroforestry systems is not permitted, in any circumstance, as established by the Forest Law, Protected Areas and Wildlife.
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SSF THROUGH AGROFORESTRY ORGANIZATIONS: 1. Part of the norm established in national legislation is the need for communities to organize and constitute themselves legally, whether in agroforestry associations, cooperatives or agroforestry companies among others that are regulated and function as agroforestry organizations. These structures already exist at the community level in indigenous territories and shall respect their functionality. 2. Agroforestry organizations form part of the basic structures of indigenous institutionality of productive order, where their members or base membership shall be integrated exclusively by native persons of the region, belonging to an indigenous people. 3. Agroforestry organizations, with all their affiliates being members of the communities, are a fundamental part in forest management and good territorial governance, consequently, the right of access and use of forest resources shall be established through the agreements of "Participatory governance and access rights" between agroforestry organization, community council and territorial councils, defining rights and responsibilities of the parties. Within the framework of the Social System and Community Forestry, the ICF shall facilitate technical assistance and accompaniment. 4. For agroforestry organizations, the provisions of transparency and accountability to the communities regarding the management of their resources and the guarantee of environmental sustainability, resulting from forest access is mandatory at the completion of each Operating Plan, responding to the obligations of forest protection and surveillance, reforestation and restoration of degraded areas, etc. Non-compliance with these provisions shall allow the denial of access for a subsequent Operating Plan and its approval by the ICF.
IMPLEMENTATION OF FOREST MANAGEMENT PLANS, OPERATIONAL PLANS AND SALVAGE PLANS: 1. Prior to the preparation of a Forest Management Plan in indigenous territory, this decision shall go through a process of Prior Free and Informed Consultation with the communities that legitimize their ownership, through the convocation of the territorial council and community council, for their consent. 2. To authorize Management Plans, Operational Plans and Salvage Plans, strict compliance with current regulations established by ICF for their respective review and approval must be ensured. 3. Administrative procedures for authorizations corresponding to changes of logging units in the implementation of Operational Forest Plans, whether carried out by agroforestry organizations or forest industries with commercial agreements, shall be accompanied by a supplementary note from the community council giving its consent, confirming that both the industry and the agroforestry organization are in good standing with the community regarding the commitments undertaken. 4. The ICF Supervisor Technician, together with the Qualified Forest Technician who accompany the execution of operational plans, shall periodically conduct training and updating sessions for both field personnel and community organizations, to ensure compliance with current legal technical standards. 5. For indigenous communities, interaction with their resources and the sustainability thereof is very important, therefore, together with the technical criteria already defined by the standards for the establishment of seed trees in operational plans, it is established to assess the criteria that communities determine according to their ancestral and traditional knowledge. Both criteria shall be discussed previously to field work for their consensus and application. 6. The expiration of activities presented in the ten-year report contemplated in the management plan corresponding to indigenous territories shall not be grounds for suspending the management plan, with considerations of limitations that indigenous communities present. ICF shall facilitate its management to grant extensions in cases duly justified in accordance with current legal regulations to present the update of the forest management plan. 7. The validity of the Biennial Operational Plan (POB) in indigenous territories is established for a period of two years, with an extension at the midpoint of that period. 8. Do not establish forest resource use sites near areas or zones defined by communities for the protection and conservation of wildlife (Scarlet macaw, green macaw, white-tailed deer, among others), so as not to affect their habitat with environmental and noise pollution resulting from extraction activities. 9. Leave identified and standing the trees selected for wildlife habitat (e.g., trees with nests, fruit producers, cavities, etc.) and properly instruct field personnel for the fulfillment and respect of this measure. Consider the local knowledge of indigenous community members for the identification of hollow trees that are not suitable for timber production. 10. For management plans in broadleaf forest, commercial exploitation shall be limited exclusively to species authorized in the management plan and/or operational plan. ICF shall support the promotion and commercialization of potential species in the national and international market. 11. When there is a need to establish temporary and/or periodic bans for flora and fauna species, due to nesting conditions, gestation and seed flowering and dispersal periods, ICF shall engage with indigenous institutions to establish participatory criteria and assess the ancestral knowledge of indigenous peoples and their conscious participation in the process.
SUPERVISION AND/OR EVALUATION OF COMMUNITY FOREST AREAS BY ICF. 1. Communities with Management Plans and POB in execution shall facilitate and accompany ICF technicians for field supervision corresponding to the evaluation of compliance with technical standards (AUDITS). For this process:
- a)
ICF shall formally notify the indigenous institution that legally represents the execution of the Management Plan.
- b)
Communities through their community councils shall accompany ICF technicians on field visits, facilitating their access to forest management areas.
- c)
Community organizations shall in no way limit the technical work of ICF personnel and the fulfillment of their functions.
- d)
The audit findings and/or results shall be formally communicated to the communities with recommendations for corrective actions that correspond in case of non-compliant standards or the determination of fines in case of serious violations. 2. The ICF Supervisor Technician who accompanies the execution of the POB has free access to the areas under management to conduct field supervisions together with the Qualified Forest Technician. Their recommendations for compliance with standards are mandatory.
RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE QUALIFIED FOREST TECHNICIAN CONTRACTED FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TECHNICAL INSTRUMENTS: 1. In accordance with what the Forest Law establishes, indigenous communities through their agroforestry organizations shall contract the services of a Qualified Forest Technician (TFC), who shall provide technical services for the preparation and administration of the Management Plan and Community Forestry Operational Plans and preferably one who speaks the native language so that technical assistance and communication is effective and fluid. 2. The TFC shall have sole responsibility to provide technical assistance to the indigenous communities with whom they subscribe a contractual relationship, which must describe their rights and obligations regarding the decisions of the community assembly. 3. The TFC shall fulfill the responsibilities of supervising and facilitating the execution of planned activities in the management plan and operational plans in coordination with the agroforestry organization, ICF and other community bodies. Likewise, periodically and at the request of the community, the TFC shall present reports on forest management in the territory to the community assembly. 4. The TFC shall maintain constant communication with ICF and shall facilitate corresponding support to visits for supervision, monitoring and technical audits in the area of the Management Plan and attend to corrective measures arising from them and keep the community informed to make corresponding decisions. 5. The TFC is not exempt from administrative sanctions by ICF in case negligence and anomalies are found in its technical assistance services and fulfillment of functions. In case deficiencies in service are found, ICF must immediately notify the community to take corresponding measures.
MECHANISMS FOR TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY: 1. Agroforestry organizations, at the request and need of communities, shall conduct community accountability sessions to provide a report with full transparency regarding the forest management they carry out, in response to the trust placed in them by communities for the administration of the Management Plan and community Operational Plans. 2. Agroforestry organizations shall maintain an effective record of all their forest management, both administrative and technical. At the end of each exploitation process, they shall present a detailed report to the community through the following process.
- a)
The community council shall make formal convocation with fifteen days in advance to the entire community, indicating the date, time and venue of the assembly.
- b)
The agroforestry organization, community council and other bodies shall meet to review the forest management carried out during the period and shall prepare the report for the community assembly with full transparency.
- c)
Once the session is held, to the satisfaction of the assembly, they shall give their consent to continue with exploitation activities, or alternatively the recommendations for correcting errors or non-compliance with agreements, attaching the corresponding minutes as a means of verification to the file.
EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF BENEFITS AND PAYMENT OF LOG ROYALTIES: 1. Royalties for the right of access and commercial use of forest products and by-products. a) Royalties are defined as the payment of an economic contribution that agroforestry organizations or natural persons make to the treasury of the Territorial Councils and/or Community Councils for access to and use of forest resources for commercial purposes. The determination of this contribution fee shall be made effective through a general assembly of the Territorial Council and Community Councils, in addition to compliance with the payment of log royalties to municipalities and ICF. b) The mechanisms of utilization and purposes of this shall be regulated and approved by the assemblies of both bodies. As well as the accountability mechanisms. Some of the purposes of these funds could facilitate the following actions: Community patrols and surveillance for monitoring illegal acts such as clearing and illegal harvesting within the territory; territorial and community delimitations and/or signage; community projects for social purposes, capacity building and development of community assemblies for making important decisions in favor of their communities' resources. c) The payment of royalties established as internal rights within indigenous institutions through community agreement does not represent any objection to legal or technical procedures that agroforestry organizations and/or natural persons carry out before ICF for the authorization of harvesting. d) For the right of access and use of forest resources for domestic and artisanal purposes, it is not subject to any payment of royalties, but it is obligated to contribute as a member of the indigenous community to actions for the protection of their community's resources and report any illegal action that occurs in the territory. 2. Equitable Distribution of Benefits:
- a)
Benefit shall be understood as the economic profits resulting from commercial agreements and exploitation activities of forest products and by-products carried out by agroforestry organizations within community territories through the implementation of Management Plans, Operational Plans, Salvage Plans and by-products. Also understood as benefit for the right to use existing resources with potential for exploitation and commercialization.
- b)
Communities have the right to receive in equitable shares the right to use, exploit and commercialize resources with commercial potential resulting from the forest management of their territories. Access to that resource, its exploitation and commercialization shall be done through agroforestry organizations in compliance with established standards.
- c)
The economic profits derived from the exploitation activities of forest products and by-products carried out by agroforestry organizations, 50% of these profits shall be allocated as a community social benefit fund. The mechanisms of utilization of this fund shall be regulated in community assemblies. The other 50% shall be used by productive organizations for their capacity building process and reinvestment through productive projects.
REINVESTMENT FUNDS FOR FOREST MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES OF INTERCOMMUNAL INDIGENOUS FORESTS: 1. Agroforestry organizations that are developing forest harvesting activities must incorporate into forest Operational Plans all operating costs corresponding to protection, reforestation, restoration, silviculture and other forest activities. These costs shall be prepared by the TFC with the support of the ICF and the participation of representatives of community organizations involved in forest management as a process of empowerment and decision-making for environmental sustainability. 2. The costs representing the reinvestment of forest management that form part of the Operational Plans, once prepared, shall be presented and approved in community assembly as part of its transparency and evidenced by minutes. This shall be part of the POB document for its approval by the ICF. 3. The costs corresponding to these activities in no circumstance may be used for other purposes at the disposal of the agroforestry organizations. 4. For the correct execution of reinvestment funds, an administrative commission shall be established represented by the Board of Directors and Supervisory Board of the agroforestry organization, community council, council of elders and territorial council, which shall manage the correct planning and investment of funds, as part of participatory governance. The ICF shall accompany with technical support and as an external oversight body. 5. Upon completion of the execution of each POA, the administrative commission represented by the Territorial Council, Community Council, Council of Elders and the Agroforestry Organizations shall plan, convene and present the management report to the community assembly and the ICF regarding the transparent use of funds and activities developed, as a mechanism for accountability. Non-compliance with this provision shall empower the ICF to not issue the administrative closure finiquito of that POB to the Territorial Council and the approval of a following Operational Plan, and must attach the corresponding minutes to the ICF.
COMMERCIALIZATION PROCESS OF FOREST PRODUCTS AND BY-PRODUCTS: The sustainability of community participation is based on the possibility that at least a majority have the possibility of accessing decent employment and income and fair payment for produced products. To ensure that such impact occurs, agroforestry organizations have the responsibility to carry out a process of fair and transparent negotiation, through mechanisms that the law and regulations permit, including: PUBLIC AUCTION OR DIRECT SALE. 1. The community organization must have the professional services of a Qualified Forest Technician who facilitates sufficient advice for the management of its production costs. 2. To have the technical support of ICF at all times, which facilitates prices in the national market or the current Agreement of base price for national forest. 3. For negotiation and establishment of commercial agreements. Integrate a committee with members of the Board of Directors and Supervisory Board of the agroforestry organization, representative of the Community Council and the Territorial Council and the ICF as overseer for the transparency of the process and other bodies they deem pertinent. 4. To work previously on production costs, with transparency and adjusted to the particular conditions of each community, facilitated by the qualified forest technician and ICF. 5. The forest product commercialization agreements that result from negotiations with industrial companies or natural persons, shall be validated and approved through a community assembly within the framework of the right to free prior and informed consent as collective owners of the resource, leaving a copy of the minutes.
INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY FOREST OVERSIGHT AND/OR SOCIAL AUDIT 1. Oversight and/or indigenous community forest social audit shall be understood as the recognized right that indigenous communities have to make corresponding decisions and execute actions of evaluation, control, supervision or monitoring of their community forest areas, to verify their proper use or compliance with norms or agreements established for their access and utilization. 2. Communities through their representative organization, community councils, have the right and obligation to periodically carry out, every six months, evaluation actions within areas under forest management, as well as monitoring visits to community areas to assess their conditions. In case of finding non-compliance with norms or illegal activities, they shall evidence and present the respective complaints to the competent authorities such as ICF or the prosecutor's office, previously analyzed and discussed with territorial indigenous institutions. 3. Agroforestry organizations and/or forest companies that are developing forest management activities in community areas are obligated to permit communities to conduct the social audits that correspond to their rights. Denial of the same shall allow communities to submit a request for temporary suspension of work to ICF and accompany a forest audit jointly.
PARTICIPATION OF FOREST INDUSTRIES IN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITY TERRITORIES 1. The subscription of commercial agreements between communities and forest industries, which includes the operationalization of forest harvesting activities, does not exempt their owners from the obligation to comply with the Technical and Regulatory Norms established by forest law. 2. These commercial agreements shall be known to the ICF for its review and technical assistance by the Forest Region, where it guarantees that the rights of indigenous peoples are not violated, with fair payments according to national market prices and for the determination of technical and legal responsibilities adjusted to law. 3. Forest industries working in indigenous territories shall be directly responsible for forest violations and crimes they commit in the exercise of their wood extraction activities or non-compliance with technical norms that ICF determines in a technical audit process. 4. For any industry with intentions to work in indigenous territories, communities shall request the environmental, criminal and social responsibility background of said industry, corresponding to recent years, related to its actions at the national level. Such information shall facilitate indigenous communities to make pertinent decisions for the establishment of such agreements. 5. Industries must establish viable guarantees before indigenous communities for the fulfillment of contracted responsibilities, otherwise, communities shall request to ICF the disconnection of those industries from its management plan.
For cases not provided for in this Agreement, the provisions of current forest regulations and other applicable legal provisions shall apply.
This Agreement shall be executed and shall be effective immediately and must be published in the Official Gazette, the transparency portal and website of the ICF. BE COMMUNICATED AND PUBLISHED. Given in the city of Comayagüela, municipality of the Central District on the twenty-seventh (27) day of the month of November of the year two thousand twenty-five (2025). LUIS EDGARDO SOLIZ LOBO EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RODOLFO ANTONIO ZAMORA GALEAS GENERAL SECRETARY
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- Acuerdo No. 129-2025 — Delegación de funciones en Jennifer Paola Flores Lanza para el Departamento Administrativo de Inquilinato (Decree 129-2025, 2025)
- Acuerdo Ejecutivo No. 118-2025 — Ratificación del Addendum Número Tres al Convenio para las Negociaciones de una Alianza Estratégica de Compra y Venta de Granos Básicos (Decree 118-2025, 2026)
- Acuerdo Ministerial No. 0027-2025 — Autorización para explotación de tres bancos de préstamo de materiales para mantenimiento vial — This law authorizes the construction company A&V INGENIEROS to extract materials from three loan banks in Olancho to maintain an unpaved 20.56 km highway. The company must comply with environmental standards, reforest when finished, and notify nearby communities about extraction activities. (Decree 0027-2025, 2025)
- Acuerdo Ministerial No. 0027-2025 — Autorización de explotación de bancos de préstamo de materiales para mantenimiento de red vial en Olancho (Decree 0027-2025, 2025)