Canadian University Projects in International Development Database (CUPID)

Americas

Honduras

• Community-based pest management in Central American agriculture
• Développement durable et tourisme au Honduras
• Water Management in Honduras and El Salvador
• Formation en gestion des coopératives

Water Management in Honduras and El Salvador

Project purpose:
The overall purpose of the project is to strengthen the capacity of Honduras and El Salvador to effectively manage their water resources in order to better protect and conserve these resources. This will be achieved through increased institutional and human resource capacity building, partnerships with the community and national policy reviews.

Key results to date:
The project has strengthened the UES and UNAH in the field of water resource management through the initiation of a two-year M.Sc. program at each institution. The new Master's in Management of Groundwater Resources at UES was launched in September 2008, and the new Master's in Water Resource Management with Emphasis in Hydrogeology at UNAH began in February 2009. To date, the UES program has completed one full two-year cycle (10 students) and has initiated a second cycle (10 students). The UNAH program has almost completed its first cycle (10 students). The project has trained four professors at the University of Calgary (2), the University of Waterloo (1) and the University of Costa Rica (1). Three UES professors have been trained in the UES M.Sc. program. The M.Sc. programs apply water science to key challenges such as water supply, contamination and water basin management. Short courses have been delivered by UES (10) and UNAH (1) targeting the masters students, as well as, government and private sector professionals. The first cycle of UES M.Sc. students have completed their community-based thesis projects and the second cycle has begun field work. The first cycle of UNAH M.Sc. students are working on their field work for their community-based thesis projects. UES delivered a water policy forum on the theme of groundwater contamination and delivered a regional water congress that included a groundwater policy forum.

Community-based pest management in Central American agriculture

Project purpose:
The purpose of the project is to improve policies and technical capacity in pesticide storage, handling and use on the part of farmers and their communities in Central America, as a way to enhance human and environmental health while increasing agricultural productivity.

Key results to date:
More than 400 stakeholders from academia, government, rural communities, and a range of organizations in the countries of Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Honduras have been involved in the project. Through a regional methodological approach, the three countries carry out activities in a consistent yet contextually-appropriate way. Key results to date include the: 1) delivery of participatory workshops within universities and rural communities to improve on theoretical and practical understanding of research methodologies, pest management practices and pesticide risk indicators; 2) enhancement of technical and infrastructural capacities to carry out research in food production, and in soil and pesticide analysis; and 3) establishment of safer practices of the handling, use and disposal of pesticide products. Overall, these and other project activities have increased the capacity of stakeholders to provide improved food security and environmental stewardship in their countries along with a greater collaboration among Central American universities in this context.

Formation en gestion des coopératives

Project purpose:
The primary objective was to regionalize the University of Costa Rica's master's degree program.

Key results to date:
Through this project the universities of Costa Rica and Honduras established a master's program in cooperative business management; the University of El Salvador now offers four specially designed certificate programs, one of which is in cooperative management; and the University of Panama has developed a business administration degree with a specialization in cooperatives. Approximately 260 people have been trained through these programs and more than 300 people have received ad hoc training. Twenty-six case studies dealing with cooperative problems and organizations have been published. A network linking faculty at the universities of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras and Panama was formed and has been integrated into the network of the universities of the Americas in cooperative studies.

Développement durable et tourisme au Honduras

Project purpose:
The objectives of the project are to strengthen specialized training profiles in sustainable local development and tourism at the Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana (UNITEC), at the undergraduate (Licenciatura) and graduate (diploma) levels and to develop a specialized resources base and services that will meet the needs of local poor communities.

Key results to date:
The project helped establish the Local Development and Tourism Centre at the Universidad Tecnológica Centroamericana (UNITEC). The training of a nucleus of human resources at the Centre is coming to an end. To date, 65 students have completed their training as part of the joint undergraduate program between UNITEC and the Honduras Association of Municipalities. The students collected data from selected communities and produced 12 monographs on local communities. In total, 37 students received degrees in the new master's program on local development and tourism in 2007 and a second cohort of 48 students began their courses. The Centre provided two types of training to Aboriginal communities, one on developing and managing projects and the other on local development. Computer facilities make it possible to offer distance training and coaching in the communities. The partners held a symposium at UNITEC on tourism and local development in November 2007.