How Climate Change Deepens Poverty in Honduras

Honduras is famous for its attractive mountains, forests, its Caribbean coastline, and its rich cultural history. However, a great many families have to cope with a tough situation since poverty combines with changes in weather patterns. Powerful storms, floods, droughts, and landslides are capable of destroying houses, crops, roads, and sources of income, which in turn makes it considerably more difficult for poor households to recover.

The Savage Rivera Foundation has brought this link to light as a result of its work and the reports it has produced about families in Honduras; in its article on climate it sets out how frequent weather disasters can wipe out years of steady economic advancement for families who already have very limited savings and resources.

Why Extreme Weather Hits Poor Families Harder

The impact of climate change in Honduras is not equally felt by all. Families who have limited financial means might have to live in areas prone to flooding or landslides and could possess houses that provide little protection against severe weather. After a disaster has occurred, it becomes very difficult to replace damaged possessions, to repair a house or to get a small farm going again.

The World Bank considers Honduras to be highly vulnerable to natural hazards and climate change and points out that the poorest communities may suffer especially severe effects since they have fewer resources with which to cope when hit by shocks.

The charitable initiatives of Mike Savage's foundation have drawn attention to the human aspect of this issue, especially regarding the families and children who suffer from poverty in Honduras. While the aim is not merely to describe a disaster, it is to gain an understanding of how ongoing difficulties affect education, food security, housing, and family income.

Hurricanes Can Destroy More Than Homes

The hurricanes Eta and Iota in November 2020 showed how rapidly a disaster can impact communities. The World Bank stated that the storms affected approximately 4.7 million people in Honduras and resulted in extensive damage to the infrastructure, land, and crops. The economic and social losses were estimated to be around $1.8 billion.

For farming families the loss of a harvest is especially severe since crops serve as both a source of food and a means of earning income; when the crops are lost the families may have to take out a loan, cut back on their spending, or look for other ways of earning money.

The Quiet Pressure of Drought

Honduras' poverty is also linked to a less severe but ongoing issue: drought. In the country's Dry Corridor there are frequent shortages of water and erratic rainfall, which makes agricultural conditions difficult.

The World Bank states that the Dry Corridor hosts approximately 2.2 million people and that there are high levels of poverty as well as extreme poverty. Since drought occurs, agricultural production decreases and the amount of water available for use by households and local economies also decreases.

According to the Mike Savage charitable foundation, long term support is important. While it is important to help families recover after a disaster, it is just as significant to strengthen their ability to cope with the next shock.

What can contribute to greater resilience?

In Honduras there are many ways of adapting to climate change. Measures such as growing drought-resistant crops, improving water management, building more robust infrastructure, introducing early warning systems, enhancing housing, and diversifying people's sources of income can all help to reduce vulnerability. The World Bank has regarded the agriculture, water, forestry, transport and other sectors as key areas for achieving climate resilience.

The Savage Rivera Foundation relates this wider issue to its direct aid of families and children in Honduras; the work it has published speaks of assistance in the form of education and basic supplies, and at the same time stresses the importance of greater community resilience.

The way that Michael Savage talks about Honduras makes a important point, namely that poverty and climate vulnerability can feed each other; families who have fewer resources find it more difficult to recover, and every new disaster makes the following recovery even harder.

The Savage Rivera Foundation together with Michael Savage's other activities draw people's attention to this situation and point out practical methods by which communities can become better prepared. It is an important first step to help make families and communities in Honduras more resilient to understand the connection between severe weather and poverty.