Reform to the Forestry, Protected Areas and Wildlife Law - Protection of Protected Areas through Qualified Majority (Decree No. 63-2024)

Decree No. 63-2024 of the National Congress of Honduras reforms Article 109-A of the Forestry, Protected Areas and Wildlife Law (Decree 98-2007) establishing reinforced legislative requirements for the modification of the country's protected areas. The reform establishes that any reduction of a protected area and wildlife can only be declared through legislative reform approved by a qualified majority of two-thirds (2/3) of the total members of the National Congress, significantly raising the approval threshold from the previously required simple majority. Concurrently, it establishes that expansions of buffer zones and core zones of protected areas can be approved by simple majority of deputies present in session, incentivizing the expansion of protection. The decree responds to constitutional commitments (Article 145 on natural resource conservation and Article 340 on human right to water), international obligations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement, and recommendations from the 2020 Universal Periodic Review on strengthening environmental legislative frameworks. It entered into force on July 18, 2024, with its publication in La Gaceta.