A Watershed-Level Economic Assessment of the Downstream Effects of Steepland Erosion on Shrimp Production, Honduras
Ana Marcela Samayoa
The shrimp industry of southern Honuras is located on the coastal plain of the Gulf of Fonseca. The quantity and quality of water supplying the shrimp ponds is primarily dependent upon the rainfall and land management in the steeplands which rise up from the plain beginning about 40 km from the coast. As the steepland forest, which composed about 75% of the watershed, has been cleared and cultived, the downstream vulnerability to flooding and sedimentation has greatly increased. The analysis of steepland soil and water conservation programs should include serial benefits they provide to downstream interests. The downsteam benefits of such programs may be of greater economic importance than the production benefits realized on the steepland fields.
Publication Details
- Publisher: Texas A & M University
- Dewey Decimal: 333.9
- ECHO Library: 333.9 SOI