The Role of GIS in Evaluating Contour-Based Limits of Cloud Forest Reserves in Honduras

Abstract

In August 1987, the National Congress of Honduras designated most of the country’s tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF) as protected (Congreso Nacional 1987). Decree 87–87, which created the 37 reserves (Figure 1), set forth strict conservationist measures for each unit and stipulated that the core zone limits follow the 1,800 m, 2,000 m, or 2,100 m contour, depending on further studies. Five years later, the issue of delimitation is still unsettled for most of the reserves, due largely to the dearth of recent forest coverage data and the disagreements among planners concerning the “how” and “where” of delimitation. This study examines the role of a geographic information system (GIS) in evaluating the methodology and placement of limits; specifically, it presents a GIS-based technique that evaluates the viability of contour-based limits for Honduras’s cloud forest reserves, using the Guisayote Biological Reserve as a study area.