As a result of the leadership and empowerment developed during the training process in the Honduras Youth Conservation Corps program, several APAH members took the initiative to organize and develop Regional Sections of the association around the country to promote conservation and development actions in their home communities. These voluntary activities are supported logistically and technically by APAH and in close coordination with local partners in their distinctive regions of Honduras.
Activities / Themes
APAH supports eight regional offices that develop activities geared toward the needs of their communities.
Two APAH members conducting environmental education camps with children at an educational center in Belén Gualcho, Copán, in western Honduras.
APAH sostiene una totalidad de ocho regionales quien desarrollan actividades orientadas a las necesidades de sus comunidades
Lake Yojoa Regional
This regional organization focuses primarily on protected areas in the Lake Yojoa region, the Santa Barbara Mountain National Park, and the Azul Meambar National Park. Its activities include volunteer work in Community Environmental Education, Guide and Birdwatching, Reforestation, and River Cleanups.
Jazmin Montes, an APAH member from the Lake Yojoa region, conducts an environmental education activity with children from a regional school.
Olancho Regional
The Olancho regional office focuses on developing activities that empower youth in eastern Honduras. Its volunteer activities include supporting sports initiatives such as marathons and mountain races to support the physical and mental health of local youth. These activities also include discussions on environmental conservation and social education.
Young APAH participants participated in the national youth mountain racing and climbing championship, organized by the Honduran Federation of Mountain Sports and APAH.
South Regional
The southern region develops activities focused on the objectives of local conservation organizations in the San Marcos de Colón Biosphere and the protected areas of the Gulf of Fonseca. These activities range from environmental education in coastal communities, camps in educational centers, beach and coastal mangrove cleanups, as well as forest surveys and fire management strategies in the biosphere.
APAH youth during a reconnaissance tour on Tigre Island, at the Marine Research Center for Scientific Tourism in the Gulf of Fonseca.
Belen Gualcho Regional
The Belén Gualcho region is home to many Environmental Promoters from the first JPC cohort of 2017. Due to the remoteness of their location, they focus primarily on volunteer activities in environmental education in schools and communities. The youth also carry out reforestation activities, community involvement in water boards, and forest fire management.
Young people from the Belen Gualcho regional APAH group at a reforestation event on the slopes of the Celaque National Park.
Corquin Regional
The Corquín regional office, despite its proximity to Belén Gualcho, has developed its own office to carry out volunteer activities in educational centers in the communities surrounding the Corquín region in western Honduras. They focus primarily on environmental education and reforestation activities with children.
APAH youth developing an environmental education camp at an educational center in Corquín, Copán.
La Labor Regional
The La Labor regional office focuses on activities supporting protected areas such as the Pacayitas Volcano Biological Reserve, the Guisayote Biological Reserve, and the Erapuca Wildlife Refuge. These volunteer activities range from biological records, tour guiding, birdwatching, and, of course, environmental education in schools.
Sandra Pérez, JPC 2024 graduate and APAH member, at the top of Erapuca Mountain, in La Labor, Ocotepeque.
La Paz Regional
The La Paz regional chapter is one of the most populous APAH chapters. Its members live throughout the department of La Paz, from its capital city to the cities and communities of Marcala, San José, and Chinacla. It also supports members in the remote southern area of La Paz in the Guajiquiro Biological Reserve located in the Sierra Lenca. They promote diverse activities, from environmental education to public area cleanups, tourism ventures, mountain guiding, forest fire management, and watershed management, among many others.
A young member of APAH during a tourist rappelling activity at one of the many waterfalls found in the Guajiquiro region in southern La Paz.
Gracias Regional
The Gracias, Lempira, regional office develops volunteer activities focused on the Cacique Lempira, Lord of the Mountains Biosphere Reserve, supporting the protected areas of the Celaque Mountain National Park and the Puca Mountain Wildlife Refuge. These activities are carried out through environmental education camps where different types of discussions are held on important environmental topics such as trash cleanup, wildfire management, and wild bird protection (Maccaws), among many others. This regional office also supports the JPC's signature activity of climbing Puca Mountain year after year.
The Puca Mountain Wildlife Refuge, located in Las Flores, Lempira, is protected thanks to community organizations like the Puca Community Foundation, which includes APAH youth.
For more information about the work carried out by the APAH Regionals, contact the APAH leadership.