The country of Honduras is located in northern Central America. With an area of 112,492 km2, it is the second largest country in Central America. Its geographic and topographic position result in a combination of climates, including tropical rainforest, savannah and tropical mesothermal, and two very distinct dry and rainy seasons.
The most outstanding topographical features are the coastal plains, the highlands and the mountainous highlands. 59% of the land is classified as forest, consisting mostly of broadleaf forest, pine forest and mangrove forest. The land devoted to agricultural activities corresponds to 24.7% of the country.
The country is highly vulnerable to climate variability: in 1998 Hurricane Mitch caused a huge catastrophe, without precedent in history, causing 7,000 deaths, damaging 60% of the country's infrastructure and causing damages to crops which were calculated to be worth USD 17,227 million.
Between 1993 and 2012, Honduras experienced more damage caused by extreme weather events than any other country on earth, ranking first in the Germanwatch Climate Change Vulnerability Index. Extreme rainfall, atypical droughts, variation in the dates of rainfall, loss of fertility and erosion of arable land are all causing problems for agriculture in Honduras.
Climate scenarios, taking into account the variations caused by the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), project decreases in total rainfall between 3% and 10% by 2020, as well as increases in temperature of 0.9°C on the Pacific slope and some Caribbean basins. By 2090, total precipitation is expected to decrease by 28% to 31% in the districts of Cortes, Atlantida, Yoro, Francisco Morazan, Comayagua and El Paraiso.
It is anticipated that corn, coffee and beans will suffer the effects of climate change, causing stress, low crop yields, decreased quality of crops, and crop losses from partial to total. For maize alone, it is foreseen that production losses could amount to about 120,000 tons annually by 2025, equal to the value of USD 40 million. In particular, the cultivation of basic grains is hindered by variation in the rainy season and increased pests and diseases that have spread due to climate change.