Honduras
On June 29, 2026, the Honduran Institute of Environmental Law (IDAMHO) filed an appeal for protection of constitutional rights with the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice against the resolution issued by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (SERNA). This resolution authorized the third renewal of the environmental license for Phase 1 of hydrocarbon exploration, which includes 2D seismic surveys, gravimetry, and seabed sampling in the Honduran Caribbean. The plaintiffs argued that SERNA authorized the renewal of the environmental license for the contracting companies Caribx and High Power Petroleum (H2P) without their submitting complete technical studies and social impact assessments. Therefore, they requested the annulment of the environmental license and the cessation of exploration activities and the subsequent drilling of an exploratory well. It should be noted that the original Petroleum Contract signed between the State of Honduras and the transnational corporation was awarded through direct contracting, bypassing public bidding processes.
The litigation and legal resistance promoted by the Honduran Institute of Environmental Law (IDAMHO) revolve around the opacity, the unconstitutionality of the hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation contracts in the Caribbean Sea and the lack of prior consultation with indigenous peoples.
The organization argues in its lawsuit before the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice that the impact area covers more than 35,000 square kilometers in the Honduran Caribbean Sea (which was the area awarded in the operating contract), directly affecting fishing grounds and the livelihoods of communities in the region.
The legal debate is exacerbated by government pressure and legislative initiatives aimed at accelerating environmental licensing procedures ("express laws"), limiting rigorous technical studies in energy matters and is one of the many actions that seek to stop the expansion of offshore hydrocarbon projects, which is strengthened by the resistance of environmental organizations and indigenous leaders who also denounce the opacity and the "harmful" conditions of oil exploitation contracts in the Honduran Caribbean.
The annulment of the resolution is sought, in terms of national legislation and the advisory opinions OC-23/17 and OC-32/25 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR), so that the environmental license authorizing the contracting companies Caribx and High Power Petroleum (H2P) to continue with exploration activities, since the Operation Contract has contemplated the drilling of an exploratory well as phase 2 and there is the practice of simply extending environmental licenses without technical and social processes that support them.
The action highlights that continuing the exploration process is incompatible with the climate ambition required to address the global climate crisis, and that it violates the Honduran Constitution, national environmental regulations, and the collective rights of four Indigenous peoples in the region enshrined in ILO Convention 169. It also warns of the latent threat to the Mesoamerican Reef System (MAR) from a potential oil spill, highlighting risks to marine ecosystems and coastal communities, and pointing out the lack of adequate prior consultation.
- IDAMHO (Environmental Monitoring and Defense Agency of Honduras).
- Secretariat of Natural Resources and Environment (SERNA)
The Honduran Caribbean is suffering a severe crisis due to climate change. The region faces rising sea levels, higher water temperatures that damage coral reefs, stronger hurricanes, and severe coastal erosion. This endangers the lives and homes of the Garifuna and Miskito coastal communities.
The main impacts in the area cause the rise of the sea which gradually erases the beaches, coupled with damage to the corals from the heat of the water which causes bleaching and death of the reefs.
Storms, hurricanes, and heavy rains cause major flooding, so many families lose their land and have to look for new places to live.
Damage to nature and culture: Mangroves are weakening and losing their role as a natural shield against the sea. Afro-Honduran and indigenous communities suffer the most because they depend on fishing and the sea for food. Pollution carried by rivers exacerbates the local ecological problem.
International agreements/treaties
- OC-23/17
- OC-32/25
National laws
- Constitution of the Republic of Honduras
Beginning
- Principle of prevention
- Precautionary principle