Honduras is preparing the construction of a maximum-security prison to address the country’s ongoing security crisis, which continues to suffer from widespread gang violence. But the prison happens to be located on a remote Caribbean island designated as a protected area, and conservationists say the project could destroy its ecosystem. The prison could threaten the uninhabited Islas del Cisne (Swan Islands), an archipelago recognized as a national marine park. Because the three-island archipelago is so far from mainland Honduras — approximately 250 kilometers (155 miles) away — it has a unique ecosystem yet to be completely studied. “All human activities, even the smallest ones, have an impact on the environment,” said Ilia Rivera, president of the Honduras College of Biologists. “So thinking about building a prison in a place so far from the mainland — obviously it’s going to have an environmental impact on the island’s terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.” One of the islands that make up the Islas del Cisne archipelago. Photo courtesy of ICF. The project comes amid a human rights crisis largely tied to Honduras’ longstanding gang problem. In 2022, the government announced a state of exception that allowed it to bypass some constitutional rights while conducting searches and making arrests. But the people they arrest have to be put somewhere, and the country has a problem controlling violent inmates. Islas del Cisne, covering a total area of approximately 410 hectares (1,013 acres) doesn’t have permanent inhabitants. But around a dozen members of the Honduran Naval Force…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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