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Following Hurricane Mitch in 1998, the Honduran government introduced legislative reforms designed to generate investment opportunities in energy, mining and tourism and to expedite the post-disaster recovery. This experiment in “disaster capitalism” provided a blueprint for the recovery strategy implemented by the government of Porfirio Lobo after the 2009 coup against Manuel Zelaya. The similarities between these two historical conjunctures necessitate a deeper engagement with the meaning of extractivism in post-disaster contexts, particularly in relation to so-called sustainable tourism development. While multilateral aid institutions have claimed tourism as a sustainable alternative to more exploitative forms of economic development, this paper draws on ethnographic research in a coastal Garifuna community to argue that tourism is analogous with extractivism. By analyzing the collective action and resistance of black and Indigenous organizations for territorial autonomy, this paper elucidates the connections between traditional extractive industries and tourism, both of which rely on state-orchestrated natural resource expropriation, enclosure and dispossession, resulting in widespread environmental degradation and ecological insecurity for coastal Indigenous communities. The paper highlights how neoliberal tourism policies are advanced under the guise of ecotourism and sustainable development, while creating the conditions for extractivism to take hold within black and Indigenous territories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rainfall-induced natural disasters rank first among all natural disasters in Central America. Due to the geographical conditions of the Central American region, it is common that two or more countries are struck by the same rainfall event, for example Hurricane Mitch in 1998 affected the entire Central American region, killing more than 18 000 people. As a consequence, Central American countries have started to promote regional policies and programs that aim for better preparation and response to these events, including disaster management cooperation. However, cooperation poses several challenges that may hinder its goals. In order to analyse these challenges, we present analysis in this paper of the current policy and legal institutions as well as the main challenges that may hinder international disaster management cooperation in Central America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cuba's medical internationalism is extraordinary, and in many ways the extent of its outreach programme puts the developed world to shame. It is impossible to fit Cuba's actions into any neat theoretical box—quite simply the revolutionary process follows no established paradigm. This exceptionalism is seen both in its approach to foreign relations and in its medical internationalism policy. Indeed, even during the days when it was economically dependent upon the Soviet Union, Cuban actions showed an exceptional degree of political independence. But because Cuba is so different, it is also difficult for developed nations to understand. This is a tremendous pity, for there is much to learn from Cuba's approach to developing sustainable public health systems in poor, Third World countries. There is also a great deal that, on a moral basis, wealthy nations can also learn about Cuba's policy of internationalist solidarity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying nutrition problems after the emergency phase of a disaster has passed is a critical priority in humanitarian response. Population displacements following hurricane flooding can promote household food shortages that persist after direct effects of the natural hazard have waned. This article examines preexisting social vulnerability and reconstruction effects as critical factors for under-five child nutritional status, alongside proximal household and child predictors. The study focuses on post-hurricane reconstruction almost two years after Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, and compares shelters in the capital with the settlement of Ciudad Nueva, Choluteca. Results have implications for humanitarian assistance practices and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the earth's climate begins to shift into a hotter and less predictable period, there is a basic injustice in who will suffer worst and first. Nations facing rising oceans and drought are those least responsible for the problem, and they have the least resources to cope with them. To evaluate claims of environmental injustice, we examine three cases where the first signs of climate change are being felt worst and first: murderous flooding from Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, rising sea levels swamping entire Pacific Island atoll nations, and devastation from flooding among squatter settlements in Mozambique. In each case these nations are suffering not only because of bad geography or management. Rather, because of their colonial past and current positions in the world economy, they are brutally vulnerable to forces outside their control. We conclude by offering an explanation for generalized mistrust among Southern nations vis-à-vis Northern nations and the Kyoto treaty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hurricane Mitch caused extensive damage to water supply systems (WSS) on the Northwest Coast of Honduras in October. The WSS of four communities were evaluated to determine the effects of the flooding and landslides that occurred during and after the hurricane. Water resource managers were interviewed to determine the WSS reconstruction policy in use at present in order to formulate improvements in this methodology for the future. In this paper, these policy improvements are divided into technical, health-related, socioeconomic, and legal issues. Water main destruction was the most common type of damage. In the future, water mains should be constructed outside of streambed and off steep slopes. Poor water quality results from the four communities suggest that the use of chlorinators, sediment traps, and sand filters must be mandatory in the future. Given that water mains represent some 39 to 52 percent of the cost of a stream- or spring-fed WSS, the use of wells can often significantly decrease the cost of a WSS. However, the higher cost of maintenance and energy necessary to run the pump is an expense that the community bears and can represent a heavy financial burden over the lifetime of the WSS. Those communities which have difficulties in negotiating the purchase of the water sources necessary to supply their WSS, often lack legal advice. Regulatory and administrative functions of the National Autonomous Water and Sewage Company (Servicio Autónomo Nacional de Acueductos y Alcantarillado [SANAA]) must be separated into two separate institutions to avoid conflicts of interest. An insufficient number of professionals in the fields of hydrogeology and sanitary engineering have delayed reconstruction efforts. This situation could be improved by providing short course education to existing professionals and paying higher salaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the effects of the 1998 Hurricane Mitch in Honduras. Description on Hurricane Mitch's devastation in Tegucigalpa and Choluteca, Nicaragua; Role of non-governmental organizations in the reconstruction of Honduras; Economic conditions in Honduras.

Probes into the political implications of the 1998 Hurricane Mitch in Honduras. Views of Noemi Espinoza, president of the Christian Commission for the Development on Hurricane Mitch; Effect of Hurricane Mitch on the military institution of Honduras; Controversy on the repeal of Article 107 of the Honduran Constitution concerning landownership of foreigners.

Probes into the role political institutions play during disasters or calamities in Central America. Statistics on 1998 Hurricane Mitch casualties in Nicaragua; Discussion on the social conditions of Posoltega in Nicaragua; Criticism on the actions of Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman concerning Hurricane Mitch.

Presents the testimonies from survivors of Hurricane Mitch in the Central American countries' Honduras and Nicaragua on October 1998. Estimated number of dead on the floods and mudslides in Posoltega, Nicaragua; Importance of Lake Managua for the Acahualinca neighborhood in Managua, Nicaragua; Factors that worsen the impact of Hurricane Mitch.

Discusses the economic and social impact of Hurricane Mitch in Central America on October 1998. Effect of the region's export-oriented growth model on its society; Factor that led to revolutionary movements of the 1970s and 1980s; Efforts at social democratic change in Central America.