Honduras Strengthens the Governance of the National Sustainable Livestock Platform to Promote Low-Emission Livestock Production

• The project Transforming the Honduran Livestock Sector into a Low-Carbon Economy (MAF-Livestock-HN) supports institutional strengthening and multi-stakeholder coordination for the development of a sustainable and climate-resilient sectoral strategy.

The National Sustainable Livestock Platform of Honduras (PNGSH) is advancing the strengthening of its collaborative governance model, consolidating itself as a strategic space for interinstitutional coordination to promote more sustainable, resilient, and low-emission livestock production in the country.

As part of this process, public institutions, academia, international cooperation agencies, producer organizations, and technical stakeholders from the livestock sector are promoting a roadmap aimed at consolidating the institutional functioning of the Platform and strengthening coordination, monitoring, and strategic decision-making mechanisms through 2026.

The PNGSH operates under a multi-stakeholder collaborative governance approach, clearly differentiating governance processes related to coordination and decision-making from management and implementation processes. This model is aligned with Agreement SAG-043-2021, the State Policy for the Agri-food Sector of Honduras (PESAH 2023-2043), and the National Action Plan for Sustainable Cattle Ranching 2024-2028.

In this effort, the MAF-Livestock Honduras project, implemented by CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) with the support of the Mitigation Action Facility and in coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, plays a strategic role as a technical facilitator and coordinator of the Platform’s institutional strengthening process. The project supports the participatory development of governance mechanisms, the activation of coordination bodies, and the creation of dialogue spaces among public, private, academic, and cooperation stakeholders

Among the main advances promoted with the support of the MAF-Livestock Honduras project is the participatory development of the PNGSH Governance Document, which identifies strengths, challenges, and opportunities for improvement to consolidate the effective operation of the Platform. Among the most relevant findings, the existence of a solid regulatory structure and broad legitimacy for participation was recognized; however, the need to strengthen operational formality, accountability, institutional monitoring, and the continuity of territorial coordination was also identified.

The proposed governance model includes the functional activation of the existing PNGSH bodies, as well as the updating and clarification of roles among the Presidency, the Strategy Commission, the Executive Secretariat, the Permanent Technical Committee (PTC), the technical subcommittees, and the regional working groups. It also incorporates annual planning mechanisms, unified monitoring matrices, and formal institutional reporting flows.

Among the strategic actions prioritized for the 2026-2027 period are strengthening internal governance, implementing information and institutional memory systems, strategic positioning before new sector authorities, and reactivating regional working groups to strengthen territorial coordination.

Likewise, the MAF-Livestock Honduras project will support the co-construction of the Long-Term Strategy for Low-Emission Livestock Production, conceived as a participatory and inclusive process aimed at defining a strategic vision for the sustainable transformation of the Honduran livestock sector. This process includes its gradual development and formalization in coordination with public, private, academic, and cooperation stakeholders. The initiative seeks to strengthen national and territorial coordination to build a shared vision for sustainable and climate-resilient livestock development.

Strengthening the governance of the PNGSH represents a key step toward consolidating a shared vision for sustainable livestock development in Honduras, based on multisectoral coordination, institutional transparency, and the collective construction of policies and strategies for the sector.