Re is a de Es udios Andaluces (REA) | Núm. 46, julio (2023) | e-ISSN: 2340-2776
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SUMMARY OF ARTICLE: hTTpS://dx.dOI.ORg/10.12795/REA.2023.I46.08
Endogenous esou ces and ou ism de elopmen in he Depa men
o Valle (Hondu as)
S ephany Dashiell Bonilla-Rod íguez
bonila [email p o ec ed] 0000-0002-8893-2923
Luis Al onso Ho elano-Mínguez
[email p o ec ed] 0000-0003-2507-5917
Uni e sidad de Salamanca. Facul ad de Geog a ía e His o ia.
Calle Ce an es, s/n. 37001 Salamanca, España.
KEYWORdS
Tou ism po en ial
Endogenous de elopmen
Dep essed a ea
Depa men o Valle
Hondu as
This case s udy is abou how endogenous esou ces cons i u e a po en ial o he de elopmen o ou ism in
he Depa men o Valle (Depa amen o de Valle) in he Cen al Ame ican Republic o Hondu as. The con ex
o he s udy ela es o he his o ical conce n o inequali y in La in Ame ica and he ways local ini ia i es may
con ibu e o e e se egional and socioeconomic inequali y. The abundan body o s udies e eals dispa i ies
acco ding o he le els o de elopmen be ween coun ies and egions. Such dispa i ies hampe he c ea ion
o weal h and in pa icula i s equi able dis ibu ion. Mo eo e , his o ical in e es s o wo ld powe s, in e nal
poli ical con lic s, epidemics and na u al calami ies ha e hampe ed socioeconomic p og ess and ha e caused
dis up ion o social cohesion. E iden ly, he gaps in he le el o de elopmen a e so deep ha hey ha e
gene a ed a dicho omy be ween social classes. On he one hand weal h is ex emely concen a ed among
a small mino i y, whe eas many ulne able people su e om ex eme po e y, ood insecu i y, childhood
malnu i ion and a di icul access o basic se ices. Taking in o accoun he socioeconomic indica o s, he
Republic o Hondu as is one o he mos indeb ed s a es o he wo ld wi h a conside able pa o i s popu-
la ion apped in g inding po e y and an ex emely skewed income dis ibu ion. In addi ion, he a ailable
da a shows ha , compa ed o o he La in Ame ican s a es, Hondu as is a coun y wi h a p onounced egional
inequali y exp essed in a la ge income gap be ween he weal hie No h and he poo Sou h.
The main aim o his s udy is o explo e he po en ial o he de elopmen o ou ism and i s possibili ies
o p oduce local weal h in he Hondu an municipali ies o he Depa men o Valle by desc ibing and e al-
ua ing endogenous esou ces. The esea ch me hods a e based on bo h p ima y and seconda y sou ces,
such as isual obse a ion in he ield, a e iew o a ailable w i en sou ces and he in e p e a ion o s a-
is ical da a. The in e p e a ion is elabo a ed h ough he lenses o isualisa ion and unde u ilisa ion. On
he one hand isualisa ion makes he ea u es o a ma ginal geog aphical space angible as well as i s his-
o ically g own s a egic posi ion on he Gul o Fonseca endowed wi h a ich na u al he i age. On he o he
hand, he second lens uses he pe spec i e o unde u ilisa ion o po en ially a ac i e ou is ic esou ces
ha may complemen he adi ional p oduc ion base and ha may hus gene a e weal h and employmen .
DOI: h ps://dx.doi.o g/10.12795/ ea.2023.i46.08
Fo ma o de ci a / Ci a ion: Bonilla-Rod íguez, S.D., & Ho elano-Mínguez, L.A. (2023). Endogenous esou ces and ou ism de elopmen in
he Depa men o Valle (Hondu as). Re is a de Es udios Andaluces,(46), 165-183. h ps://dx.doi.o g/10.12795/ ea.2023.i46.08
Co espondencia au o es: bonila [email p o ec ed] (S ephany Dashiell Bonilla-Rod íguez)
S ephany Dashiell Bonilla-Rod íguez & Luis Al onso Ho elano-Mínguez / REA N. 46 (2023) 165-183
286
© Edi o ial Uni e sidad de Se illa 2023 | Se illa, España| CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 | e-ISSN: 2340-2776 | doi: h ps://dx.doi.o g/10.12795/ ea.2023.i46.08
The Depa men o Valle, o alling 1,665 km2, is si ua ed in he sou h o Hondu as on he Paci ic coas .
Wi h he neighbou ing Depa men o Cholu eca i sha es he loca ion on he Gul o Fonseca. The Valle
Depa men includes he municipali ies o Alianza, Amapala, A amecina, Ca idad, Goasca án, Langue,
Nacaome, San F ancisco del Co ay and San Lo enzo. Nacaome is he Depa men ’s capi al loca ed a 95
km om he na ional capi al Tegucigalpa. I is he u ban cen e se ing 86 hamle s and 708 a ms eads
sca e ed ac oss he en i e depa men . Because o he a ea’s emo eness a om he na ional capi al and
i s si ua ion in he sou he n pe iphe y some expe s designa e he egion as ‘ he pe iphe y o he pe iphe y’
o ‘ he Sou h o he Sou h’.
The o og aphy o he Valle Depa men is cha ac e ised by coas al plains and moun ain anges in he in-
e io . The moun ain ops a e pa o he Cen al Ame ican is hmus. The loca ion in he opics, he nea ness
o he sea and he o og aphic condi ions de e mine he local clima ology. The opical clima e wi h d y
win e s has an a e age annual empe a u e o 30 deg ees cen ig ade while annual ain all is be ween 1,500
and 2,000 mm.
Based on he popula ion p ojec ion o he yea s 2013 o 2030, he numbe o inhabi an s in 2023 can be
es ima ed a abou 194,000. Du ing he 21 h cen u y he popula ion inc ease is almos 30 pe cen . Acco ding
o INE (2014) six ou o each en inhabi an s li e in u al a eas ou classing he u ban popula ion. In cul u al
e ms he popula ion is mul ie hnic. Popula ion o ecas s a e based on a high bi h a e (22.5‰ in 2012) as
well a high e ili y a e. Two hi ds o he Depa men ’s popula ion almos 84,000 pe sons a e inac i e o
whom many a e aged unde 15 yea s. Ou o he ac i e popula ion o alling mo e han 50,000 pe sons mo e
han hal a e p edominan ly wo king in he p ima y sec o (a able and li es ock a ming and ishing) and
one hi d wo k in he e ia y sec o . Manu ac u ing and o he ac i i ies a e ela i ely unimpo an .
The na u al and cul u al he i age o he Depa men ’s municipali ies is a he unknown because nei he
a he na ional le el no a he local le el sys ema ic in en o ies ha e been made. In o de o iden i y and
classi y he ou is ic esou ces based on p ima y and seconda y sou ces, we ha e applied a compa men-
alisa ion in o wo blocks which a e based on hei na u al o igin o hei an h opogene ic cha ac e is ics.
Wi h espec o he na u al en i onmen and he biodi e si y he sou he n inge o Hondu as is pa o
an ex ensi e a ea wi h a simila physical geog aphy, lo a and auna which has led o he c ea ion o a
Biological Co ido in Mesoame ica. The Co ido ’s na u al en i onmen in Hondu as is p o ec ed by he
s a e by he so-called Sis ema Nacional de Á eas P o egidas de Hondu as (Na ional Sys em o P o ec ed A eas
o Hondu as). In he s udy a ea a sub-sys em o he na ional one is in o ce, he so-called Sub-Sis ema de
Á eas P o egidas de la Zona Su de Hondu as (Sub-sys em o P o ec ed A eas o he Sou h Zone o Hondu as).
The sub-sys em encompasses he Na ional Ma ine Pa k A chipiélago del Gol o de Fonseca, he Mul iple Use
A ea o Isla del Tig e, he Á ea Manejo Habi a /Especie (P ope Use o Habi a /Species) Bahía de Chismuyo, and
he Á ea Manejo Habi a /Especie San Lo enzo. The ca alogue o ma e ial asse s o he cul u al he i age is no
ye comple e as a consequence o a lack o de ailed knowledge o he inhe i ance le by p e-Columbian
cul u es. Despi e he inaccu a e lis ings he ollowing examples o buil he i age s and ou , namely he his-
o ical si es o Aamapala and Nacome and he colonial buildings o Langue and Goasco án. Knowledge o
imma e ial cul u al he i age is sadly lacking, al hough he con inui y o popula knowledge and adi ions a
he communi y le el endow he way o li e wi h a sphe e o au hen ici y, a way o li e which is connec ed wi h
he hy hms o he yea ly cycle ansmi ed om gene a ion o gene a ion.
The po en ial o in e na ional ou ism may be u ilised o a di e se audience anging om he classical
mass ou is seeking sun and beach o eco ou ism, u al ou ism, scien i ic o educa ional ips, ad en u e
and spo s and geo ou ism. The ma ke ed ou ism p oduc s encompass obse a ion o lo a and auna,
hiking, boa ips h ough mang o e c eeks, ishing ips wi h local a isanal ishe men, celeb a ions o
Pa on Sain s, adi ional ai s, isi s o in o ma ion cen es and local gas onomy. Local en ep eneu s
domina e he ma ke o accommoda ion and ca e ing. Howe e , ou ism de elopmen is s ill a an ea ly
s age. The e o e, he sec o needs ins i u ional suppo as well as a mo e igo ous p o ec ion o he na u al
en i onmen while exis ing in as uc u e needs imp o emen . To conclude: he po en ial o endogenous e-
sou ces o he de elopmen o ou ism in he municipali ies o he Valle Depa men is only spa sely u ilised
as ou ism ac i i ies a e in an ea ly s age bu o e an excellen oppo uni y o local de elopmen .