This article was published in the New York Times.

TEGUCIGALPA”Honduras” Sept. 6 — There is no way to stop hurricanes” but two fiercestorms that slammed ashore recently on the Caribbean coast of Mexicoand Central America show the importance of forests and mangrove swampsin slowing them and lessening their human toll. “The trees secure theground and offer a buffer from the storms”” said the Rev. José AndrésTamayo” a Roman Catholic priest and leading Honduran environmentaladvocate. Forested areas are shrinking” particularly in CentralAmerica” and the environmental degradation is one of the reasons thateven what would be a run-of-the-mill rainstorm elsewhere can causedeadly floods and mudslides here.

Hurricane Felix” with 160mile-an-hour winds” burst ashore on Tuesday in one of the most forestedareas of northern Nicaragua and southern Honduras. Although the stormdevastated coastal communities” authorities were crediting the treeswith sapping it of some of its strength. “The forests are obstacles forthe advance of hurricanes”” said President Manuel Zelaya Rosales ofHonduras. The bodies of 24 Miskitos” whose fishing boat had capsized”were found Thursday near the coast of Honduras” said a federal lawmakerfor the Honduran region” Carolina Echeverría. Dozens of people weremissing. Damage reports have yet to come from at least 70 percent ofthe villages and towns along the Nicaraguan coast” said a federaldisaster official” Jorge Ramón Arnesto Soza. The hurricane has killedat least 71 people.

In Honduras” Mr. Zelaya acknowledged thathurricanes had become more dangerous with the deforestation that hasravaged the countryside. “We’re trying to correct this” but it willtake a decade or more.” In fact” Honduras has suffered the greatestpercentage of forest loss of any country in Latin America. Studies showthat it has lost more than a third of its forest cover since 1990.Father Tamayo mobilizes local residents to stop illegal logging byblocking highways and bridges and taking over logging operations inOlancho Province” which has the largest reserves in the country. Hisgroup” the Environmental Movement of Olancho” takes on interests”including landowners and illegal loggers. “If we don’t get seriouswe’re going to turn into a second Haiti”” he said.

Haiti” whichhas been stripped of trees” remains a cautionary tale. The differencebetween the lush forests in the Dominican Republic and the rockyhillsides on the other side of Hispaniola in Haiti is clear. HurricaneJeanne in 2004 caused 19 deaths in the Dominican Republic and hundredsin Haiti. On Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula” Ann Snook” of the Nature Conservancy“said she was in her house in Bacalar when Hurricane Dean roared throughon Aug. 21. The forests helped weaken it” she said” potentially savinglives.