El Salvador natural resource policy inventory : USAID/ROCAP RENARM [regional environmental and natural resource management] project

Four problem areas as defined by RENARM served as the basis for organizing the natural resource issues in these countries. These areas are sustainable agriculture, forestry, wildlands and biodiversity, and watershed management. Issues were identified within each of the four major themes, such as land tenure, pesticide management, reforestation, ecotourism, and coastal zone management. In El Salvador, the authors found that natural resource depletion is largely the result of inappropriate policies, in addition to population pressure and poor management. They recommend that an environmental consciousness be developed about virtually every policy decision so that policies can be adopted that equate private and social costs to resource depletion. (Author abstract)