Hurricane Mitch made clear the interrelationship between management of watersheds’ upper reaches and impacts downstream. The impacts of inappropriate land management, poor agricultural practices, overgrazing, deforestation, poorly sited housing developments, and inadequate pollution control in the upper watershed are manifested in the lower basin by extremes in availability and quality of water supplies, greater vulnerability of populations and economic assets to natural disasters, reduced power-generating capacity due to sedimented water courses, and damaged coastal ecosystems.

Hurricane Mitch also demonstrated the nexus between poverty, environmental degradation, and vulnerability to natural disasters, resulting in yet greater poverty.