Television pictures of the horrific flooding and mudslides in Honduras and Nicaragua are offered as proof of the awesome force of nature. In fact, they reflect human error, and the afflicted nations' call for international aid offers a chance for constructive change in the region. PNS associate editor Andrew Reding directs the North America Project of the World Policy Institute.

With as many as one in four of their inhabitants rendered homeless by Hurricane Mitch, Honduras and Nicaragua are asking the global community to forgive billions of dollars in loans -- then lend again to rebuild their countries. But no international relief package will offer any protection against similar tragedies in the future, unless it is accompanied by drastic changes in government policies.

In particular, these should involve land reform, restricting construction in flood zones, and demilitarization.

Contrary to the television images, the devastation wrought by Mitch was no mere act of God but a far more human tragedy. Misguided government policies and poor farming practices -- the two are interrelated -- had already pushed the region to the brink of ecological collapse. The torrential rains only gave it a final push.

A basic tenet of sound land use is to cover steep slopes with vegetation to prevent erosion. In much of Honduras and Nicaragua, poor farmers without access to cultivable land in the lowlands and valleys have stripped pine forests off hillsides and run their furrows practically to the summits. This has turned the rivers brown with eroded topsoil, and made the region exceptionally vulnerable to flooding.

In the vast rainforests of eastern Honduras and Nicaragua, landless peasants have been extending the agricultural frontier by slashing the rainforest, then burning the fallen vegetation to release minerals into the thin soil. They can then plant corn and beans for a few years, until the minerals are exhausted. At that point, cattle ranchers take over, and grazing livestock further degrades what is left of the soil.

In both cases, the soil loses not only its fertility, but its ability to act as a sponge to soak up rainfall. Rainwater therefore runs off quickly, eroding the soil, silting hydroelectric dams, and causing calamitous flash floods that sweep away peasants' homes.

This is why it makes no sense for the international community to help Honduras and Nicaragua rebuild what was destroyed. For aid to be meaningful, it must be linked to changes in government policies, and that means addressing the now-dormant issue of land reform.

Peasants are moving onto mountain slopes and into the rain forest because they have no access to the large arable tracts of land in the lowlands -- land now held in ranches and estates by a small, privileged fraction of the population. Much of that land is used for cattle farming, which requires ten times as much acreage as grain farming to produce the same caloric output. Using international relief funds to expropriate idle or under used lands would relieve much of the pressure on uplands and rainforests.

Home construction should also be prohibited in flood plains, as it is in much of the developed world. It is senseless to rebuild a home on a site where it faces almost certain destruction within a few years.

Central American governments should also have to bear their share of rebuilding costs by cutting wasteful spending. Foremost on the hit list should be their military establishments, which divert precious resources from social priorities. No Central American country faces any meaningful external military threat or any domestic guerrilla insurgency. Central American armies contribute nothing to their nation' economic output, but continue to infringe on the human rights of citizens already burdened by economic hardship. Costa Rica and Panama, which have already abolished their militaries, enjoy the highest standard of living in the region.

The international community should offer a generous reconstruction plan -- a plan tied to land reform, wise land-use planning, and regional demilitarization.