location: Nicaragua

location: Nicaragua

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Indonesian palm oil, Brazilian beef top contributors to U.S. deforestation exposure
- A new report reveals that the United States imported palm oil, cattle products, soybeans, cocoa, rubber, coffee and corn linked to an area of tropical deforestation the size of Los Angeles between October 2021 and November 2023.
- Palm oil from Indonesia was the largest contributor to deforestation, followed by Brazil due to cattle grazing.
- The report by Trase, commissioned by Global Witness, found that the U.S. continues to import deforestation-linked commodities while awaiting the passage of the FOREST Act, which aims to prohibit imports of products linked to illegal deforestation.
- Experts emphasize the need for action from companies, governments, financial institutions and citizens to stop commodity-driven forest loss, urging support for smallholders, increased transparency in supply chains, and the passage of the FOREST Act in the U.S.

Tropical forest loss puts 2030 zero-deforestation target further out of reach
- The overall rate of primary forest loss across the tropics remained stubbornly high in 2023, putting the world well off track from its net-zero deforestation target by 2030, according to a new report from the World Resources Institute.
- The few bright spots were Brazil and Colombia, where changes in political leadership helped drive down deforestation rates in the Amazon.
- Elsewhere, however, several countries hit record-high rates of forest loss, including the Democratic Republic of Congo, Bolivia and Laos, driven largely by agriculture, mining and fires.
- The report authors call for “bold global mechanisms and unique local initiatives … to achieve enduring reductions in deforestation across all tropical front countries.”

Harmful mining continues in Nicaragua despite U.S. sanctions, new investigation shows
- The U.S. imposed sanctions against Nicaragua in 2022 but numerous mines are still operating like normal or even expanding, according to a new report from the Oakland Institute, a think tank dealing with social and environmental issues.
- Despite the sanctions, the U.S. was Nicaragua’s largest gold importer last year, bringing in around $465 million.
- Expanding mining concessions has resulted in pollution and human rights violations against Indigenous communities.

Restoring degraded forests may be key for climate, study says
- Scientists have found that focusing on restoring degraded forests, which cover more than 1.5 billion hectares (3.7 billion acres) globally, can enhance forest carbon stocks more efficiently than replanting in deforested areas, with natural regrowth being a cost-effective method.
- In Central America’s “Five Great Forests,” there’s a goal to restore 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) by 2030. The study identified 9.8 million hectares (24.2 billion acres) as top restoration priorities, with 91% being degraded forests.
- Restoring just 5% of these priority zones was calculated to potentially sequester 113 million tons of CO2, equivalent to taking more than 20 million cars off the road for a year.
- The research emphasizes the importance of involving local communities in restoration planning and suggests that current forest management practices, like those in the timber industry, need to adapt for more sustainable outcomes.

Chemical spill in Nicaraguan reserve raises questions about industrial mining regulations
- Chemicals leaked from a processing plant run by Colombian mining company Hemco, which operates inside the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve and an autonomous region controlled by several Indigenous groups.
- Community leaders expressed their concern about pollution in the Kukalaya and Tungki rivers, where residents washing laundry reported itchiness after coming in contact with the water.
- Mining concessions have spread significantly over the last several years as the Nicaraguan government, facing increasing international sanctions, looks for new revenue sources. But weak environmental regulations have drawn criticism.

UN denounces new attacks on Indigenous people in Nicaragua’s largest reserve
- Groups believed to be connected to cattle ranching, logging and illegal mining launched several attacks in Indigenous communities living in the largest protected area in Nicaragua.
- Settlers are pushing into the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve and the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region to pursue illegal mining, logging and cattle ranching.
- At least six Indigenous people were killed and several injured in the most recent attack, forcing numerous families to relocate, despite an existing international mandate on the Nicaraguan government to protect them.

Indigenous communities threatened as deforestation rises in Nicaraguan reserves
- Nicaragua’s Bosawás and Indio Maíz biosphere reserves both experienced deforestation at the hands of illegal loggers, miners and cattle ranchers last year.
- Deforestation of the country’s largest primary forests has been a violent, ugly process for Indigenous communities, who were granted land titles and self-governance in the area in the 1980s but don’t have the resources to protect themselves.
- Indigenous leaders and environmental defenders believe the situation will only get worse moving into 2023, as gold mining accelerates and the government cracks down on opponents.

Displaced and deprived, Indigenous communities suffer from hunger in Nicaragua
- Colonos, or colonists, have been pushing into rural parts of northern Nicaragua for decades, drawn to the potential for unregulated gold mining and cattle ranching.
- The area legally belongs to Mayangna and Miskito Indigenous communities, who have sustainably managed the area for crop cultivation.
- But many families have been driven away by the colonos’ threats of violence and destruction of the forests and water sources they depend on for sustenance.
- With nowhere to go, the Indigenous communities are now experiencing food insecurity and malnutrition as they attempt to grow crops on small plots of unclaimed land.

Agricultural frontier advances in Nicaraguan biosphere reserve
- The Río San Juan Biosphere Reserve in Nicaragua encompasses some 1.8 million hectares, as well as smaller protected areas such as Indio Maíz Biological Reserve, Los Guatuzos Wildlife Refuge, the Fortress of the Immaculate Conception, Bartola Nature Reserve, and the Solentiname Islands.
- The Río San Juan Biosphere Reserve lost around 600,000 hectares of forest between 2011 and 2018.
- Satellite data show forest loss has intensified in the northern and central parts of the reserve since 2018, and only fragmented portions of primary forest remain.
- Sources said that the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources and the National Forestry Institute are responsible for ensuring the effective conservation of the country’s protected areas, but that they are not currently fulfilling their monitoring duties.

Deforestation from cattle ranching also hurts rivers in Nicaragua, study says
- A new study highlights the adverse effects that cattle ranching has had on rivers in Nicaragua’s Indio Maíz Biological Reserve, including decreased food sources for aquatic life and the reduction in the size of fish.
- Deforestation has plagued the reserve for more than 30 years, resulting in the destruction of rainforest for cattle ranching, logging and other illegal activities.
- Local Rama and Kriol communities are carrying out patrols and starting other efforts to protect their land.

Environmental defenders in Nicaragua denounce government crackdown as elections loom
- Indigenous communities in northeastern Nicaragua continue to suffer from violent attacks by land invaders looking to exploit the area for cattle ranching and gold mining.
- Environmental defenders are increasingly struggling to denounce the violence as President Daniel Ortega targets government critics ahead of elections scheduled for November.
- Many advocates of the Mayangna and Miskito communities have received threats from the government or felt pressure to shut down their organizations.

For some Indigenous, COVID presents possibility of cultural extinction, says Myrna Cunningham
- COVID-19 has devastated communities around the world, but for some Indigenous groups, the pandemic posed an existential threat.
- Few people are better placed to speak to the impact COVID is having on Indigenous communities than Myrna Cunningham, a Miskitu physician from the Wangki river region of Nicaragua who has spent 50 years advocating for the rights of women and Indigenous peoples at local, regional, national, and international levels.
- Cunningham’s many achievements and accolades include: First Miskito doctor in Nicaragua; first woman governor of the Waspam autonomous region; Chairperson of the PAWANKA Fund; President of the Fund for the Development of Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and the Caribbean (FILAC); Advisor to the President of the UN General Assembly during the World Conference of Indigenous Peoples; member of the Board of Directors of the Global Fund for Women; Deputy of the Autonomous Region of the North Atlantic Coast in Nicaragua’s National Assembly; president of the Association for Women’s Rights in Development; and the first Honoris Causa Doctorate granted by the National Autonomous University of Mexico Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México to an indigenous woman, among others.
- Cunningham spoke about a range of issues in a recent interview with Mongabay founder Rhett A. Butler.

Sea turtles: Can these great marine migrators navigate rising human threats?
- Humanity is quickly crossing critical planetary boundaries that threaten sea turtle populations, their ecosystems and, ultimately, the “safe operating space” for human existence.
- Sea turtles have survived millions of years, but marathon migrations put them at increasing risk for the additive impacts of adverse anthropogenic activity on land and at sea, including impacts from biodiversity loss, climate change, ocean acidification, land-use change, pollution (especially plastics), and more.
- The synergistic effects of anthropogenic threats and the return on conservation interventions are largely unknown. But analysts understand that their efforts will need to focus on both nesting beaches and ocean migration routes, while acting on a host of adverse impacts across many of the nine known planetary boundaries.
- Avoiding extinction will require adaptation by turtles and people, and the evolution of new, innovative conservation practices. Key strategies: boosting populations to weather growing threats, rethinking how humanity fishes, studying turtle life cycles (especially at sea), safeguarding habitat, and deeply engaging local communities.

Video: As COVID-19 curbs patrols in Nicaragua, turtle eggs risk being poached
- Conservation organization Paso Pacifico, which monitors Nicaragua’s Pacific beaches where thousands of threatened sea turtles lay their eggs every year, recently had to stop its activities due to the COVID-19 crisis.
- Park rangers fear that the lack of surveillance could lead to massive poaching of turtle eggs.
- Poaching has previously increased when the country’s political crises left the beaches unprotected.

Concerned for the future, indigenous Nicaraguans lament lost habitats
- Last week we published an investigation detailing the companies importing beef from Nicaragua and the industry’s links to deforestation and land grabbing in the country’s indigenous autonomous regions.
- This article provides a glimpse of life in the indigenous regions and how people there are coping with an influx of settlers and cattle ranching.
- Mongabay visited Nicaragua’s South Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region in October last year.

Nicaraguan beef, grazed on deforested and stolen land, feeds global demand
- A Mongabay analysis shows major multinational companies including Nestlé and Cargill are at risk of sourcing Nicaraguan beef from indigenous regions consumed by settler occupation and mass deforestation. Both companies admit they can only trace the origin of their Nicaraguan beef back to the slaughterhouses, not the ranches.
- More than 100 indigenous people living in the country’s autonomous indigenous regions have been killed, kidnapped or injured since 2015 amid conflicts ignited by settler migration and land grabbing.
- Nicaragua is one of the world’s most heavily deforested countries, having lost about a fifth of its forest cover since 2000. Its indigenous regions were particularly badly hit, with deforestation rates as high as 27% over the same period.
- Lawyers allegedly rubber-stamp land sale documents that have no legal basis, further compounding invasions of indigenous territories. Meanwhile, researchers have identified locations of scales and intermediaries serving ranchers occupying a biosphere reserve and indigenous land.

How coffee growers can adapt to a precipitous industry: Q&A with Dean’s Beans founder Dean Cycon
- Climate change is making traditional coffee-growing areas in the tropics less suitable for the crop, forcing farmers to look for new land at higher elevations and higher latitudes.
- Scientists are trying to tackle the problem by developing climate-resistant coffee plants, but solutions already exist from arid regions in Africa that can be adapted by farmers in Latin America.
- “This is something the scientific community is completely ignoring,” says Dean Cycon, founder of Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee and a longtime advocate of social justice for the millions of coffee farmers in the global south.
- In an interview with Mongabay, Cycon offers his unique insights into one of the world’s favorite beverages, the challenges of climate change, the plight of tropical farmers, and the solutions he sees as still within reach.

Nicaragua failing to protect indigenous groups from land grabs: Report
- While a 2003 law granted land rights to indigenous communities on Nicaragua’s Caribbean coast, the report says the government has failed to fully implement the law.
- Forty indigenous people have been killed in clashes with migrants since 2015, and thousands more have fled their homes.
- Large-scale gold mining, logging, and cattle ranching by powerful investors are worsening the threats against indigenous land, the report’s author says.

Massacre in Nicaragua: Four indigenous community members killed for their land
- On Jan. 29, dozens of armed men stormed the indigenous Alal community. Four people are reported dead, two were injured, and 16 houses were burned. The UN Human Rights Office and indigenous advocacy organizations say the armed group was connected to land grabbers engaged in illegal logging and cattle ranching on protected indigenous land.
- Police have reportedly captured the leader of the group.
- Alal is located in Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO site in northern Nicaragua that hosts the largest remaining tract of rainforest in Central America. The deforestation rate in Bosawás is climbing as people migrate from southern Nicaragua and illegally clear forest for cropland, cattle pasture, and mining. Satellite imagery shows deforestation around Alal increased significantly between December and January.
- The Center for Justice and Human Rights of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua reports 40 people have been killed over land conflict in the region in the past five years. The UN condemned the Nicaraguan government for allowing impunity for crimes committed against Nicaragua’s indigenous communities.

Central American countries pledge to protect Mesoamerica’s ‘5 Great Forests’
- The governments of all eight members of the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD) — Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama — presented an ambitious regional climate action plan at COP25.
- Among the objectives of the 5 Great Forests Initiative is ending all illegal cattle ranching within the forests; ensuring that no wildlife species in the great forests goes extinct; protecting 10 million hectares (nearly 25 million acres) of land; and restoring 500,000 hectares of forest.
- The initiative also aims to improve the livelihoods of forest-dependent peoples, especially members of indigenous and local communities within the five forests, whose leadership is seen as crucial to forest conservation efforts.

Indigenous communities, wildlife under threat as farms invade Nicaraguan reserve
- Nicaragua’s Bosawás Biosphere Reserve straddles the country’s border with Honduras and was declared a UNESCO site in 1997. It comprises one of the largest contiguous rainforest regions in Latin America north of the Amazon Basin and includes 21 ecosystems and six types of forest that are home to a multitude of species, several of which are threatened with extinction.
- According to a report by the Nicaraguan environmental agency MARENA, a little more than 15 percent of the Bosawás reserve had been cleared and converted for agricultural use in 2000. But today, that number stands at nearly 31 percent. Satellite data show deforestation reached the heart of the reserve’s core zone earlier this year.
- Deforestation in Bosawás stems mainly from migration, as people in other parts of the country move to the region looking for fertile land and space to raise cattle and grow crops.
- Indigenous communities are allowed to own land within Bosawás. But sources say land traffickers are selling plots of land to non-indigenous farmers and ranchers, creating conflicts that have caused death on both sides.

Nicaragua crisis takes an environmental toll with plunder of turtle eggs
- Residents of communities around Nicaragua’s La Flor Wildlife Refuge raided some 2,000 turtle nests and killed at least six turtles during the summer of 2018, a conservation NGO says.
- The scale of the theft was exacerbated by an ongoing political and security crisis that has left the refuge devoid of rangers and military patrols.
- The country’s first lady has launched an “I love turtles” media campaign, but critics are skeptical about how effective it will be.

Latam Eco Review: Seeing red over pink dolphins and flamingos

The most popular stories published recently by our Spanish-language news service, Mongabay Latam, featured endangered pink Amazon river dolphins, the world’s rarest flamingos, palm oil plantations in Nicaragua, impunity in Peru, and mansions in Colombia. Mercury and accidental capture endanger Amazon river dolphins The Amazon river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) was recently categorized as endangered in […]
Latam Eco Review: Resistance, hope and camera traps

Capybaras, Colombia. Image by Rhett Butler for Mongabay

The recent top stories from Mongabay Latam, our Spanish-language service, include a call to cover climate change, the dangers of opposing Colombia’s largest hydropower plant, and the most inspiring conservation news of 2018. ‘We are not doing enough’: 25 media groups commit to cover climate change “Journalists across the continent have a profound obligation to […]
The female park rangers protecting turtles from traffickers in Nicaragua
- The female park rangers in Nicaragua’s San Juan del Sur area patrol the beaches against the theft of eggs from endangered sea turtles that nest there.
- Species like the leatherback turtle have dwindled to less than 3 percent of their population in the eastern Pacific in the last three generations.
- In Nicaragua, an estimated more than 6,000 dozen turtle eggs are sold every month, with restaurants by the coast offering them in dishes as part of their menus.
- The NGO that hires the rangers say they manage to preserve 90 percent of turtle nests on the beaches they patrol, compared to 40 percent on government-patrolled beaches.

Latam Eco Review: Harlequin frogs, sustainable ranching, and miracle coral

These were the most read stories published by our Spanish-language service, Mongabay-Latam, last week: Scientists in Colombia strive to understand what is happening with the Athelopus frog genus in order to save them from extinction, while a cattle ranch in Bolivia opts for an ambitious sustainable tourism project, and more. Keep up to date with […]
Nicaraguan beef raised illegally in biological reserve mostly exported
- Environmental organizations and the indigenous Rama-Kriol Territorial Government in southeastern Nicaragua have reported the invasion and deforestation of the core zone of the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve.
- The invasion is caused by the advance of agriculture and the expansion of cattle raising.
- Most of the cattle sold in La Maravilla market come from the company’s paddocks. Some of these cattle are raised and fattened inside the Indio Maíz Biological Reserve.

Extensive illegal cattle ranching destroys core area of Nicaragua’s Indio Maíz Biological Reserve
- One “haciendita” farm owned by rancher José Solis Durón has cleared about 244 hectares of forest in the reserve’s core area for raising cattle.
- The Indio Maíz Biological Reserve is one of the most important tropical rainforests in Central America, yet it is continually deforested for agricultural uses.

Is Nicaragua one of the world’s ‘deadliest countries’ to be an environmental defender? (commentary)
- In a recent report by Global Witness, Latin America was again identified as one of the most dangerous regions for those protecting forests, halting mining projects, opposing big dams, and taking other action in defence of the environment.
- Surprisingly, however, one country singled out for attention is Nicaragua, described by Global Witness (GW) as one of the ‘deadliest countries for activists’ because it had ‘the most killings per capita’ in the world in 2016. How accurate is this assertion?
- All of us share concerns about the planned interoceanic canal, which features strongly in GW’s new report, and would cross the southern part of the country. There have been at least 87 protest marches against the canal, and a degree of harassment of protestors. But – importantly – there have been no deaths.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Unveiled: The unraveling of Nicaragua’s Indio Maíz Biological Reserve (commentary)
- There is evidence of disturbing trends in illegal colonization and deforestation inside the IMBR. Satellite images, interviews with locals, and ground-truthing at key locations unveil proof that the Indio Maíz may be destined to unravel.
- Deforestation within the boundaries of the IMBR claimed about 2,434 hectares (about 6,015 acres) between 2001-2014. A satellite image analysis shows that deforestation extends approximately 10.3 kilometers (6.1 miles) from the western boundary of the reserve inward.
- Nicaragua’s current government has been in power over ten years and has shown increasing disregard for its own environmental laws and the agencies tasked with their enforcement. This is evident in the case of the IMBR.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.

Cattle ranching threatens core of Biosphere Reserve of Southeast Nicaragua
- In the last five years (2011-2016) more than 54,000 hectares of forests were converted to grasslands in the core area of the Biosphere Reserve of Southeast Nicaragua, which represents 19.4 percent of its size.
- According to data published by the Nicaraguan Export Processing Centre, last January, beef was Nicaragua’s main export product with more than $43.9 million in sales.
- Livestock production in Nicaragua typically consists of allocating one block (0.7 hectares) for each head of cattle, which explains, in part, why the development of this industry threatens sites such as the reserve.
- The sale of land for agricultural production in southeastern Nicaragua has not only displaced human populations into the depths of the forest, it also makes them migrate to the cities of Nueva Guinea and Bluefields, or Costa Rica, in search of better incomes.

Cattle ranching devours Nicaragua’s Bosawás Biosphere Reserve
- The Bosawás Biosphere Reserve is the third largest forest reserve in the world and is home to indigenous people and 21 ecosystem types, which host high levels of biodiversity.
- Nicaragua’s booming livestock industry is causing a migration of ranchers to the reserve where they often pay land traffickers to illegally secure title to land.
- From 1987 to 2010, more than 564,000 hectares of the reserve were cleared and replaced with ranch lands and farms. 92,000 hectares have been cleared in the last 5 years.

The Nicaraguan frontier: a treasure trove under siege
- Patterns of deforestation show a steady march of the agricultural frontier as non-indigenous colonists claim land for cultivation.
- The Atlantic Autonomous Regions of the North and South (RAAN and RAAS) have lost up to 40 percent of their nucleus, while further south, protected areas such as Punta Gorda and Cerro Silva Nature Reserves have lost 25 percent of their forest cover.
- Undoubtedly, enforcement of environmental and indigenous law is hampered by limited financial resources in Nicaragua, one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere. However, some Nicaraguan scientists have suggested that an aggressively extractivist orientation is the prevailing political current.

Indigenous groups pressured to give up lands for doubtful Nicaragua Canal
- The Nicaraguan Canal is slated for construction this fall, but local indigenous leaders say they haven’t given approval for the use of their lands to the government or to the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Group (HKND), the Chinese company building the canal.
- Officials say only 25 indigenous households will be relocated for the canal’s construction, but indigenous groups say the planned route will displace the entire communities of Bangkukuk Taik, Monkey Point and Wiringay.
- Officials have repeatedly set up surprise meetings with indigenous leaders, and strongly urged the leaders to sign documents which the people often can not read, according to indigenous complaints.
- International observers haven’t been invited to the land use negotiations, and a lack of transparency and alleged strong-arm tactics have left many indigenous leaders feeling suspicious toward the government and HKND.

An improbable future for Nicaragua’s inter-oceanic canal
- The plan involves excavating and dredging a 275-km (171-mile) swath and constructing a canal with locks from the Atlantic Ocean across the Cerro Silva and Punta Gorda Nature Reserves, through Lake Nicaragua, and westward to the Pacific Ocean.
- Scientists and project proponents agree that the feasibility of the venture rests, in part, on water quality and quantity flowing into Lake Nicaragua and the future canal. Additionally, both acknowledge that seismic activity in the region could pose dangers to the integrity of the design’s infrastructure.
- HKND, the Hong Kong-based firm with the concession to develop the canal, has sought to quell concerns about the plan’s feasibility, but scientists remain skeptical.

Nicaragua Canal would threaten endangered species says study
- Construction on the Nicaraguan Canal is slated to begin this autumn, but scientists and conservationists contend that biodiversity studies for the project have been inadequate.
- A new study has found that the jaguar, white-lipped peccary and Baird’s tapir — all endangered in Nicaragua — would be significantly threatened by the canal.
- An artificial lake created for the project would flood most of the habitat for the three endangered species, while the canal itself would create a barrier separating mammal populations in the southern part of Central America from those in the north.
- While some conservationists argue that wildlife studies and mitigation for the canal have been inadequate, others say that deforestation across the region has become so severe that the canal project (if done right), could actually benefit biodiversity, with its profits used to fund wildlife protection and reforestation.

A plane survey of Central America’s last remaining forests
- The Megaflyover is focusing on the five largest forest blocks still standing in Mexico and Central America.
- According to NASA’s Earth Observatory, the single biggest direct cause of tropical deforestation is conversion to cropland and pasture, “mostly for subsistence, which is growing crops or raising livestock to meet daily needs.”
- The flyover researchers are sharing the findings with national protected areas agencies in the region as they go, and overtime, they will analyze how human influence has expanded over this region over the past 15 years.

Another challenge to the Nicaragua Canal: indigenous community refuses to turn over their territories
- “The indigenous group says the Nicaraguan government has failed to uphold the principle of “free, prior, and informed consent.”
- The Canal has drawn much criticism from scientists around the world over its likely impacts on Lake Nicaragua and delicate coastal ecosystems.
- Concerns about the transoceanic Canal have only intensified since it was approved in 2013.

Controversial Nicaragua canal on hold

Construction work on a controversial canal that would link the Pacific Ocean with the Caribbean via an overland route across Nicaragua and through Central America’s largest lake has been postponed until late 2016, says the company behind the project. China-based HKND Co. issued a statement Wednesday saying that “the construction of locks and the big […]
El Salvador serves as bridge for export of trafficked Nicaraguan birds
- The trade in wildlife species — especially birds — is a booming business worth an estimated $19 billion annually; only surpassed by drug and arms trafficking.
- In El Salvador’s San Salvador Central Market, threatened parrots, macaws and other “Nicaraguan products” are openly sold, though authorities make occasional raids.
- Most birds are captured when still “squabs”. Their hunters climb trees to catch the young in their nests. Typically transported in toilet paper tubes, most die in transit, but survivors still provide big illegal profits.

Rainforest loss increased in the 2000s, concludes new analysis

Click charts to enlarge Loss of tropical forests accelerated roughly 60 percent during the 2000s, argues a paper published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters. The findings contradict previous research suggesting that deforestation slowed since the 1990s. The study is based on a map of 1990 forest cover developed last year by Do-Hyung Kim and […]
With local help, hawksbill sea turtles make a comeback in Nicaragua

A hawksbill sea turtle hatchling heads towards the sea. This year over 35,000 hatchlings were born in the Pearl Cays: Photo credit: WCS. Hawksbill sea turtles (Eretmochelys imbricate), a reptile listed as the highest threat level by the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species, are making a momentous local comeback in Nicaragua’s Pearl Cays. This […]
Top 10 Environmental Stories of 2014

The most important environmental and wildlife stories from the last year Also see our Top 10 HAPPY Environmental Stories of 2014 1. The Year of Zero Deforestation Pledges: In 2014, the unimaginable happened: companies representing the majority of palm oil production and trade agreed to stop cutting down rainforests and draining peatlands for new oil […]
New film highlights local resistance to Nicaragua’s canal

Locals in Bangkukuk will be forced to relocate if the Gran Canal goes ahead. Photo courtesy of Tom Miller. This fall, filmmakers Tom Miller and Nuin-Tara Key with PrettyGoodProductions found themselves in Nicaragua where they heard about a stunning project: the Gran Canal. Approved last year, the canal is meant to compete with the Panama […]
Is the Gran Canal really a ‘big Christmas present’ for Nicaraguans?

Experts say canal plans and impacts remain shrouded in mystery A volcanic island rises from Lake Nicaragua. Photo by Aaron Escobar/Creative Commons 2.0 “A big Christmas present”—that is how Paul Oquist, an advisor to Nicaraguan president, Daniel Ortega, described the country’s plan to build a mega-canal across the nation. Preliminary construction on the canal is […]
Scientific association calls on Nicaragua to scrap its Gran Canal

ATBC warns about canal’s impact on water security and indigenous people A volcanic island rises from Lake Nicaragua. Photo by Aaron Escobar/Creative Commons 2.0 The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation (ATBC)—the world’s largest association of tropical biologists and conservationists—has advised Nicaragua to halt its ambitious plan to build a massive canal across the country. […]
What makes the jaguar the ultimate survivor? New books highlights mega-predator’s remarkable past and precarious future

An interview with Alan Rabinowitz, author of the new book, An Indomitable Beast: the Journey of the Jaguar Female jaguar (staring into camera) with subadult male offspring moving through an old oil palm plantation in the jaguar corridor of Colombia. Photo by: Esteban Payan, Panthera. For thousands of years the jaguar was a God, then […]
The Gran Canal: will Nicaragua’s big bet create prosperity or environmental ruin?

Chinese consortium pushes new canal through Nicaragua, threatening indigenous people, environment. A stealthy jaguar moves across a camera trap in Bankukuk, Nicaragua along the path of the Gran Canal. Conservationists fear the impact of the canal on Nicaragua’s already-imperiled wildlife, including far-roving jaguars. Photo by: Christopher Jordan. A hundred years ago, the Panama Canal reshaped […]
‘Natural Reserves’ no more: illegal colonists deforest huge portions of Nicaraguan protected areas

Nearly a quarter of two reserves’ forest cover lost within the last 13 years In southeastern Nicaragua, abutting the coastal Caribbean town of Bluefields, lie two nature reserves – Cerro Silva and Punta Gorda – that are embroiled in a bitter battle for survival against the speedily encroaching agricultural frontier. The forest is all but […]
An untapped resource: new study finds local people may trump scientists at biodiversity surveys

People from local communities may provide information on area wildlife that is as accurate, cheaper than traditional scientific assessments Figuring out what species live in a given area is important to the determination of its conservation importance. Traditionally, these biodiversity assessments have been done directly by scientists via surveys, which can be very time-intensive and […]
Cocaine: the new face of deforestation in Central America

In 2006, Mexico intensified its security strategy, forming an inhospitable environment for drug trafficking organizations (also known as DTOs) within the nation. The drug cartels responded by creating new trade routes along the border of Guatemala and Honduras. Soon shipments of cocaine from South America began to flow through the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor (MBC). This […]
Nicaragua Canal could cause ecological disaster, warn experts

Nicaragua’s plans for a canal linking the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans could trigger an environmental disaster through habitat destruction and alteration, introduction of non-native species, pollution, and sedimentation, warns a commentary published in this week’s issue of Nature. The ambitious project, which aims to compete with the recently-expanded Panama Canal, is being developed by HK […]
Tapirs, drug-trafficking, and eco-police: practicing conservation amidst chaos in Nicaragua

An interview with Christopher Jordan, a part of our on-going Interviews with Young Scientists series. Baird’s tapir caught on camera trap in Nicaragua’s Caribbean Coast. Photo courtesy of: Christopher Jordan. Nicaragua is a nation still suffering from deep poverty, a free-flowing drug trade, and festering war-wounds after decades of internecine fighting. However, like any country […]
Central America’s largest forest under siege by colonists

In the last four years, invading land speculators and peasants have destroyed 150,000 hectares (370,000 acres) of rainforest in Nicaragua’s Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, according to the Mayangna and Miskito indigenous peoples who call this forest home. Although Nicaragua recognized the land rights of the indigenous people in 2007, the tribes say the government has not […]
The Magnificent Red-eyed Tree Frog

Red-eyed tree frog. The red-eyed tree frog is one of my favorite animals. Contrary to popular belief, it is not toxic or dangerous. The red-eyed tree frog lives in Central America and the Pacific coast of Colombia. It is bred widely in captivity for the pet trade and is not endangered. This frog’s red eyes […]
Dry forests disappearing faster than rainforests in Latin America

Latin American countries lose 4% of dry forests in 9 years Click image to enlarge Countries across Latin America lost 78,000 square kilometers of subtropical and tropical dry broadleaf forests between 2001 and 2010, according to a new satellite-based assessment [PDF] published in the journal Biotropica. The research — based on analysis of data from […]
Earth systems disruption: Does 2011 indicate the “new normal” of climate chaos and conflict?

Before and after satellite images of flooding in Ayutthaya Province, Thailand. Photo by: NASA. The year 2011 has presented the world with a shocking increase in irregular weather and disasters linked to climate change. Just as the 2007 “big melt” of summer arctic sea ice sent scientists and environmentalists scrambling to re-evaluate the severity of […]
Loss of old growth forest continues

More coverage: Rainforest loss slows A new global assessment of forest stocks by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) shows continuing loss of primary forests since 2005 despite gains in the extent of protected areas. FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment 2010 reveals some 13 million hectares of forest were cleared between 2000 and 2010, […]
How an agricultural revolution could save the world’s biodiversity, an interview with Ivette Perfecto

Most people who are trying to change the world stick to one area, for example they might either work to preserve biodiversity in rainforests or do social justice with poor farmers. But Dr. Ivette Perfecto was never satisfied with having to choose between helping people or preserving nature. Professor of Ecology and Natural Resources at […]
Felix Death Toll Washes Up on Coastline

Felix Death Toll Washes Up on Coastline Felix Death Toll Washes Up on Coastline Joshua S Hill special to mongabay.com September 7, 2007 Nicaraguan and Honduran officials have announced that upwards of 100 people are confirmed dead, and another 120 still unaccounted for after Hurricane Felix made landfall earlier this week. Touching down in the […]

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