Conservation in ACTION

Globally important sea turtle arribada beaches like La Flor Wildlife Refuge (pictured above) receive tens of thousands of sea turtles each year. The greatest threat to successful nesting is high mortality among adults caught in fishing gear as turtles gather to mate.

Through a partnership with the Danish International Cooperation Agency (DANIDA), Paso Pacifico's Coastal-Marine Research Project trains local marine biologists, maps reefs and turtle habitat, and ensures protection of newly discovered turtle nesting beaches, allowing more critically endangered sea turtles to safely nest than ever before.

We have just completed an assessment of mortality and small scale fishing practices in La Flor, and are working with PRETOMA to implement a fisheries gear exchange to eliminate gill nets. Our fisheries leader will be the first to implement the new technology and will help distribute equipment for fifteen teams of gill net-free boats in the Ostional community.

This project also supports the fishermen creating Nicaragua's first community-run fishery. They will determine best practices, maintain sustainable fishing zones, and share information in their communities and with research scientists and conservation interests around the world.

This project was made possible through the generous support of DANIDA.

(Photo courtesy of our partners at Parque Maritimo El Coco.)

---

Paso Pacífico in the News

At the annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting last month, Paso Pacifico Executive Director Dr. Sarah Otterstrom addressed government officials, business executives, directors of major nonprofits, and other global leaders on Women and the Environment.

Dr. Otterstrom shared the success stories of Nicaraguan women who conserve wildlife, lead reforestation efforts, and combat climate change as they empower themselves, improve their community, and help the environment.

With thanks to our partners at the Portable Light Project, we were able to demonstrate how adapting existing technology has allowed female enviropreneurs to use solar powered conservation and communication tools for bottom up conservation. We also received good press from the event.

The CGI platform also allowed Paso Pacifico, and its partner, the Ocean Recovery Alliance, to announce Global Alert, empowering individuals and communities to reduce trash in waterways, which earned more press coverage.

CGI has become an important event for us each fall, building more connections for conservation and strengthening existing partnerships.

Partnerships make it possible

Keeping with tradition, Paso Pacifico coordinated Nicaragua's International Coastal Clean-up in September with the Ocean Conservancy and MARENA.

More than 6000 volunteers participated in three simultaneous Coastal Cleanup events on the Pacific and Caribbean coasts, where they appear to have exceeded last year's Nicaraguan clean ups.

We are still tallying the total amount of garbage collected, but will update you when our official report with the Ocean Conservancy is released in the months to come, and we continue our efforts to keep Nicaragua's waterways clean.

Thanks to our partners at the Ocean Recovery Alliance and their new Global Alert system, more and more people will be empowered to make improvements in their local waters every day of the year, inspiring new technologies for removal, catchment, recycling and re-use of the waste when collected. Please watch their video introducing the project.