Wildlife Conservation Insights | Paso Pacifico Blog

World Oceans Day

Paso Pacífico works from ridge to reef to protect biodiversity and empower communities. What are we doing along coastlines and at sea? Understanding Marine Ecology Our Coastal Marine Research Project contributes to the scientific understanding of sea turtle populations and marine ecology. Our science-based monitoring gauges the effectiveness of management at marine protected areas and the protection of key indicator species – like sea turtles – which are also flagship tourism...

Engaging the Nicaraguan Surfing Community in Coastal Conservation

From our friends at the SIMA Environmental Fund: For Immediate Release SIMA’S 23rd ANNUAL WATERMAN'S WEEKEND TO BENEFIT 20 OCEAN ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS - Waterman’s Weekend Sponsorships Available Now - ALISO VIEJO, CALIF. (May 29, 2012) – The Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) Environmental Fund announced today the 20 ocean-environmental organizations named as beneficiaries of the 23rd Annual Waterman's Weekend, the surf industry's annual environmental fundraiser to be held August 10-11, 2012. The weekend...

Hot Nests Mean Baked Baby Leatherbacks

Today at the New York Times Green blog: On beaches, poachers snatch up their eggs and babies for stewing; at sea, adults get snagged by fishermen’s long lines and nets. Now, climate change joins the list, threatening the survival of critically endangered leatherback sea turtles in the Pacific. Turtles, the article explains, will have an especially difficult time adapting to climate change for a couple of reasons. First, moving farther north...

The Importance of Science Transfer

As part of their Global Reset series, Seed Magazine explores how a reformation of the culture and practice of science could help the scientific community respond to global challenges: An interdisciplinary approach is necessary for the weighty, interconnected problems—from sustainable development to climate change—that are most in need of science transfer. And bringing scientists and their ideas together is a dependable way of generating new ideas, sometimes of the world-changing...

Conservationists’ Catch-22

The Independent asks what to do when one endangered species starts eating another: That is the problem facing environmentalists whose research shows that jaguars, themselves at risk of extinction, are increasingly preying on endangered turtle species. Experts said that the predation of adult turtles by the big cats in a Costa Rican national park “has now reached a magnitude never before recorded”. “More and more jaguars are being pushed towards...

Native Bees in Central America

Image courtesy of Gus Harper, artist Many people have been highlighting the importance of bees lately. Much of the news has been bad: bees disappearing, crops failing, etc. Fortunately, while climate change, shifts in agriculture, deforestation, and other factors have threatened some bee populations, it is possible for bees to make a comeback. The really good news is we can help. Dating back to the time of the Great Pyramids,...

Lessons Learned from the Yellow-naped Amazon

Yesterday we took part in the Parrot Care Project and Cage xChange event at Omar's Exotic Birds in Santa Monica. Here's what we shared with the people in attendance about our Yellow-Naped Amazon Parrot Conservation Program: As an environmental conservation organization dedicated to habitat restoration and community empowerment in Nicaragua, we've been studying the Yellow-Naped Amazon parrot for four years. We're here today to share with you what the Yellow-Naped...

Internship: Surfing and Ocean Conservation

Photo courtesy of The Barrio Planta Project via Yaosca Jimenez Over the past several years, more and more tourists have been finding their way to the Pacific Coast of Nicaragua for the waves. Recently, local Nicaraguans from fishing communities have also adopted the sport with a passion. In July 2012 Nicaragua will host the ISA World Masters Surfing Championship. With the right knowledge, tools, and organizational support, these young locals...

Earth Day 2012: Help Us Plant One Thousand Trees

The Pacific slope of Nicaragua – home to threatened mangroves, endangered sea turtles, and yellow-naped Amazon parrots – is one of the most biodiverse regions in the world. As in many impoverished places, the pervasiveness of rural poverty can generate tension between locals and conservationists. Since 2005, Paso Pacífico has worked to mitigate climate change, restore migratory corridors, and increase prosperity from ridge to reef. Our science-based and community-driven methods...

80,000 Acres Added to Maya Biosphere Reserve

More protected habitat is a "good deal for jaguar, puma, ocelot, margay, tapir, howler monkey, spider monkey, scarlet macaw, ocellated turkey, harpy eagle, and other endangered wildlife" in Guatemala. Read more about the expansion of the Maya Biosphere Reserve in the Daily Green.

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