Paso Pacífico Blog - Paso Pacifico

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.

Giving Parrots Elbow Room

Parrots make headlines in today's LA Times: Tweti's nonprofit Parrot Care Project and Cage xChange Campaign will begin this month at a Santa Monica exotic bird shop where free veterinary exams will be available and experts will be on hand to discuss avian nutrition, how to choose the right cage and how to equip it with toys. We'll be at Omar's in Santa Monica on Saturday, April 29th for the...

Madagascar’s Unique Wildlife Populations

NBCNews Science: The mysteriously rich diversity of life on the isle of Madagascar might have arrived there in part on "floating islands" carried by ocean currents, researchers now say. Madagascar, the world's fourth-largest island, is the sole home to a wide variety of animal species, most of which are thought to have reached Madagascar after plate tectonics separated it from Africa and other continents. ... But not all scientists have...

Help Save Nicaragua’s Last Jaguars

Jaguars are among the most charismatic and important large carnivores in Latin America. However, they have lost much of their range to human activities like logging and ranching, which destroy their habitat and reduce their populations. Additionally, they are subject to hunting and persecution by people trying to protect their cattle and domestic animals. Jaguars once roamed throughout the forests of Nicaragua’s Pacific Coast; however, due to deforestation, the only...