Paso Pacifico

Select language
MenuChange Language

The ELLAS Initiative Concludes

by

“I feel empowered, and now I look at myself as an entrepreneur. We went from informality to having vision . . . Aspiring is not only believing in dreams, it is changing one’s attitude to see the changes.” – Sonia, hostel owner, ELLAS Initiative

In 2011, we had a vision: to empower female “enviropreneurs” to harness market forces and employ voluntary solutions to environmental problems in their local communities. Then, with your help, a wonderful thing happened: our idea won the National Geographic Geotourism Challenge! With $883,116 from IDB’s Multilateral Investment Fund (FOMIN), we went to work.

In the last six years, this multifaceted initiative has provided training to twenty-three female entrepreneurs who were seeking to establish or improve small businesses in tourism. Many of these include women-owned hostels and restaurants. Thanks to their improved capacity to provide tourism services, they are already experiencing an increase in visitors. We also helped to establish geotourism programs that range from snorkel tours and mountain biking to archaeological site visits and ox-cart rides. These tours are now increasing appreciation for the biodiversity around La Flor Wildlife Refuge while providing direct economic benefit to families and cooperatives from nearby communities.

Paso Pacifíco expects to see local geotourism continue to increase and benefit local economies and biodiversity. When geotourism is a major component of local household incomes, community members are more invested in protecting wildlife. With our partners, we will continue working to educate youth, support conservation, and empower communities!

Learn more about the ELLAS Initiative by reading our latest newsletter and previously shared blogs about the project.

by

We are thrilled to share a major breakthrough here on the blog! Recently we were awarded a significant grant from the IUCN-Netherlands, and that means we will be able to complete the purchase of a beautiful forest area in the heart of the Paso del Istmo. In honor of the critically endangered black-handed spider monkeys that live there, we’ve named this 120-acre property the Mono Bayo Reserve. This forest is an important building block for the wildlife corridor and also provides mature habitat for the threatened yellow-naped amazon parrot and other unique mammals such as the tayra and sloth.

With the purchase of this land, we aim to preserve and restore animal paths that damaged by deforestation. Our next step, with help from our supporters, will be to build basic reserve infrastructure and set camera traps to monitor spider monkeys on the land. Primate Conservation Inc, the Margot Marsh Biodiversity Foundation, Prince Bernhard Nature Fund, Disney Conservation Fund and other partners will be joining this mission.

This new preserve would not have been possible without people like you! Individual donors helped make the initial good faith payment of $20,000 on the property. This matching support helped us to win the larger grant and use the money to save all of this habitat.

We could not be happier. All thanks to you!

Main Land Purchase Map

by

On April 22, 2015, USAID issued the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge in an effort to bring together international communities to create solutions that address critical wildlife crime issues. One of the issues highlighted by the challenge is the network of well-established international transit routes that poachers and traffickers use to move their products to customers. These transit routes are the backbone to the global wildlife trafficking industry which generates billions of dollars in illegal revenue annually. However, many of the routes are largely unmapped and therefore difficult to monitor.

In Nicaragua, poachers take the eggs of endangered sea turtles that nest on the beaches to sell on the black market. There are four species of sea turtles that nest on the Pacific coast: the Hawksbill, Green, Leatherback, and Olive Ridley. Individual sea turtle eggs can sell for several dollars a piece. With hundreds of eggs in each nest, thousands of eggs are taken each year. In an effort to deter poachers and protect the eggs, Paso Pacifico began a project designing artificial sea turtle eggs with embedded GSM-GPS trackers. We entered our project into the Wildlife Crime Tech Challenge, and out of the 300+ entries from around the world, we were selected as one of the 16 winners! Our project was also featured in Obama’s Presidential Task Force on Wildlife Trafficking’s annual report.

gpseggs

We are currently in the process of perfecting the design of our eggs, which has proven to be a difficult task. Sea turtle eggs are soft and flexible in order to protect them when they are being laid, and matching the weight, size, and consistency of the eggs while hiding a battery and GPS tracker inside is no small feat. To get the eggs just right, we are using 3D printed prototypes and working with a Hollywood special effects artist. We are also working with TILE, a company that makes small GPS and Bluetooth enabled trackers that work on a network of Bluetooth devices for real time tracking. While intended to help people from misplacing their keys, the technology used by TILE is very applicable to our sea turtle egg project. TILE will allow smartphone users to download a mobile app and help detect stolen sea turtle nests via the data received from our very own artificial eggs! The hope is that these eggs will reveal transit routes used by poachers, allowing authorities to take action to inhibit these well-hidden illegal trafficking organizations.

 

Sea turtles are crucial members to the ocean ecosystem. They are an umbrella species, which means they have complex habitat requirements which encompass a whole range of organisms. By protecting sea turtle populations, we can ensure the future of ocean biodiversity. Scientists also look at sea turtles as indicators of ecosystem health. For example, green turtles are some of the few species that graze on seagrass, which helps to keep algae populations in check, and the structure of the seagrass beds in place. Fish, crustaceans, and shellfish use the seagrass beds as breeding and developmental grounds, and without the beds their numbers are declining, which is an issue as humans use those creatures for food. Sea turtle eggs also provide food to the invertebrates and wildlife along the beach, and also provide nutrients to coastal vegetation, which reduces erosion and creates biodiversity on shore. Sea turtles also provide a long-term source of income for the local communities as tourists come from around the world to see the turtles and their eggs. Our partners at seeturtles.org have custom tours to our nesting beaches and Paso Pacifico is providing training to local guides in order to promote sustainable sea turtle tourism.

Contribute to our work here.

 

by

by Richard Joyce
Marcela Gutierrez, Paso Pacífico’s agronomist, has been eagerly awaiting the rainy conditions that will allow planting of thousands of trees in the Paso del Istmo. “Because of El Niño, the rains are coming later this year, so we might plant in early July.” With a degree from EARTH University in Costa Rica and ample experience working in her native Nicaragua, Marcela is leading the effort to restore forests in focused watersheds, by helping communities adopt agroforestry systems that are both biodiverse and economically productive.
Marcela Gutierrez welcomes a local rancher to one of Paso Pacífico’s community workshops.
Several years ago, in a project called Return to Forest, Paso Pacífico reforested over 4 square kilometers of land with more than 250,000 trees. With the generous support of French non-profit Man and Nature, Paso Pacífico is building off this success to plant thousands of more trees in the La Flor and Ostayo watersheds.
More than 250,000 trees were planted in our hallmark

“Return to Forest” reforestation project.
Planting trees is not a new activity in the region. In fact, plantations of eucalyptus and teak cover many hectares of land in the Ostayo watershed. However, the damaging effects of such plantations make them less than ideal models for reforestation projects. Tree plantations may reduce the demand for timber harvested from wild forests, but they consist of non-native species that secrete compounds preventing the growth of other plants, making monocultures the rule. Despite their canopy cover, tree plantations can have a barren appearance. Eucalyptus trees are very “thirsty,” drawing large quantities of groundwater from the soil, and teak trees shed their leaves near the end of the dry season, exposing the soil to both desiccation and erosion.
Still, in order to be successful in the long term, reforestation efforts must address the economic pressures that drive land-use patterns in the first place. This means that, in addition to providing societal benefits like water services, carbon capture and wildlife habitat, forests must contribute to their owners’ livelihoods. Marcela is working with farmers to creatively design agroforestry systems that are valuable for both business opportunities and biodiversity.
Plant a forest in the garden, plant a garden in the forest
The agroforestry systems being put into practice by Marcela and the landowners who she works with are designed to provide streams of economic benefit over time as the forest comes back. Banana plantings shade tree seedlings, offering a quick harvest while helping young trees survive the dry season. Five different farmers currently receive seeds and technical support from Paso Pacifico to grow roselle (hibiscus tea), which can sell for up to 10 times the price of corn and 5 times the price of beans. Chia is another crop grown among the young trees.
Miguel Melendez, coordinator of the reforestation project in
Sierra Siena, watches over the community foresters.

The trees to be planted comprise a mix of over 15 dry forest species with a variety of uses and benefits. The fast growing madero negro (also known as “quick stick”) will soon yield posts and firewood, while the wood of various timber species (mahogany, guapinol, Spanish cedar) can be harvested in a decade or two.

This year, farmers will plant a large number of bálsamo trees (Balsam of Peru). Actually native to Central America (not Peru), these trees will produce a steady supply of cinnamon-and-vanilla-scented resins to sell to the fragrance and pharmaceutical industries. Like tapping sugar maples for syrup, harvesting bálsamo resin produces a high-value product while respecting the integrity and diversity of the forest.
Other trees, such as Maya nut, Panama tree and hog plums, are meant always to remain, and are planted specifically for wildlife—offering fruits to black-handed spider monkeys, leaves for howler monkeys, and nesting cavities for Yellow-naped Amazon parrots and spiny-tailed iguanas.
The ojoche or Maya nut tree.
Reward enough
Marcela feels especially inspired and motivated by Guillermina Bustos, a landowner in Tortuga who has wanted to plant trees for many years.
“She is reforesting more land than any other farmer, about 8 acres; and next year she will plant more. Her love for the forest is such that she isn’t interested in intercropping; what she cares about are the trees and is willing to hire workers to tend the saplings.”
For her, seeing animals in the forest and knowing that there is water in the La Flor River are reward enough.
Members of the local communities gather for a group photograph during one
of Paso Pacífico’s agroforestry workshops.
This project is funded by Man and Nature

by

In 2013 Paso Pacifico made a commitment to the Clinton Global Initiative to strengthen economic development and restore coastal environments. To achieve this goal, Paso Pacifico has begun a partnership with local women in the fishing village of Ostional in order to develop a women’s shellfish farming cooperative. This past month Paso Pacifico volunteer Angie Gerst from British Columbia, Canada, conducted an exploratory study to document the current economic and cultural systems surrounding oyster cultivation. Her study was funded by the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund. The goal of Angie’s research was to determine the importance of oysters to household economies, the level of interest women in the community have in regards to participating in a sustainable oyster farm, and to assess the potential sale of oysters to local markets. Her results indicate a strong potential for the development of a women’s oyster cooperative.
.
The women of Ostional have been harvesting oysters for most of their lives and have learned these practices from their mothers, grandmothers, and other members of their community. All of the women Angie interviewed have a similar method for harvesting these hearty shellfish. First they use a hammer, or heavier iron “masa”, to hit the oyster shell on the opening end until they are able to pry the shell open. They then use a spoon to scoop out the oyster and leave the other half of the shell attached to the rock until it naturally falls off. The women harvest oysters several times a week and collect between .5 and 7 pounds of oysters on each outing.
.
Most of the women Angie interviewed reported that the harvesting of oysters damaged the beds and that some members of the community harvest too many oysters or ones that are too small. All of the women, however, indicated a strong interest in working to preserve the resource for future generations, in turn providing future jobs and income for the community. The women interviewed were also asked what actions could be taken to protect and restore the oyster beds near the community. They suggested implementing regulations to protect smaller oysters from being harvested, using different harvesting methods, and developing an oyster farm or nursery.
.
Based on Angie’s findings, there is evidence to support the development of a women’s oyster cooperative in Ostional. This type of project would be new territory for Paso Pacifico requiring small business development, skills training in shellfish production, evaluation of market demands, and a detailed evaluation of the project’s ecological sustainability. We are excited about this project’s potential. Small-scale fisheries are vital for feeding local families throughout Central America and, if managed properly can also help restore the region’s coastal fisheries. Women are often overlooked for their role within these fisheries, and generally do not have access to technical training to sustainably manage these resources. It is fitting that women lead this transition to sustainability in fisheries, and that they and their families reap the economic benefits that shellfish production can bring. As one of Angie’s interviews revealed, the development of a women’s cooperative oyster farm in Ostional, “would be a dream come true!”.
.
Photo credit: Angie Gerst
Paso Pacifico volunteer Angie Gerst spent a month visiting and interviewing the women of Ostional, Nicaragua.
.
Women in Nicaragua are traditionally the primary cultivators of oysters along mangrove estuaries and rocky shores.
.
All of the women Angie interviewed expressed an interest in restoring oyster habitat for future generations.
.
A women’s oyster cooperative in Ostional could be a tremendous economic benefit for the community and would help to restore the region’s coastal fisheries.
.
Many of the women in this community have been harvesting shellfish their entire lives and learned these practices from their mothers and grandmothers.
.
The preferred technique to harvest oysters in this community is to use a hammer, or heavier iron “masa”, to hit the oyster shell until they are able to pry the shell open.
.
Paso Pacifico is committed to develop a women’s shellfish farming cooperative.
.
The rocky coastline of Nicaragua’s southern Pacific coast makes for ideal oyster habitat, like the beach pictured here.
.
For many Ostional women, harvesting oysters is a tradition that has been passed down through the generations.
.
The rocky Nicaraguan coastline is not the easiest place to navigate and harvesting oysters in this environment is challenging work.
.
Small-scale fisheries are vital for feeding local families throughout the world and, if sustainably managed, can also help to restore our world’s coastal fisheries.
.
Currently, women do not receive any recognition for their role in coastal fisheries and their contribution to the social and economic well-being of fishing communities is often overlooked.
.
Women in Ostional average collect between .5 and 7 pounds of oysters on each outing.
.

by

This week, Sarah Otterstrom, our Executive Director, and Julie Martinez, our Environmental Education Coordinator are at the 5th International Partners in Flight Conference and Conservation Workshop.

We have made a 40-year commitment to bird research and conservation in the Paso del Istmo Biological Corridor. Our integrated approach includes mapping habitat areas, characterizing land cover, reforestation, education, and community outreach. Visit our Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Initiative project profile to learn more.

Read more about our bird conservation initiatives here on our blog.

Cambiando Actitudes y Comportamientos para la Conservación de Aves Migratoria
Changing Attitudes and Behavior for Migratory Bird Conservation in Nicaragua

Educación Ambiental // Environmental Education
Desde hace 2008, más de 300 niños en 6 comunidades han cambiados sus huleras para binoculares. Además, hemos trabajado con más de 100 niños como parte de nuestro programa de “Guarda recursos Junior” para promover la conservación de aves y otros especies en el Paso del Istmo.

Since 2008, 300 children in 6 communities have traded their slingshots for binoculars. Additionally, our “Junior Ranger” program has taught over 100 children about the conservation of migratory birds.

Conservación // Conservation
Conjunto con propietarios de terrenos privados, hemos reforestado 400 hectáreas de pastizal degradado con especies de arboles que proveen recursos claves para aves migratorios.

We have worked hand-in-hand with landowners to restore abandoned pastures for the conservation of migratory birds by planting tree species that provide key resources for these species.

Ciencia // Science
En colaboración con el Instituto Internacional de Bosques Tropicales del USFS de los Estados Unidos, desde el 2009 hemos monitoreado las poblaciones de aves migratorios en los fragmentos de bosques más de 30 especies migratorias.

In collaboration with USFS’s International Institute for Tropical Forestry we have monitored the status of migratory birds in forest fragments and reforested areas since 2009. Our team has documented over 30 migratory bird species in our study area.

Amenazas // Threats
La pérdida de hábitat afecta a toda la biodiversidad de la zona, sobre todo el despale para el establecimiento de potreros. Además ha crecido la presencia de los parques eólicos, con efectos desconocidos en la fauna migratoria.

Habitat loss affects all forms of biodiversity in the area, especially the conversion of forest to pasture. Wind power has grown rapidly in the region, with no consideration of the impact on migratory animals.

Help us protect and restore migratory bird habitat, monitor migratory bird populations, facilitate bird education, and promote sustainable tourism for birders. Donate today.

by

Día Mundial de la Ranger

Día Mundial de la Ranger es un día para recordar a los guardaparques que han sido heridos o muertos en acto de servicio, en particular durante el año anterior. Desde julio de 2012, más de 80 guardaparques han perdido sus vidas en el cumplimiento del deber.

Forest Rangers :: Guardabosques
Our forest rangers foster saplings in tree nurseries, monitor growth in our reforestation areas, and help manage the understory until young trees are ready to protect their own forests. They also act as interpretive guides, trailblazing with their machetes, and identifying local wildlife for visitors

Read more about our reforestation efforts.

Turtle Rangers :: Guardatortugas
Paso Pacifico’s community-based sea turtle rangers form “the thin green line” between critically endangered sea turtles and would-be poachers and predators, helping thousands of baby turtles to the sea each year.

Read more about our turtle rangers.

Junior Rangers :: Guardaparques Juniors
Launched in February 2012, our junior ranger program is teaching coastal kids about marine ecology, and developing the next generation of biodiversity stewards along Nicaragua’s Pacific slope.

Read more about our junior rangers.

Reef Rangers :: Guardaparques Marinas
Building on the successes of our turtle ranger programs, we are recruiting divers to receive similar training to encourage sustainable fishing practices and serve as ambassadors for conservation in the marine community.

Read more about our reef rangers.

World Ranger Day
“World Ranger Day is also a day to remember the many rangers who have been injured or killed in the line of duty, particularly during the previous year. Since last July, more than 80 rangers, game rangers, forest guards, wardens and maintenance workers have lost their lives in the line of duty, and it’s likely that the actual number is considerably larger.”
Source: NPS Digest

by

We are stoked to partner with Project WOO for beach clean ups at this week’s ISA World Juniors Surfing Champsionship. WOO is an NGO in Gigante, Nicaragua working to make sure that traveling surfers have a positive impact on the coastal communities they visit.
Thanks to WOO’s Bo Fox and the many community volunteers and surfing voluntourists he’s rallying every single day, we’re convinced Playa Jiquiliste is the cleanest beach in the world this week. Catch up with WOO, an orgnization dedicated to community-driven development in Latin American surf travel destinations, on yesterday’s Highlights (video above).

by

Working in Nicaragua’s Paso del Istmo for nearly a decade, we have seen firsthand the effects of climate change on the wildlife, landscape, and people of this incredibly biodiverse terrain spanning volcanoes, dry mountain forest, mangroves, and coral reefs.
From deforestation and devastating storms to longer dry seasons, climate change means greater habitat loss for the endangered species we protect, as well as the loss of homes and livelihoods for subsistence farmers and other residents of rural Nicaragua.Ecological and economic resiliency help mitigate the effects of climate change. Seeking to protect some of the world’s last yellow-naped parrots, black-handed spider monkeys, and Hawskbill sea turtles and the beautiful forests and coastline they call home, our team of dedicated individuals make every day Earth Day along Central America’s Pacific slope.

Here are just a few examples of the work we’re doing this Earth Day and every day:


Conservation
  • forest rangers patrol our reforestation areas, monitoring the growth of trees we planted to capture carbon and rebuild forest connectivity
  • coastal stewards protect coastal mangroves, crucial to cushioning the blow of high energy tropical storms coming in from the Pacific
Science
  • community rangers and big cat biologists monitor camera traps to document jaguars and other mammals who traverse our biological corridor
  • reef rangers monitor marine wildlife, coral reefs, and local fisheries to understand the marine ecosystem many of the world’s most endangered sea turtles call home
Education
Support our efforts to promote economic and ecological diversity to help mitigate climate change.


by

The Multilateral Investment Fund issued a press release last week about our Environmental Leadership and Entrepreneurship for Geotourism project:

The Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), a member of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Group, will support the Paso Pacifico Foundation in a project that seeks to position Nicaragua as a competitive ecotourism destination that contributes to the conservation of biodiversity in and around the La Flor Wildlife Refuge in the department of Rivas.

The MIF expects that this project will integrate selected communities into sustainable tourism value chains, and will promote the protection of natural capital, especially the region’s sea turtle population, which is one of the key tourist attractions.

Given the turtle’s importance to local tourism offerings, the MIF will support the identification, design and implementation of innovative financing mechanisms for the protection and monitoring of these animals. One of these mechanisms will promote the creation of “turtle credits” – certificates representing a turtle egg not removed from its nest, equivalent to a born turtle – that will be offered to consumers and businesses that support the conservation of marine ecosystem conservation, such as surf and dive shops, medium-to-high-end seafood restaurant chains and NGOs devoted to conservation.

Desde un comunicado de prensa de FOMIN:

Nicaragua: “Créditos de Tortuga” para salvaguardar el capital natural del Refugio de Vida Silvestre de la Flor

El Fondo Multilateral de Inversiones (FOMIN), miembro del Grupo del Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo (BID) apoyará a la Fundación Paso Pacífico en un proyecto que busca posicionar a Nicaragua como un destino eco-turístico competitivo que contribuya a la conservación de la biodiversidad dentro y alrededor del Refugio de Vida Silvestre de la Flor en el Departamento de Rivas…

El FOMIN espera que este proyecto integre a las comunidades seleccionadas en la cadena de valor del turismo sostenible, promoviendo la salvaguardia del capital natural, especialmente las poblaciones de tortugas de la región que representarán la base de los servicios turísticos ofertados del proyecto…

Dada la importancia de las tortugas para la oferta turística local, el FOMIN apoyará la identificación, el diseño y la implementación de mecanismos innovadores para el financiamiento de actividades de protección y monitoreo de estos animales. Uno de estos mecanismos fomentará la generación de “créditos de tortugas” – certificados que representan un huevo de tortuga no sacado del nido, lo que equivale a una tortuga nacida- los cuales serán ofrecidos a consumidores, y negocios que apoyan la conservación de los ecosistemas marinos, tales como tiendas de surf y buceo, cadenas de restaurantes de pescado de nivel medio-alto y ONG conservacionistas.

Consent Preferences