Paso Pacifico

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From Turtle Harvest to Turtle Home

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Over at One World One Ocean’s blog, The Water Column, Sarah Bedolfe tells a story from Indonesia which will sound very familiar to Paso Pacífico’s friends and followers:

For generations, the island residents of Runduma, Indonesia have been harvesting sea turtle eggs.

The egg harvest was a tradition… eggs were eaten as well as sold for about 1,000 rupiah (9 cents) each and used for community expenses–fixing a new water filtration system, helping poor families send their kids to school–making them important for the local economy.
However, the turtles are endangered and a lot has changed in Runduma in recent years. Far from being the turtles’ hunters, the islanders are now their allies…

Now, the people of Runduma no longer need to harvest turtle eggs to make a living. Instead, they are thriving while working to save the turtles.

We are always pleased to hear about efforts to save endangered sea turtles, and especially glad to see that others having success creating a culture of conservation.

Read more about sea turtle credits and incentive payments for conservation.

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From the Rainforest Alliance:

As the world’s population grows and natural resources dwindle, the creation of parks and protected natural areas is not enough to solve the problem of forest destruction. The Rainforest Alliance believes that it is possible to safeguard valuable ecosystems while still allowing communities and businesses to extract the forest resources upon which their livelihoods depend.

The farms, forests and tourism businesses with which we work not only manage their own lands sustainably but they also function as an integral part of the larger landscape — keeping trees standing, preventing erosion, protecting waterways and soils, providing wildlife habitat and reducing the risk of fires and other destructive activities. Together, sustainably managed businesses and neighboring protected areas can form a thriving mosaic that nurtures ecosystems, wildlife and people.

We agree, which is why we combine conservation practices with programs aimed toward increased prosperity for local residents. Working with farmers, foresters, private reserves, and micro-enterprise, our programs are helping the people of western Nicaragua flourish as they share the natural beauty of their home with visitors from around the world.

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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.

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Our February newsletter is online.

Thanks to Danielle Gustafson from Bat Conservation International for the great photo of our Junior Rangers learning about a bat they’ve just netted with bat biologist Luis F. Aguirre.

Also in our newsletter:

  • catch up on last month’s Turtle Ball
  • learn about our upcoming arts education programs with the Raechel & Jackie Foundation
  • Meet PP staffer Nicole Salazar
  • help us fight forest fires in coastal Nicaragua

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Walking to Volcano Masaya

This week we are pleased to be hosting Bat Conservation International‘s Board of Directors for their annual meeting.

We’ve been working with BCI and their scientists for over a year to study Nicaragua’s bats and conduct bat education and community outreach in and around Volcano Masaya, whose caves are home to dozens of species of bats.

The bat experts assembled by BCI and Kim Williams-Guillén, Paso Pacífico’s Director of Conservation, have created educational murals and conducted training workshops for the rangers of Volcano Masaya National Park.

In the caves at Volcano Masya

Thanks to BCI bat biologist, Carol Chambers, who conducted bat surveys last year, Nicaragua’s count of bat species is now 100!

To learn more about Nicaragua’s bats, head on over to BCI’s Facebook page, where this week they’re featuring several of the species found in Nicaragua.

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Conservation in Action
In 2012, over 100 children graduated from our brand new Junior Ranger program. Hands-on lessons in local conservation issues culminate with a service project that children lead in their communities….

Paso Pacífico in the News
As the Seattle Times reports, “PBS’ new documentary series, ‘Life on Fire,’ examines how humans and animals alike adapt to living near volcanoes,” and includes an episode on bats and parakeets living in the crater of Nicaragua’s volatile Masaya volcano where we work.

Partnerships make it possible
This year, we will continue our collaborative efforts to monitor and conserve bat species with Bat Conservation International, and this week we welcome the BCI Board of Directors to Nicaragua for their annual retreat….

Team member spotlight
2012 was a big year for Kim Williams-Guillén, our director of conservation science….

Act Now!
Donate $25 to our junior ranger program and get your very own sea turtle patch.

In Gratitude
We are grateful to all of our generous donors who helped us in 2012….

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Yesterday we unveiled our new interpretive bat display at the Volcano Masaya Visitors Center, which will help educate thousands of visitors each year about the important role bats play in protecting the natural ecosystems of Central America. We were joined by Bat Conservation International’s Board of Directors, who helped make this display possible, and are in Nicaragua for their annual meeting.

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La vida en el fuego: un documental (en Inglés) sobre la flora y la fauna del Volcán Masaya.

Watch Phoenix Temple on PBS. See more from Life on Fire.

We work with Volcán Masaya Parque Nacional and Bat Conservation International to educate kids and the public about bats and other wildlife.

Trabajamos aquí con MARENA y Bat Conservation International para educar a los niños y al público sobre los murciélagos y otros animales salvajes.

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