December 2014: Nicaragua's Future

CONSERVATION IN ACTION

Over one hundred Junior Rangers graduated from the program last week. These children have spent dozens of hours doing workshops, field trips and citizen science activities to earn this title. The event was attended by local government leaders from the San Juan del Sur municipality and the Ministry of the Environment. Parents and children enjoyed the presentations by Paso Pacifico ranger Jairo Coronado.

Now that they have graduated, the children will now support their communities and Paso Pacifico by doing environmental service through clean-ups and tree-planting and by participating in citizen science projects, including our first annual Paso del Istmo Christmas Bird Count to be held on January 2nd, 2015. The children will use brand new binoculars to observe birds during this event.

This program has many generous sponsors who make each curricular unit strong, these include the USFS International Institute for Tropical Forestry (birds, forests), Man & Nature Foundation (watershed), Los Angeles Zoo and Woodland Park Zoo (jaguars and forest mammals), Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund & the Prince Bernhard Nature Fund (primates), Sea World-Busch Gardens and Loro-Parque Fundacion (parrots), SEETurtles.org (sea turtles), the USFWS - Wildlife Without Borders (amphibians). We are also grateful to the genorous donors to our Indiegogo Slingshots for Binoculars campaign who helped equip these children with a high quality pair of binoculars for their future work as environmental stewards.

IN THE NEWS

The Nicaraguan government and the Chinese firm HKND says it will break ground on the Nicaragua Inter-Oceanic Canal this month (December 22, 2014). Protests across the country are increasing and campesino and indigenous groups are bracing for forced relocations.The Nicaraguan environmental and scientific communities via Grupo Cocibolca, Nicaragua Sin Heridas, and the Nicaraguan Academy of Sciences are questioning why an environmental impact assesment has not been released.

Here is a recent VIDEO on the concerns held by the Rama Indigenous community and recent stories on the protests and potential environmental impacts of a canal. By sharing stories and information about this project, we can build awareness and support for the Nicaraguan people so that they may determine their future.

PARTNERS MAKE IT POSSIBLE

As a member of the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) since 2009, Paso Pacifico has used partnerships and collaborations to advance towards its goals. Our first commitment at CGI focused on empowering women as environmental leaders in the face of climate change, particularly through forestry and agriculture.

Our current commitment focuses on strengthening women fishers in developing shellfish aquaculture. Thanks to our partners at the Inter-American Development Bank - Multi-Lateral Investment Fund, we have helped the women of Ostional, Nicaragua to form the Smiling Oyster Cooperative. We are now in the season of collecting native oyster for cultivation. Thanks to assistance from The Loyal Bigelow and Jedediah Dewey Foundation we have established an oyster cultivation site and are working on the constrution of its infrastructure. Through the Waitt Foundation we are using this project to communicate the importance of sustainable fisheries management. We look forward to building new partnerships around this initiative.

TEAM MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Felix Reyes has been a sea turtle ranger since the start of the program six years ago. Prior to working as a ranger, Felix was a sea turtle egg poacher, and was infamous for his ability to know the time and day that nesting turtles would arrive. Today, he uses his expert knowledge to protect and monitor sea turtles and he is passionate about our mission.

Felix is a dynamic speaker and helps give workshops to our Junior Rangers and to visitors. His commitment to turtle and ocean conservation is an example to us all. Thank you Felix for your service!

ACT NOW

This holiday, make a

GIFT TO OUR PLANET

Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar up to $5000 if you give before Jaunary 31st!

IN GRATITUDE

For six years, Sean Carney (left) and George Gorman (right) have served on the Paso Pacifico Board of Directors. Each has generously contributed to the organization with time, money and expertise. Sean is an expert in forest-based carbon and business and has helped to guide our restoration projects. George is an evolutionary biologist and conservation philosopher who served as Treasurer and has helped us to hold our mission and vision high. We are extremely grateful for them both. Thank you Sean and George for all your service to the organization and to conservation in Central America.

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