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A burning issue

When the Nuevas Esperanzas team first visited the community of El Ojochal del Liston the extensive deforestation on the slopes of Volcán Telica was plain to see.  These slopes were once covered by dense dry tropical forest, but the advancing agricultural frontier, combined with illegal logging, pests, forest fires and hurricanes, has reduced the forest to small, isolated fragments.  Felled logs and tree stumps of different species are a common sight on the hillside farms and native species of precious woods are now very rare.  The effects of deforestation are not just environmental; increased soil erosion from deforestation reduces farmers’ crop yields, loss of vegetation increases the risk of landslides, and loss of wildlife reduces the potential for tourism.

Of the various factors contributing to deforestation on Volcán Telica, perhaps the most devastating has been indiscriminate burning.  Forest fires are started for “slash and burn” farming, hunting of iguanas, collection of honey from natural hives and even just recreation!  These fires not only destroy large areas of forest, but they also affect the local fauna, already under threat from hunting.  Several different species of monkey have disappeared completely from these hillsides and although the area still hosts two endangered species of cats, the margay and ocelot, these are also in serious danger.  Some of the farmers in the hillside communities within the Telica-Rota Protected Area are owners of land which includes natural forests, but they usually regard these areas as “unproductive”; when looking for ways to increase their income, farmers are generally unaware of options to generate income from forested land and see clearing the forest as the only viable solution.

As part of our Mountain Rain programme, we have designed a reforestation and conservation project to address this important issue.  Working with the Nicaraguan Department for the Environment we are helping to implement a management plan for the environmentally protected area which includes all seven of the ‘Mountain Rain’ communities.  As part of the project it is important for us to assess the scale of damage caused by forest fires and to understand the reasons for practices which are damaging the environment around these communities.  With the dry season coming to an end, fires are at their most intense and the investigation stage of this project is well underway.  Members of our team, accompanied by farmers from El Ojochal del Liston, are mapping the areas burned and the habitats destroyed as well as the boundaries of properties across the hillsides.  This is done using GPS and the information is then transferred to maps back in the office.

As well as gaining a fuller understanding of the condition of the forest, the Nuevas Esperanzas team is using this time to find out more about the cause and frequency of the forest fires which are such a problem.  After all, it would be futile to plant new trees only to see them burnt down over the coming months and years.  Working with the government park ranger, Nuevas Esperanzas team members also participated in a training course for local volunteer fire brigades from the communities of El Ojochal, Agua Fría and El Ñajo.  By involving the community in fighting the fires, it is hoped that a greater understanding of the damage the fires cause may help prevent them. 

An early warning system involving e-mail notification of ‘hot spots’ identified by satellite in the protected area is in place to locate some of the areas of burning, but often the fires are first spotted by community members or the Nuevas Esperanzas team while they are out at work in the area.  One of our team, Yamil Fuentes, is getting something of a reputation as our resident firefighter having been first on the scene at several small fires.  It is clear that changing this environmentally damaging practice is going to be a long process, but by working together with the authorities as well as those who live in this beautiful but remote area of Nicaragua, we are sure that over time a lot can be done.

30/04/10