Exploring Nicaragua: nature, culture and environmental change (part 1)
In this episode I share my experience and learnings from my recent travel in Nicaragua. In four weeks I traveled from the pacific region in the west to the Caribbean coast in the east of Nicaragua. In part one I will cover the busy capital of Nicaragua Managua, Leon a city with colonial history located in the dry zone, Las Penitas a small surfing village at the Pacific coast and Miraflor a protected area in the highlands of Nicaragua. I will share some challenges I encountered diving into Nicaragua as a European backpacker tourist, including language and public transport. I also cover the rich diversity of nature and culture (in a broad sense) I discovered for me. This includes adventurous bus rides, pacific beaches, large mysterious trees (cover of this episode), beautiful tropical backyards, cloud forests and organic coffee agroforestry systems. I also will touch on environmental issues concerning fresh water and the loss of tropical primary forests that is linked to the dynamic economic development of Nicaragua. Explicitly, I do provide and invite different perspectives on this development and try to avoid one-sided moral judgments. I think this is highly appropriate in respect for Nicaraguan people. This is especially true if we look at our own history which led to the (almost) complete elimination of primary forests in Europe to produce timber and agricultural goods to foster our own economic development.
Links and References
Water resources management in Nicaragua (Wikipedia)
Cited paper on water resources in Nicaragua: Vammen, K., & Peña, E. (2022). Water and climate: Global environmental sustainability and the current state in a developing country, Nicaragua. Frontiers in Water, 4, 975102.
Cited paper on tropical dry forests: Saldivar, I., & Vammen, K. (2024). Tropical dry forests, water, biodiversity and the challenges of climate change in Nicaragua. Brazilian Journal of Biology, 84, e280001.
A Spanish report on the tropical dry forest systems: Iris Saldívar Gómez (2025) Historia Natural del Bosque Tropical Seco de Nicaragua, Revista Nicaragüense de Biodiversidad N° 116, DOI: 10.5281/ZENODO.15046809
Global Forest watch: The total loss of humid tropical forest in Nicaragua from 2002 to 2024 was 37%.
Short explanation on alternate stable states of ecosystems: https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/alternative-stable-states-78274277/
The cooperative producing organic coffee in complex and diverse agroforestry systems: https://www.ucamiraflor.org/contactanos/
A guide on birds in Nicaragua: Martínez-Sánchez et al. 2014. A Guide to the Birds of Nicaragua / Nicaragua – Una Guía de Aves. Westar. 252 pages, first edition.