Exploring Nicaragua: nature, culture and environmental change (part 2)
In the second episode about my trip to Nicaragua I will cover the postcolonial city Granada, the volcanic Island Ometepe and the Caribbean Little Corn island. In Granada I encountered again beautiful fig trees and discovered why they look so special. I also went on an Excursion on the volcano Mombachu that is still active. Then I traveled to the Island Ometepe that is build by two majestic volcanoes. Several nice beaches with volcanic sand and palm trees complete the picture of Ometepe. If you look at the bottle of the Nicaraguan beer Tona with volcanos, palms and lakes you might think that Ometepe was the template for the brand. I had a wonderful hike on the Maderas volcano. I can also highly recommend a tour through the wetlands that are full of diverse bird communities that show the potential of Nicaragua for nature tourism. Ometepe has been designated as a Biosphere Reserve by the UNESCO. However, its not paradise since the forces of nature are still alive and signs of governmental oppression can be found here as well. End of 2026 Nicaragua will withdraw from UNESCO, cutting international ties. I will cover how civil society became dismantled in Nicaragua and how this affected nature conservation. My final stop in Nicaragua was the Caribbean Little Corn Island. The beauty of this island is striking with clear water, white beaches, palm trees and a nice small boulevard with cosy restaurants and cafes. However, beneath the surface of the crystal clear Caribbean water a changing world becomes visible.
Links and References
Wikipedia entry about strangler figs: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ficus_aurea
Wikipedia entry about the biological field school on Ometepe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ometepe_Biological_Field_School
UNESCO page on Ometepe as Biosphere Reserve: https://www.unesco.org/en/mab/ometepe-island
Designation of the Yellow Naped Parrot as threatened: https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22686342/180373727
Wikipedia entry on the Yellow Naped Parrot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-naped_amazon#:~:text=The%20yellow%2Dnaped%20amazon%20or,over%20the%20last%20three%20generations
The Origin of the name Ometepe in the indigenous language Nuhatl: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ometepe
Reef report: STATUS & TRENDS OF CARIBBEAN CORAL REEFS: 1 9 7 0 – 2 0 24. https://gcrmn.net/caribbean-report-2025-v1/
Wood, R. (1999). Reef evolution. Oxford University Press.
Quotes
“Repression continued, having begun during the 2018 protests, including the dismantling of civil society organizations and criminalization of dissent. More than 5,000 organizations had been closed since 2018 as of September 2024 including religious groups of various denominations.” Source https://www.amnesty.org/en/location/americas/central-america-and-the-caribbean/nicaragua/report-nicaragua/
“Civic space in Nicaragua remains severely restricted, with limitations on freedom of expression and assembly. Indigenous Peoples and civil society organisations, who are on the frontlines of forest protection, face growing challenges. In recent years, civil society groups, Indigenous communities, and other critical stakeholders have been deeply affected by restrictive government measures, particularly when addressing issues such as natural resource management. Many civil society organisations, universities, and institutions have been shut down under the current regime.” Source: https://www.forestsoftheworld.org/local-initiatives/nicaragua/
“Those national and international organizations that are still operating have been coopted by the regime, such as Flora y Fauna Internacional,” Ruiz declared.” Source: https://havanatimes.org/features/nicaragua-to-see-greater-exploitation-of-natural-resources
“An investigation conducted by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project and published in a report titled “Deforestation, Nicaragua’s other forgotten crisis,” revealed that deforestation spiked beginning in 2014, when Ortega assumed direct control of the National Forestry Institute (Inafor). The average loss of forestland in Nicaragua went from 1.34% between 2010 and 2015, to 2.56% from 2015-2020.” Source: https://confidencial.digital/english/nicaraguas-new-constitution-opens-the-door-to-natural-resource-exploitation/
„Contrary to most projections, which predict collapse under future conditions, including those aligned with the Paris Agreement targets, the researchers were surprised to find that the experimental reefs exposed to all future ocean scenario treatments transformed into new calcifying systems with reduced yet significant coral cover and high biodiversity.“Source https://news.mongabay.com/2024/12/coral-reefs-could-survive-climate-change-but-in-altered-state-study-says/