Planting responsibly in Bosawas, Nicaragua
Context
Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America, bordering Honduras to the North and Costa Rica to the South. Its Pacific coast is lined with a string of active volcanoes, and the rich soils have supported an enormous range of species over thousands of years.
The country is part of the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor, a region that traverses the many countries of Central America and acts as a land bridge between North and South America for migrating species. This region contains around 7-10% of all the worldâs known species.
Nicaragua has a population of just over 6 million people, with an economy focused mainly on the agricultural sector. It is among the poorest countries in the Americas, and according to UNDP data, around 23% of employed Nicaraguan people live on less than $3.20 (USD) per day.
Planting Partner
Our project in Nicaragua is run by Eden Reforestation Projects (âEdenâ) â a 501(c)(3) non-profit whose mission is to provide fair-wage employment to impoverished villagers as agents of global forest restoration.
Eden hire local people to grow, plant, and guard to maturity the trees planted through funding from our community â on a massive scale. As well as restoring forest ecosystems, Edenâs âEmploy to Plantâ methodology results in multiple positive socioeconomic and environment impacts.
Reforestation within BosawĂĄs Biosphere Reserve
The BosawĂĄs Biosphere Reserve is the second-largest rainforest of the Americas, second only to the Amazon. It is a hilly tropical forest which covers 2 million hectares â almost 15% of the area of Nicaragua. It is largely unexplored, and is extremely rich in biodiversity.
The reforestation site we are supporting comprises 120.5 hectares of tropical forest, and encompasses four villages in the indigenous Mayangna Sauni Bu territory, where the majority of community members are subsistence farmers. Through Edenâs direct partnership with the local community, community members are empowered to restore and protect their forests, and are provided with a source of reliable income.
Over the project duration, we anticipate that our community will have funded the planting of a minimum of 250,000 trees in this planting site, including tropical species such as acacia, mahogany, and rain trees.
Climate Solution #15
Tropical Forest Restoration
It is estimated that 287 million hectares of degraded land in the tropics could be restored to continuous, intact forest. Using current and estimated commitments from the Bonn Challenge and New York Declaration on Forests, our model assumes that restoration could occur on 161-231 million hectares.
By protecting currently degraded land and allowing natural regrowth occur, committed land could sequester 1.4 tons of carbon dioxide per acre annually, for a total of 54.5-85.1 gigatons of carbon dioxide by 2050
Photos from the project
Latest Site Update
The Bosawas site the Ecologi community has been supporting since October 2020 is situated in the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve, one of the largest rainforests in the Americas and second only to the Amazon. The site itself is around 120 hectares in size, and encompasses four communities in the indigenous Mayangna Sauni Bu territory: Ahsawas, Nawahwas, Amak, and PenÌas Blancas.
We last updated you on this project back in December 2020, when around 25% of this site had been planted. We are delighted to be able to tell you that the Ecologi community has now funded the planting of 249,997 native trees, filling the site!
Seeds collected from the project area from existing trees, helping to conserve local genotypes, meaning the new trees are adapted to survive and thrive in the local environment. On the right is a collection of seeds at the Amak community including: Erythrina poeppigiana, Cedrela odorata, Tabebuia ochracea, and Dialium guineense.
The Mayangna Sauni Bu territory is one of the most remote in Nicaragua, and employment opportunities are hard to come by. Thanks to the dedication of the Eden team, initial distrust and reluctance from the local people quickly transformed into confidence and amazement at what they themselves were achieving through the project. Providing employment for an average of 123 local people per month, this project supported many local families economically, while also instilling hope for the future in this historically abandoned area.
Trees going in the ground in Nicaragua thanks to support from the Ecologi community! On the left is a member of the Ahsawas community holding a Cedrela odorata seedling. On the right is another member of the Ahsawas community planting a stake (cutting). Staking is the process of utilizing cuttings of tree branches. The branches can be directly planted or first raised to maturity in a nursery.
While planting at this site is now finished, the Eden team will continue to monitor the site over the next few years to ensure the survival of as many of the trees planted as possible. The planted trees will eventually produce seeds of their own, resulting in many more trees than were originally planted! All these trees will support the natural regeneration of nature in this site, which will bring many benefits to the local communities.
UN Sustainable Development Goals
The 'Reforestation projects in Nicaragua' project aligns with the following UN Sustainable Development Goals:
End poverty in all its forms everywhere
Rethink how we grow, share and consume our food. We can provide nutritious food for all.
Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
Ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality education.
Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment and decent work for all.
Reduce inequality within and among countries.
Make cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss.
Read more about the Sustainable Development Goals
