https://news.mongabay.com/list/central-america/ Environmental science and conservation news Fri, 17 Nov 2023 04:37:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.2 https://imgs.mongabay.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2020/05/16160320/cropped-mongabay_icon-32x32.png https://news.mongabay.com/list/central-america/ 32 32 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/whats-old-is-new-again-bioarchitects-plot-route-to-circular-economy/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/whats-old-is-new-again-bioarchitects-plot-route-to-circular-economy/#respond 26 Oct 2023 19:22:48 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274672 - They’re reviving traditional clay adobe building techniques used since the 16th and 17th centuries in Mexico and the U.S. Southwest, to give birth to a new cutting-edge school of bioconstruction aimed at reducing the ecological footprint of the cement-hungry construction sector.
- Bio-buildings are built from natural materials, are long-lasting, energy-efficient, healthier, and often with better earthquake resistance. Built with local materials by locally trained workers, with their walls easily recycled at the end of a building’s life, bio-buildings can be part of a circular economy, benefiting humanity and nature.
- Bioconstruction could radically cut construction sector carbon emissions by curbing cement production. But bioconstruction faces an uphill battle against outdated building codes, and a huge, well-entrenched cement and construction industry, whose companies are often large contributors to political campaigns in Mexico and other countries.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/whats-old-is-new-again-bioarchitects-plot-route-to-circular-economy/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/restoring-degraded-forests-may-be-key-for-climate-study-says/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/restoring-degraded-forests-may-be-key-for-climate-study-says/#respond 06 Oct 2023 15:41:20 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=274049 - In Central America’s “Five Great Forests,” there’s a goal to restore 500,000 hectares (1.2 million acres) by 2030. The study identified 9.8 million hectares (24.2 billion acres) as top restoration priorities, with 91% being degraded forests.
- Restoring just 5% of these priority zones was calculated to potentially sequester 113 million tons of CO2, equivalent to taking more than 20 million cars off the road for a year.
- The research emphasizes the importance of involving local communities in restoration planning and suggests that current forest management practices, like those in the timber industry, need to adapt for more sustainable outcomes.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/10/restoring-degraded-forests-may-be-key-for-climate-study-says/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/panama-protests-to-protect-ecosystems-and-canal-against-pending-mining-deal/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/panama-protests-to-protect-ecosystems-and-canal-against-pending-mining-deal/#respond 18 Sep 2023 16:00:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=273308 - The protesters argue it gives mine operator First Quantum Minerals too much power and will lead to environmental damage over the next 40 years.
- They also claim the mine threatens the Panama Canal and global trade as the mine may vie for the same water sources as the canal.
- Panama’s National Assembly will vote soon on approving or rejecting the contract; with a general election due in 2024, protesters hope they can kill the deal by pressuring candidates.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/panama-protests-to-protect-ecosystems-and-canal-against-pending-mining-deal/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/in-panama-an-indigenous-kingdom-fights-for-its-right-to-the-forest/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/in-panama-an-indigenous-kingdom-fights-for-its-right-to-the-forest/#respond 04 Sep 2023 07:30:03 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=272591 - The Naso lack the resources to establish the borders of their territory, which makes preventing farming and other drivers of deforestation extremely difficult.
- During a patrol accompanied by Mongabay, some Naso residents encountered Indigenous Ngäbe living within the comarca and began a heated discussion, revealing just how difficult community-led conservation can be in practice.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/09/in-panama-an-indigenous-kingdom-fights-for-its-right-to-the-forest/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/study-shows-how-to-maximize-mangroves-as-climate-and-community-solution/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/study-shows-how-to-maximize-mangroves-as-climate-and-community-solution/#respond 08 Aug 2023 13:57:34 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271915 - Recent research using data from Belize has quantified mangrove carbon storage and sequestration potential and identified where the country should prioritize conservation and restoration to maximize ecosystem services that would benefit multiple sectors.
- The research has been used by Belizean authorities to update national climate targets, committing to protect an extra 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres) of mangroves and restore another 4,000 hectares (10,000 acres) by 2030, which could provide an example for other national blue carbon strategies.
- The study also took into account the point where mangrove protection and restoration begin to offer diminishing returns, which would allow authorities to adjust the ambition of climate mitigation and adaptation via mangroves.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/study-shows-how-to-maximize-mangroves-as-climate-and-community-solution/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/study-protecting-marine-life-is-a-big-benefit-to-local-communities-too/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/study-protecting-marine-life-is-a-big-benefit-to-local-communities-too/#respond 03 Aug 2023 18:05:41 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271792 - Led by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, the study used data from the Healthy Reef Initiative and USAID to analyze social and economic factors like income, food security and the rates of stunted growth connected to chronic malnutrition in children.
- One reason that MPAs benefit local and Indigenous communities is that no-take zones reach their carrying capacity as fish populations grow and recover, creating “spillover” into waters without fishing restrictions.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/study-protecting-marine-life-is-a-big-benefit-to-local-communities-too/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/international-community-calls-for-release-of-el-salvador-antimining-activists/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/international-community-calls-for-release-of-el-salvador-antimining-activists/#respond 02 Aug 2023 11:00:59 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=271695 - A lack of evidence behind the allegation that they were involved in a civil war-era kidnapping and murder has raised questions from U.S. officials and the U.N. about the legitimacy of the charges.
- A group of 17 U.S. members of Congress is the latest to call for their release and a closer look at the steps the government is taking to renew a defunct mining sector.
- The five “water defenders” say there’s insufficient evidence in the case and that they’re protected from prosecution by a post-war reconciliation law.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/international-community-calls-for-release-of-el-salvador-antimining-activists/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/agroecology-schools-help-communities-restore-degraded-land-in-guatemala/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/agroecology-schools-help-communities-restore-degraded-land-in-guatemala/#respond 07 Jul 2023 16:29:29 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=270654 - A network of more than 40 Indigenous and local communities and farmer associations are developing agroecology schools across the country to promote the recovery of ancestral practices, educate communities on agroecology and teach them how to build their own local economies.
- Based on the traditional “campesino a campesino” (from farmer to farmer) method, the organizations says it has improved the livelihoods of 33,000 families who use only organic farming techniques and collectively protect 74,000 hectares (182,858 acres) of forest across Guatemala.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/07/agroecology-schools-help-communities-restore-degraded-land-in-guatemala/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/for-central-america-climate-bill-could-top-hundreds-of-billions-annually/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/for-central-america-climate-bill-could-top-hundreds-of-billions-annually/#respond 21 Jun 2023 13:00:55 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=270021 - For some of the countries in region, the loss of ecosystem services provided by forests could lead to losses equivalent to more than three times their GDP.
- This is the first time ecological and economic measurements have been assessed together for climate change impacts in Central America and could help to inform conservation activities like defining protected areas, establishing biological corridors and restoring degraded landscapes.
- While the impacts of climate change are being felt by communities in the region, breakthroughs in computing power as well as collaborations between European universities and Central American research institutions and companies is promoting increased innovation in ecosystem restoration.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/06/for-central-america-climate-bill-could-top-hundreds-of-billions-annually/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/chemical-spill-in-nicaraguan-reserve-raises-questions-about-industrial-mining-regulations/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/chemical-spill-in-nicaraguan-reserve-raises-questions-about-industrial-mining-regulations/#respond 19 May 2023 17:48:27 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268792 - Community leaders expressed their concern about pollution in the Kukalaya and Tungki rivers, where residents washing laundry reported itchiness after coming in contact with the water.
- Mining concessions have spread significantly over the last several years as the Nicaraguan government, facing increasing international sanctions, looks for new revenue sources. But weak environmental regulations have drawn criticism.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/chemical-spill-in-nicaraguan-reserve-raises-questions-about-industrial-mining-regulations/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/a-guatemalan-town-fights-to-bar-gold-mining-and-save-its-waters/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/a-guatemalan-town-fights-to-bar-gold-mining-and-save-its-waters/#respond 09 May 2023 06:58:37 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268330 - The government of Guatemala has approved the extension of the Cerro Blanco project, which, under new ownership is planned to switch from underground to open-pit mining.
- Worried that mining is contaminating waters and affecting biodiversity, the community of Asunción Mita held a referendum last September, voting to reject the project, but it hasn’t yet obtained recognition from the state.
- While mining is on hold, awaiting a final verdict on the referendum, natural ecosystems and watercourses are bouncing back with life.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/a-guatemalan-town-fights-to-bar-gold-mining-and-save-its-waters/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/guatemala-national-park-nearing-collapse-amid-land-grabbing-deforestation/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/guatemala-national-park-nearing-collapse-amid-land-grabbing-deforestation/#respond 04 May 2023 08:00:28 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=268242 - Some communities that were already living in the area when the park was established have declined to cooperate with the government’s plans to work together on sustainability, education and public health projects.
- Instead, the communities have expanded their presence with roads, cattle ranching and airstrips for drug planes, all of which have exacerbated deforestation rates.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/05/guatemala-national-park-nearing-collapse-amid-land-grabbing-deforestation/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/mountain-islands-restoring-a-transitional-cloud-forest-in-costa-rica/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/mountain-islands-restoring-a-transitional-cloud-forest-in-costa-rica/#respond 29 Mar 2023 17:31:39 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=266976 - Reforestation of degraded island habitat is a first step toward restoring biodiversity made rare by isolation, and to mitigating climate threats. Though limited in size, island habitats can be prime candidates for reforestation because extinctions are typically much higher on isolated habitat islands than in more extensive ecosystems.
- Scientists mostly agree that the larger the forest island habitat, and greater its biodiversity, and the more resilient that forest system will be against climate change. Forests also store more carbon than degraded agricultural lands, and add moisture to soil and the atmosphere as a hedge against global warming-intensified drought.
- The projects featured in this series are small in size, but if scaled up could become big forest nature-based climate solutions. In this second story, two tourists vacationing in Costa Rica and stunned by the deforestation they see, buy degraded land next to Chirripó National Park and restore a transitional cloud forest.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/mountain-islands-restoring-a-transitional-cloud-forest-in-costa-rica/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/un-denounces-new-attacks-on-indigenous-people-in-nicaraguas-largest-reserve/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/un-denounces-new-attacks-on-indigenous-people-in-nicaraguas-largest-reserve/#respond 21 Mar 2023 15:48:03 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=266675 - Settlers are pushing into the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve and the North Caribbean Coast Autonomous Region to pursue illegal mining, logging and cattle ranching.
- At least six Indigenous people were killed and several injured in the most recent attack, forcing numerous families to relocate, despite an existing international mandate on the Nicaraguan government to protect them.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/03/un-denounces-new-attacks-on-indigenous-people-in-nicaraguas-largest-reserve/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/newly-described-dicaprios-snake-and-others-threatened-by-mining-in-ecuador-and-panama/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/newly-described-dicaprios-snake-and-others-threatened-by-mining-in-ecuador-and-panama/#respond 23 Feb 2023 20:35:17 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=265913 - Three of the new species were named by actor Leonardo DiCaprio, conservationist Brian Sheth, and the NGO Nature and Culture International to raise awareness about the threats these snakes face due to mining and deforestation.
- Ecuador and Colombia saw an increase in illegal gold mining along rivers and streams during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may have affected populations of these fragile snakes and has led to conflict and division within communities.
- Snail-eating snakes are arboreal and depend on wet environments to survive, so deforestation and mining pollution, including illegal gold mining, affect both the snakes and the snails and slugs that they rely on for food.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/newly-described-dicaprios-snake-and-others-threatened-by-mining-in-ecuador-and-panama/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/costa-rica-announces-ban-on-fishing-of-hammerhead-sharks/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/costa-rica-announces-ban-on-fishing-of-hammerhead-sharks/#respond 10 Feb 2023 20:43:39 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=265500 - Despite being critically endangered, hammerhead sharks have been bought and sold in Costa Rica for years, with demand being driven by shark fin soup.
- Although some conservation efforts have been made in the past, the government has been heavily criticized up to now for its relaxed approach to dealing with the overfishing of hammerheads.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/costa-rica-announces-ban-on-fishing-of-hammerhead-sharks/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/is-el-salvador-preparing-to-reverse-its-landmark-mining-ban/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/is-el-salvador-preparing-to-reverse-its-landmark-mining-ban/#respond 07 Feb 2023 18:03:02 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=265298 - The government has created a new agency to oversee extractive industries and begun looking into international agreements that facilitate investment in precious metals.
- Five “water defenders,” who have spent decades speaking out contamination of water sources by mining projects, were arrested in January after mining officials visited their town of Santa Marta.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/is-el-salvador-preparing-to-reverse-its-landmark-mining-ban/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/the-illegal-jaguar-trade-is-thriving-online-why-arent-governments-stopping-it/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/the-illegal-jaguar-trade-is-thriving-online-why-arent-governments-stopping-it/#respond 02 Feb 2023 09:00:28 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=265170 - Researchers reviewed online archives of popular social media sites and online marketplaces for posts related to jaguar sales between 2009 and 2019.
- Teeth and skins were the most traded parts, and were commonly destined for China and other Asian countries.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/02/the-illegal-jaguar-trade-is-thriving-online-why-arent-governments-stopping-it/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/indigenous-communities-threatened-as-deforestation-rises-in-nicaraguan-reserves/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/indigenous-communities-threatened-as-deforestation-rises-in-nicaraguan-reserves/#respond 30 Jan 2023 17:17:22 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=265080 - Deforestation of the country’s largest primary forests has been a violent, ugly process for Indigenous communities, who were granted land titles and self-governance in the area in the 1980s but don’t have the resources to protect themselves.
- Indigenous leaders and environmental defenders believe the situation will only get worse moving into 2023, as gold mining accelerates and the government cracks down on opponents.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/indigenous-communities-threatened-as-deforestation-rises-in-nicaraguan-reserves/feed/ 0 https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/deliberate-dumping-of-plastic-trash-in-the-pacific-how-widespread-is-it-commentary/ https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/deliberate-dumping-of-plastic-trash-in-the-pacific-how-widespread-is-it-commentary/#respond 12 Jan 2023 19:48:00 +0000 https://news.mongabay.com/?p=264553 - An analysis revealed the region of their manufacture to mostly be East Asia, and the manner of their arrival suggested that this was a deliberate dumping of the plastic waste near Costa Rica, not from somewhere across the Pacific.
- This kind of illegal dumping activity has been documented elsewhere: “We need to find better ways to enforce internationally agreed laws such as MARPOL Annex V, which bans the dumping of plastics at sea,” a new op-ed argues.
- This post is a commentary. The views expressed are those of the author, not necessarily Mongabay.
]]> Mongabay]]> https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/deliberate-dumping-of-plastic-trash-in-the-pacific-how-widespread-is-it-commentary/feed/ 0