Nicaragua Network

1. Canal environmental report presented to public; four further studies ordered
2. Telica Volcano erupts
3. Lawyers’ licenses suspended for involvement in illegal sale of Miskito lands
4. Continuing drought is punctuated by heavy rains and flooding
5. ECLAC praises Nicaragua’s achievement in the battle against hunger
6. Nearly 16,000 turtles nest at La Flor Wildlife Refuge
7. Agriculture conference calls for regional coordination to confront climate change

1. Canal environmental report presented to public; four further studies ordered

The first public consultation of the Social and Environmental Impact Study of the proposed shipping canal across Nicaragua was held in Managua on Sept. 24 to put before the public the principal results of the study that was carried out by the Britain-based Environmental Resources Management (ERM). The study has been under consideration since the end of May by the Nicaraguan Canal Commission and the Ministry of the Environment. Attending the gathering were government officials, university representatives, environmentalists, business and union leaders, local officials along the canal route, representatives of the Rama indigenous communities, and members of the diplomatic community accredited in Nicaragua.

Paul Oquist, executive director of the Canal Commission, said that ERM has recommended that four additional studies be carried out and “We [the commission] and the president [Daniel Ortega] have made the decision that all the recommended studies must be carried out. No stone should remain unturned when it comes to the environment.” HKND executive vice-president Kwok Pang said that ERM had recommended further studies of seismic risk, sedimentation, acid drainage, salinity, and archeological sites, among other things.

Kwok Pang reported that 26,000 hectares of indigenous land would be leased from indigenous communities for the canal, affecting 362 families of which 25 are indigenous Rama. He said that a total of 27,000 people (6,800 families) along the route would be affected. He listed the negatives of the canal: 1) risks to Lake Nicaragua, 2) the need to move the people residing on the route, 3) need to clear some forests, 4) the excavation of the channel, 5) the impact (although minimal) on the San Miguelito Wetlands and 6) the impact of the creation of the Atlanta Artificial Lake. But he went on to say that on the canal route there would be massive reforestation, creation of nature reserves, centers of agro-industry, and archeological museums as well as protection of indigenous lands and the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor. Laureano Ortega, director of ProNicaragua, said that the hope was that the canal would improve living conditions for the Nicaraguan people including better education and more job opportunities.

Reaction from environmentalists varied. Victor Campos, deputy director of the Humboldt Center said that the HKND presentations did not represent consultations with the communities that will be directly affected and he added that the presentations should have been made by the Ministry of the Environment (MARENA) and not by the HKND Company. On the other hand, Kamilo Lara of the National Recycling Forum said that the ERM studies are credible and that recommendations of Nicaraguan environmentalists were taken into account. He noted that the route was moved to avoid the most environmentally vulnerable areas and that the studies recommended measures that were in compliance with the National Water Law.

In related news, last week the Australian company CSA Global began its air survey of the canal route which will last until November and is expected to involve flying over 4,500 square kilometers in order to identify layers of subsoil and possible geological risks, measure elevation and provide the data for a topographical map. For part of the study, CSA Global will use LiDAR technology which is a remote sensing technology that measures distance by illuminating a target with a laser and analyzing the reflected light. Jeff Elliott, CSA managing director, said that they will be looking for “possible geological risks, such as faults or fractures in the rocks in order to evaluate the security of the construction and because the whole western part of Nicaragua has faults and seismic activity.” (El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26; Informe Pastran, Sept. 21, 22, 24, 25)

2. Telica Volcano erupts

At 8:10 am on Sept. 23, Telica Volcano erupted loudly and with force for 20 minutes sending out a cloud of gas and ashes that rose to an altitude of 1300 feet. Telica, with a summit elevation of 5,250 feet, is one of the Los Maribios string of volcanos in the western part of Nicaragua. Strong winds in the area carried the gas and ash from the eruption to the northwest which impacted the municipalities of Quezalguaque and Chichigalpa. Experts at the National Institute for Territorial Studies (INETER) said that the explosion may have been the result of buildup of pressure after landslides in June when portions of the walls of the crater fell into the interior of the volcano.

Guillermo Gonzalez, head of the National System for the Prevention and Attention to Disasters (SINAPRED), said that the SINAPRED team for the Department of Leon and local committees near the volcano were in constant communication with the National Police, the Fire Department, and other agencies to carry out any needed emergency efforts. Residents of the area complained of the smell of sulphur and expressed concern about possible damage to their crops from the covering of ash. In the same period there were seven earth tremblers in the Department of Leon, part of a swarm of earthquakes in the area in recent weeks that have now totaled nearly 300, all of them minor.

On Sept. 26, there were five explosions in the interior of the volcano, accompanied by earth tremblers. Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said, “There were explosions and gasses, ash and rocks were expelled which fell 1,600 feet from the volcano.” She said that the activity began at 8:47 am and lasted for 25 minutes, adding that the activity of the past few days was greater than has been seen in recent months and authorities find it worrisome. She said, however, that there was no need to declare an emergency at this time but that emergency systems are ready if they are needed. On Sept. 28, INETER and SINAPRED reported that the volcano was calm. (Informe Pastran, Sept. 23, 24, 28; El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 23, 24, 26)

3. Lawyers’ licenses suspended for involvement in illegal sale of Miskito lands

The Nicaraguan Supreme Court last week suspended the licenses of five lawyers because of their involvement in the illegal sale of 580 square miles of indigenous land to settlers from other parts of Nicaragua. This came days after the National Assembly removed the legislative immunity from Deputy Brooklyn Rivera, of the indigenous YATAMA Party for his involvement in the sales. Protests over the invasion of settlers into land that has been titled to indigenous Miskito communities became violent in recent weeks and have resulted in seven deaths in the month of September.

On Sept. 23, Prosecutor General of the Republic Hernan Estrada announced that he will investigate the illegal sale of indigenous land and prosecute those responsible. Estrada said that he had met with Rivera in the past [evidently in 2010] and told him that these illegal activities of his close associates had to stop but apparently the warnings had no effect. Rivera, whose YATAMA Party has at times been allied with the Sandinista Party, denied that he had been warned about illegal sale of land and said that there were “hidden interests” behind the sales. He said that it was the government that had permitted the incursion of non-indigenous people into the area. Rivera has been replaced in the National Assembly by his alternate, Noé Coleman, who is a faculty member at the joint campus in Bilwi of the Moravian and Indian & Caribbean Universities.

A presidential commission made up of Prosecutor General Estrada, Attorney General Ana Julia Guido, and the Supreme Court is widening its investigations into the land sales. Estrada said that the government indicted and convicted corrupt lawyers and notaries a few years ago and annulled the land sales that they had certified as legal. Twenty-three indigenous communities have received communal title to their traditional lands and by law this land cannot be sold, bought or given away and can only be leased. Bayardo Arce, adviser to President Daniel Ortega, said, “Someone defrauded the buyers and someone defrauded the Miskitos by selling their land and so what are we seeing now? Confrontation between Nicaraguans. We obviously have to investigate this in depth and take corrective measures because if we don’t what we’ll have is war over land about which there should be no discussion—it belongs to the Miskitos.”

The political opposition called for the forming of a commission independent of the government to investigate land sales, illegal timber trafficking, and the deaths and injuries suffered by indigenous leaders in recent weeks. The Sandinista Renovation Movement said that it would petition for a visit to Nicaragua of Victoria Tauli Corpuz, United Nations Special Rapporteur on Indigenous Peoples, to investigate “the situation of the Miskito people, their rights and the situation of conflict and instability in the communities.” (El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 23, 24; Informe Pastran, Sept. 23, 24)

4. Continuing drought is punctuated by heavy rains and flooding

On Sept. 28, government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo reported that 284 families had been affected by the heavy rains that fell over the weekend in the Departments of Madriz, Nueva Segovia, Matagalpa, and Managua. She said that in Managua, four houses were seriously damaged, six others were at risk of collapse and 280 others had been affected in some ways. On Sept. 25, three little girls drowned in a river that overflowed its banks and carried away the pickup truck in which they were riding. On Sept. 24, two people in Chinandega were killed by lightening during a fierce thunder storm which also caused storm sewers to overflow and houses to flood.

At the same time, concern grew about the regions of the country with insufficient rainfall, especially the area known as the Dry Corridor. Government spokeswoman Rosario Murillo said on Sept. 23 that the government in September had distributed more than 30,000 food packets to homes in the region and on Oct. 5 would begin another month’s distribution. Meanwhile, Minister of Industry and Commerce Orlando Solorzano said that the Ministry was considering importing several tons of corn to avoid scarcity and speculation given the loss of a part of the first harvest. He authorized the importation of onions and carrots to satisfy domestic consumption.

Fr. Uriel Vallejos, director of Caritas Nicaragua, asked the government to declare an emergency in the municipalities of the Dry Corridor. He said, “We’re not asking for it for the whole country because it’s a sector of Nicaragua that is suffering so much in this drought.” He added that the drought is affecting 10,000 families or 60,000 people. Vallejos stated that the food that the government is distributing does not reach everyone and he said that he is preparing a letter to President Daniel Ortega in which he notes that people in the drought zone are losing their harvests and having to sell all their animals in order to survive.

Alvaro Fiallos, president of the National Union of Farmers and Ranchers (UNAG), said that in the humid zone of the country farmers have planted for the second harvest of corn and beans but “where it hasn’t rained they haven’t planted for the second harvest and if it doesn’t rain they can’t plant.” Michael Healy of the Union of Agricultural Producers of Nicaragua (UPANIC) said that this week farmers would be meeting with the government to agree on what measures to take. He said that UPANIC was proposing projects in irrigation, water storage, reforestation and biotechnology. He noted that due to the drought harvests of sugar cane and peanuts, both export crops, were down by 20%. (El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 24, 27, 28; Informe Pastran, Sept. 23; La Prensa, Sept. 26)

5. ECLAC praises Nicaragua’s achievement in the battle against hunger

Nicaragua was praised by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) for being one of 38 countries in the world which have achieved the UN Millennium Development Goals against hunger.  ECLAC representative Hernán Gómez made the comments during a meeting with the National Assembly deputies who are members of the Nicaraguan chapter of the Front against Hunger. He credited the passage of the 2009 Law of Food and Nutritional Sovereignty and Security and the Ortega government’s Zero Hunger programs for Nicaragua’s rapid advance in the fight against hunger.  He praised the government "Because it has been fighting poverty through concrete actions that promote food security and nutrition of the sectors most vulnerable as are the families in the countryside.” (Informe Pastran, Sept. 25)

6. Nearly 16,000 turtles nest at La Flor Wildlife Refuge

Exactly 15,816 endangered sea turtles nested at the La Flor Wildlife Refuge on 1100 meters of Nicaragua’s southern Pacific coast between Sept. 22^nd and 26^th according to Rene Castellon of the Biodiversity Team of the Environmental Ministry. Authorities hope that 40,000 turtles will arrive at the refuge by the end of October. Turtle arrivals are tabulated in a cooperative effort by park rangers, police, military, environmentalists, community leaders, and Environmental Ministry employees. Five species of endangered sea turtles nest on Nicaraguan beaches: green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, and Olive ridley. The egg laying period runs from July to January on the Pacific coast. The most important protected nesting sites in addition to La Flor are: the Chacocente and Vida Silvestre wild life reserves and the Juan Venado Island, Cosiguina Volcano, and Padre Ramos Estuary nature reserves, all on the Pacific coast. (El Nuevo Diario, Sept. 26)

7. Agriculture conference calls for regional coordination to confront climate change

Nicaragua hosted the First Central American Agricultural Technology Congress last week in Managua. Presidential spokeswoman, Rosario Murillo, said the purpose of the event was to strengthen capabilities and share best practices to deal with the effects of climate change and its impact on agricultural activities. Farming and ranching in all countries in Central America have been impacted by this year’s El Niño caused drought, according to reports by the gathered agricultural ministers, national technological institutes and experts from Cuba, Costa Rica, and Mexico.

El Salvador’s Minister of Farming and Ranching, Orestes Ortez, said after the conference that it is necessary for all the governments and institutions to work together for a unified response to drought and climate change. He said the ministers agreed to appeal to the international community to fund “vital structural measures for the use and conservation of water, including improved irrigation systems.”

Murillo said it is important for each country to analyze its wet and dry zones and to prioritize the distribution of water in the dry zones to strengthen agricultural producers.  She emphasized the importance of coordination to confrontthe effects of climate change saying, “We cannot rely on our small [national] meteorological systems.”

Fernando Funes, vice-president of the Latin American Scientific Society of Agroecology, said, “The world agricultural model is based fundamentally on the destruction of natural resources.” He said for the agricultural model to be sustainable, it must produce enough food for the population while preserving the environment for the future. (Informe Pastran, Sept. 23, 24; Nicaragua News, Sept. 22; Realizan, Sept. 22)