Protection and conservation of the forests Miramar and Las Rojas

The region Chinandega in Nicaragua has a dry tropical climate and the dry tropical forests within the region are in great danger. The actual situation is that there are only a few small forest left. Because of the difficult economical and political situation in the country the forests are under pressure from human activities of people trying to survive. The forests in the area currently have a protected status but are not managed accordingly. There is no sustainable management of forest, timber and animals are taken out without any control. Fires, every year provoked by agriculture activities, also endanger the dry tropical forests. The associacion Fuente Verde is active in Chinandega for the protection of forests and their biodiversity and has already bought 261 hectares of forest called Las Banderas. FV now wants to buy two forests connected with this forest to the north and the south to protect, improve and re-afforest them and to protect the forest Las Banderas more efficiently. The forests that'll be purchased were partly used in coffee production, giving big trees protection, because they were used as shadow trees for the coffee. because coffe is now less important, it is urgent to buy this forest before it will be bought by an owner who negatively wants to change its use. In the north the forest called Miramar consists of 21 hectares and in the south the forest Las Rojas consists of 56 hectares. The associacion wants to reforestate 7 hectares that are allready deforestated in Miramar. In Las Rojas she wants to exploit the 7 hectares of coffee on a biological basis to generate income for the sustainable protection and management of the forest and to create work for local people.

The association Fuente Verde has bought two pieces of dry tropical forest between the vulcanos Chonco and San Cristobal, in the city of Chinandega, Nicaragua. These forests, Las Rojas in the south and Miramar in the north are located adjacent to the earlier bought forest Las Banderas. The forests purchased cover 54,6 and 15 hectares respectively, making the total of hectares in possession of the association 344 hectares. The purchase extends the habitat for animals and enables Fuente Verde to execute their sustainable forest management plan. The association has built a wooden house in Miramar for the forest guard to live in and keep an eye on the property. The Las Rojas forest includes 8,4 hectares of coffee under the shade of old Guayabillo trees. The coffeeplantation is being reactivated and the first harvest of organical coffee has provided work and income for members of the local community. The fences of bought properties have been improved and two signs are put up, indicating that the property is bought with a donation from the NC-IUCN and that it is forbidden to make fire, cut wood and to hunt in these forests. At the moment the association education members form COPAM, a local cooperative for volunteer forestwatches, on how to monitor biodiversity. Two biologists, well know with CITES Nicaragua are making a study of the biodiversity. In the neighbourhood of the forest, Fuente Verde has started a rescue center for endangered species, coming from the illegal trade of animals at the border with Honduras and El Salvador.