Background: The Nicaraguan rainforest is the largest rainforest in the Americas, North of the Amazon. The health and well-being of both rainforest and indigenous communities are being threatened by the ever-advancing agricultural frontier: beef cattle farming, palm oil plantations, as well as gold-mining industries. There are few roads and small communities are scattered over a wide area – dependent on transport by air, boat or on horseback.
Prior to the workshop at the FADCANIC school in Wawashang, located in the municipality of Pearl Lagoon, our team was initiated into the wonders and the realities of the rainforest at nearby Khaka Creek Nature Reserve. A veritable oasis, where the sounds of toucans and howler monkeys transported us to another world….This was a hidden jungle of 600 hectares and home to countless species of plants and animals – including jaguars, pumas, red-eyed green frogs, sloths, howler and white-faced monkeys, boas and the rare and timid tapir. FADCANIC administers the Reserve for the purpose of preserving and conserving natural resources, while also developing projects that generate a change of vision for both local residents, business initiatives, as well as policy-makers.