Sea Turtles in Nica: "Help Me Live!" (BI)
NY Transfer News
Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
News Direct from Nicaragua
BARRICADA INTERNACIONAL
Electronic Edition
Vol.XIV, No.372
April, 1994
CONTENTS
FROM THE EDITOR:
Two sides of national political life
POLITICS:
Nicaragua's Caribbean Coast: Elections to Learn From
Southern Border Creeping North
NICARAGUA NEWSBRIEFS
ENVIRONMENT:
Sea Turtles in Nicaragua: "Help me live!"
PERISCOPE:
Nicaraguan atlas; anti-ecological rally; Managua's
cultural center; Nicaraguan poetry mourns
INTERNATIONAL:
El Salvador: "Elections of the century" end in fiasco
Talks in Chiapas: Waiting for results
LATIN AMERICAN FOCUS:
Uruguay: The left confident with its candidate
Guatemala: Languid peace negotiations
Venezuela: New indigenous conflict
SPECIAL REPORT - AN FSLN IN ACTION:
FSLN: On the threshold of the congress
Sergio Ramirez: First renew, then choose the candidates
Julio Lopez Campos: Sergio made a political mistake
Victor Tirado Lopez: We need economic leadership
Henry Ruiz: Reforming and strengthening the FSLN
Bayardo Arce Castano: Backing the hope of the people
SPOTLIGHT:
Olga Maria Espinoza: I haven't stopped flying
DIRECTOR'S COLUMN:
Carlos F. Chamorro: Mr. Watson visits Nicaragua
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
................................................................
BARRICADA INTERNACIONAL
Electronic Edition
Vol.XIV, No.372
April, 1994
ENVIRONMENT:
Sea turtles in Nicaragua:
"Help me live!"
by Petra Roith
[Under the banner "Help me live!," the Ministry of the
Environment and Natural Resources (Marena) launched a
campaign in 1993 to protect the sea turtle, currently an
endangered species. The program's actions are focused on the
dry tropical forests of Chacocente, in the department of
Carazo, and La Flor, in the southern department of Rivas.
Between the months of July and January, thousands of turtles
migrate to the beaches lining these two forests in order to
lay their eggs. Marena, in conjunction with the Sandinista
Popular Army, protects this area from predators during the
closed season.]
Besides guarding the nests, Marena helps the new-born
turtles reach the sea and carries out studies on the living
habits of these prehistoric reptiles.
These turtles are certainly not free from danger. During the
breeding period, the bulky female turtles journey from far
out at sea to the beaches, in search of an adequate place to
dig their nests, sometimes up to 20 inches (50 cm) deep.
They usually lay between 80 and 120 eggs, and cover the
nests with sand to keep away their two main enemies: people
and animals.
They strain so much during labor that their eyes tear up.
Dogs, coyotes and jackals carve up the nests in search of
the eggs, which are the size of a ping-pong ball. After 40
to 50 days, the baby turtles hatch and crawl to the sea.
But the sea is no safe haven either. Pelicans stalk them as
they crawl on the beach and dive after them in the shallow
waters. The baby turtles' delicate bodies are also easy prey
for fish. Only a few of them live to reproduce.
Their worst enemy, however, is people's poverty. According
to biologist Gustavo Ruiz of the Earth Institute, the
inhabitants of this region have always made their living by
collecting turtle eggs. In the past, he says, this has not
endangered the turtles' existence. "In fact, a controlled
egg collection can aid the balance of nature," said Ruiz.
The biologist explained that on nights during the closed
season it is common to see over 500 turtles laying their
eggs along the beach. Many dig in places where others have
already laid their eggs, cracking some of them. In these
cases, none of the eggs survive because the heat and
humidity generate bacteria in the cracked eggs, which kill
the remaining good eggs.
An environmental challenge
According to Ruiz, the main problem is that in the last few
years the trade of turtle eggs has increased dramatically.
Acute poverty and profit-hungry businesspeople have pushed
fishermen to over-exploit the natural resources.
Illegal companies bypass the legal channels and export their
product to neighboring countries like Honduras and El
Salvador. To make things worse, Central Americans hold the
popular belief that this food increases the men's sex drive.
Marena initially began its preservation campaign ten years
ago, but its actions were too radical. They completely
blocked off the Chacocente beach during the six-month closed
season. This exacerbated the situation of residents who lost
one of their main means of survival.
A major obstacle to preservation is the fact that the
conditions in this region do not allow for ranching and
farming. Maria Eugenia Kraudie, a Marena official, told how
the inhabitants of Chacocente once violently entered the
beach, despite the presence of park rangers, and dug up
large stretches of sand. They took all the eggs.
Last year, Marena changed its notion of environmental
protection and began to hold seminars with the residents
living on the reserve in order to explain the importance of
protecting natural resources and teach them that the
environment is crucial for their own survival, said Kraudie.
With ongoing education campaigns, Marena hopes to raise
awareness about the need to protect natural resources. The
ministry seems to have understood that it needs to involve
the inhabitants in its programs to be successful.
Also, residents in the reserve are allotted a certain number
of eggs, even during the closed period. "This alleviates the
situation and people are satisfied. We're also teaching them
how to raise non-traditional animals like iguanas and deer,"
said Kraudie. She lamented, however, "that the government
doesn't give credit for these projects, since it says it
doesn't have money."
"Before we simply established a ban. But what can we say to
residents when they ask us how they can survive? It's
completely false that the environment can be protected
without resources. Without money, we can't offer an
alternative to the sale of turtle eggs," said Kraudie.
Environmental protection in developing countries is greatly
hampered by the lack of funds. The question remains: why is
there not more aid from industrialized countries?
In fact, international lending institutions force the
governments in developing countries to reduce spending.
Faced with this situation, government officials cut back on
the programs that are considered unproductive and that, in
their opinion, do not generate short-term income.
Apparently this is why the government reduced Marena's
budget for 1994 by 30%. According to Kraudie, some 200
ministry workers were laid off, and there were program cut-
backs. Although some private firms have begun to support
environmental protection, the future of nature reserves
remains uncertain.
Nevertheless, environmental protection is not only affected
by financial and human restraints. Unemployment, hunger and
poverty are on the rise in Nicaragua, and environmental
protection seems to be one of the least important concerns.
Must help both humans and turtles
A local newspaper told how in February over 3,000 newly-
unemployed people swarmed onto La Flor, the second largest
preserve for sea turtles, killing over 1,500 of these
animals. After cutting open their bellies, they extracted
the eggs, since "they didn't have time to wait for the
turtles to lay their eggs."
In this game, whoever gets the most eggs makes the most
money. Each dead turtle was worth about US$4 in eggs.
Although this activity cannot be justified, neither can
their extreme poverty. These people have turned to vandalism
because of their hunger and the government's lack of
sensitivity.
According to Ruiz, "the turtle has survived many difficult
times and, most likely, humans won't exterminate it. But
these people are the ones most affected by the country's
crisis since they don't have a means of survival." Without a
doubt, these communities also need a campaign whose banner
might also read, "Help me live!"
*
.................................................................
Copyright (c) 1994 by Barricada Internacional.
SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Barricada Internacional is published monthly in English by South
North Communication Network, P.O. Box 410150, San Francisco, CA
94141-0150. Subscriptions to the printed English edition are US
$35 per year.
The Spanish-language edition is printed and distributed by
Barricada Internacional, Apartado 23.296, 08080 Barcelona, Spain.
The Electronic Edition is distributed by NY Transfer News
Collective. Subscriptions are US $30 per year. Subscribe and
receive the complete text delivered each month to your Internet
mailbox.
TO SUBSCRIBE, please send your Internet e-mail address and
indicate the Spanish or English edition. Send your name,
address, and a check for $30 (US dollars please)
PAYABLE TO: BLYTHE SYSTEMS
MAIL TO: Blythe Systems/NY Transfer News
Attn: Kathleen Kelly
39 West 14th Street #206
New York, NY 10011 USA.
For more details, contact NY Transfer News Collective via
Internet: n...@blythe.org
-end-
--
+ 212-675-9690 NY TRANSFER NEWS COLLECTIVE 212-675-9663 +
+ Since 1985: Information for the Rest of Us +
+ GET INFO from ftpmail%tra...@blythe.org +
+ e-mail: n...@blythe.org info: in...@blythe.org +
Aaron Watters
>Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit
>"Help me live!"
>by Petra Roith
>years the trade of turtle eggs has increased dramatically.
>Acute poverty and profit-hungry businesspeople have pushed
The main problem is political instability in Nicaragua.
If people weren't terrified by the constant eruptions of
violence in the country these profit-hungry businessmen
could hire all the benighted locals to help provide services
to hundreds of thousands of eco-tourists who would flock
to the nicaraguan coast to see the sea turtles. Everyone
would be happier: the people would have jobs, the businessmen
would have their fancy cars, the turtles would survive and
prosper, protected by private armies. Just look at the
success of eco-tourism in Costa Rica (it's always a good
idea to look to Costa Rica).
The biggest threat to the turtles (not to mention the
disappearing mist forests which could be an even better
draw) are the political extremists who refuse to disavow
-- and even go so far as to pardon and justify -- disasterous
political violence. I won't mention any names.
-a