Fight for Latin America’s Second Largest Rainforest

Deep inside the verdant expanse of Nicaragua’s Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, the western hemisphere’s second largest rainforest a group of Mayangna indigenous warriors wielding spears, bows, snakes and reputed magical powers are being ordered to stand down after two weeks of preparing for battle against encroaching land invaders. The Mayangnas say that if the government cannot put a stop to it, they will take matter into their own hands. According to the article, 200-280 acres are being cleared per day, which means that since this is one of the largest rainforests, as said in the article the “Lungs of Mesoamerica” are almost completely gone. Tensions really started to flare when a Maynanga patrol encountered timber traffickers who had just converted thirty-five acres of untouched forest into cow pasture. Which resulted in the timber traffickers opening fire on the Maynanga patrol killing its indigenous leader Charley Taylor. There are lot of ways you can prevent deforestation, however if people do not realize or are uneducated on what goes on with deforestation there will be an ongoing problem with further harm to the natural habitat of the deforested areas. The solution is not clear-cut answer saying all trees and forest should not be cut down, however acres after acres every day being cut down definitely is not the solution. Many people do not understand how they are hurting the environment, the eco-system and contribute to global warming. The ideas that are will be presented might not bring an end to deforestation in the Nicaraguan rainforest but with these ideas maybe we can help save this forest for the tribes and their family. The first idea is to educate the actual timber traffickers, gold miners, farmers, cattle ranchers and land swindlers who the Mayangnas say are devouring the forest like a swarm of locusts. If these groups have the ability to destroy the Nicaraguan’s intact rainforests, they also have the power to help save them. These companies or groups can make an impact by introducing zero-deforestation policies that require suppliers to produce commodities such as timber, beef, soy, palm oil and paper fiber in a way that has a minimal impact on natural forests and the climate. Companies can also introduce paper procurement policies that set ambitious targets to maximize use of post consumer recycled wood, pulp, paper and fiber in their products and ensure that any virgin fiber used is certified by a rigorous third party certification system such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). If these policies are presented to the Maynanga tribe members and leaders there could be a common ground that does not show invasion by the land grabbers but actually a progressive movement to improve the habitat and surroundings of the tribe members. In most cases a lot of the deforestation projects that are going on are illegal and when something is illegal policies and procedures are non-factors and not even mentioned and that is when is these groups who cannot police themselves must be policed. Another solution to the deforestation problem is to combat with actual combatants; although this tactic might seem uncouth you must use this to engage people who will actually murder to continue their deforestation projects. There is already an operation such as Operation Green Gold, which is the inaugural mission of Nicaragua's newly formed Ecological Battalion. It is Central America's first concerted effort to seek a military-backed solution to the threats of climate change. The green guard, a unit of five hundred and eighty environmental soldiers, recently won its first battlefield victory by netting one hundred thousand cubic feet of illegal lumber cut down by loggers. The trees were chopped down in Cerro Wawashang, a nature reserve that is being plundered to supply the black market for construction materials. The eco-battalion, working in conjunction with state prosecutors and forestry officials, discovered the lumber contraband hidden under netting and brush to avoid detection from the air. The troops are now reportedly on the trail of the criminal organization that was extracting the wood from the jungle on riverboats.
"There are unscrupulous people who are taking advantage of the economic limitations of the people in this region. "And in the end, it's the outsiders who benefit while the local communities are left with the indiscriminate deforestation," says Col Nestor Lopez, the army's chief of civil operations. Coffee production is moving to higher altitudes in search of cooler conditions. Not all Nicaragua's deforestation is caused by the timber traffickers farmers and cattle ranchers are also doing their fair share of careless chopping, but whoever is responsible, at the current rate of clearance only twenty five of the rainforest is likely to remain forested by 2030. This tactic might seem extreme but at what cost should you go to when numbers like twenty five percent will be left in only fifteen years. The Maynangas have fought for their rainforest but they are fighting with spears, bows, snakes and magical powers which might have worked when the battleground per say was even but when one of your of leaders are shot down, calling in the eco-soldiers might be the solution that is needed. Why should more of these people die on their land when the big guns can be called out and used if necessary. The rainforest being deforested also could be a threat to national security and be detrimental to a future energy source. Nicaragua is currently largely dependent on an oil-powered electricity but is attempting to move towards supplying more than fifty percent of its needs with hydropower. The Nicaraguan government is trying to change the matrix of its energy supply, and to do so it will need to preserve and conserve the nature reserves and rainforests so it will have the water needed to run what will be Central America's largest hydroelectric plant, “Tumarin". But if there is not any rainforests, there will not be enough rain produced to make this project sustainable. There cannot be a hydroelectric plant in the desert.