Myths and legends enshroud Nicaragua's Mombacho Volcano like the clouds that drift through its forest. The staff of Fundacion Cocibolca, a conservation group that manages the sleeping volcano's reserve, knows them all. They say the clear waters that surge from the volcano have magical powers. They say that if hunters fell an animal in Mombacho, they will find no trace of what they shot, and that if you steal a plant, you will lose your way home.
Enchanted Mombacho is southwest of Managua, near the shores of Lake Cocibolca (also called Lake Nicaragua). Some 1700 acres of this high-altitude forest were declared a reserve in 1983, but official decree isn't protecting the forest much better than the ancient fables. Determined to make the reserve a modern conservation model, Fundacion Cocibolca has accepted the challenge of protecting and managing the area's resources.
Two years ago, Cocibolca signed an agreement with Nicaragua's natural resources ministry (MARENA), the first time a conservation group in the country has been granted the responsibility of managing a national protected area. "MARENA doesn't have the capacity to oversee all of the 73 legally established protected areas," explains Mauricio Fonseca, director of Protected Areas, Fish and Wildlife at MARENA. "So the law allows us to co-administer conservation areas with scientific organizations or private groups." Cocibolca's work is supported by a $325,000 grant from the U.S. Agency for International Development.
In a quest to find sustainable income sources for Mombacho's neighbors, Cocibolca is working with coffee growers whose beans thrive in rich volcanic soils and beneath the forest shade. Increasingly, however, farmers are cutting down their trees. The sun-stressed coffee plants produce more beans, but also require heavier doses of expensive agrochemicals. Cocibolca is hoping to convince coffee growers to go organic. "We think consumers will be willing to pay a bit more for eco-friendly coffee from Mombacho," says Juan Carlos Martinez, director of the foundation.
Other challenges Cocibolca must tackle include slash-and-burn farming by squatters moving up the volcanic slopes, illegal hunting, logging for firewood and orchid stealing - the 87 species of orchids found in Mombacho fetch a good price in local nurseries.
Martinez also discovered an illegal bird trafficking network operating in Mombacho. The birds, particularly toucans and parrots, are sold openly on the streets of Managua and in the marketplaces. Meanwhile, Cocibolca's biologists are studying the flora and fauna of Mombacho, which safeguards 457 kinds of plants, 118 bird species and one beautiful butterfly, mombachoensis, that's found no place else on Earth. As word of Cocibolca's efforts spreads, Nicaraguans are eager to hike through the legendary forest so close to the capital city. Cocibolca hopes to open hiking trails within a year. Ecotourism also can offer economic benefits to local communities, Martinez notes.
Another Mombacho myth concerns an old woman, said to be the forest's caretaker, who appears in the mists wearing a white gown, but who vanishes if you approach. No matter: The biologists and parkguards of Fundacion Cocibolca will happily show you around.
CONTACTS IN NICARAGUA: Fundacion Cocibolca, Apdo. C-212, Managua, tel-fax:
505/278-3224
This article is provided from the Rainforest Alliance's Conservation Media Center,
based in San Jose,Costa Rica. For more information, contact Diane Jukofsky or Chris Wille,
Rainforest Alliance, Apdo. 138-2150, Moravia, San Jose, Costa Rica; Phone: 506-240-9383;
Fax: 506-240-2543; Email: infotrop@sol.racsa.co.cr
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