Campaign Story

Bosawas is a meeting point between the fauna of North and South America. It hosts an enormous amount of both vertebrate and invertebrate organisms. It is geographically located in northeastern Nicaragua and is bordered to the northwest by the Republic of Honduras, to the west by the departments of Jinotega and Nueva Segovia, to the south by the South Caribbean Autonomous Region, and to the east by the North Caribbean Autonomous Region.

This forest in Nicaragua has fertile land, which is attracting farmers. Land is being cleared for agriculture in the Bosawás Biosphere Reserve, even though it's not legal. According to Nicaraguan law, these lands are titled to the indigenous Mayagna and Miskito people, and cannot be sold to individuals. But indigenous communities report land traffickers are selling their land. These intrusions are leading to the rapid disappearance of forest within the reserve. In 2000, 15% had been cleared for agricultural use. By 2019, that number climbed to 31%. For the first time deforestation has reached the center of the reserve.