Partner
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Conserving dry tropical forests through sustainable farming 

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Challenge

Nicaragua’s Pacific dry corridor is home to half of this Central American nation’s population. Its tropical dry forests, which once covered most of the region, are home to rare species like the Mantled Howler monkey, the Jaguarundi, Baird’s tapir and Yellow-naped parrot. However, rapid agricultural expansion in recent decades has led to widespread deforestation. Today, less than 1% of Nicaragua is covered by intact dry forests, with dire consequences for people and wildlife. The remaining wildlife populations are squeezed into ever-shrinking, isolated habitat patches. Meanwhile, the degraded, treeless land they used to inhabit has become more vulnerable to landslides and droughts, as well as reducing agricultural productivity - leaving people ever more exposed to climate impacts and food insecurity.

Fauna & Flora's response

Fauna & Flora aims to conserve Nicaragua’s remaining dry tropical forests in Pacific landscapes and begin a process of restoration. To this end, it supports local farmers to adopt sustainable biodiversity-friendly farming practices such as crop rotation and diversification, organic soil improvements and reduced burning. These practices help farmers increase the productivity of their existing land, which boosts their food and income security, enabling them to stop clearing more forests or poaching wildlife to make ends meet. After successfully working with smallholder farmers on Ometepe Island in Lake Nicaragua, Fauna & Flora is now replicating its approach in six priority areas to cover 4,500 hectares and reach more than 800 farmers.

Supported since

March 2024