A day visit to one of the two remaining cloud forests in Nicaragua.
Introduction:
The Central American volcanic zone stretches 1,500 km from Guatemala to Costa Rica along the Pacific coast of Central America. There are hundreds of volcanic formations along the zone. Volcanoes have vented 100 kilometres from the Pacific oceanic edge of the Cocos Plate, a tectonic plate that plunges north-eastwards, beneath Central America. Earthquakes, as a result, often extend along this zone up to Mexico.
Nicaragua possesses 19 volcanoes (Wikipedia). Visitors could easily do short road and boat trips to view 12 volcanoes in Nicaragua. During my flight departure from Mangaua to Houston, Texas, within minutes of leaving the airport, my United Airlines jetliner flight soared along ten volcanic peaks very close to each other all standing in a line.
Five, young volcanic centres have emerged at the Masaya-Granada location, mid-way along this volcanic zone (Ui, T.,1972). This short blog entry will focus on just one volcanic centre, the Volcán Mombacho. This inactive volcano within the Masaya-Granada centre, towers to a height of 4,265 feet (1,344 meters above sea level).
For some reason I feel compelled to visit volcanos and glaciers during my travels. So, I was very happy to have an opportunity to visit Volcán Mombacho.
The November 10th tour was led by a local guide from the Café Las Flores coffee company. It was close to the end of the rainy season in the region. As a consequence, the small album of my photos provides an impression of Volcán Mombacho when it was cloaked in clouds.
The natural reserve:
Dense, tropical forest encircles it and extends right to the peak. Thick mist often enshrouds the peak, thus, creating a cloud forest. There are only two cloud forests left in Nicaragua. One of the remaining cloud forests is on Volcán Mombacho (McCann, 2003). What is more, an Elfin forest with dwarf trees stands at the peak too.
The city of Granada nestles along the shore of Lake Nicaragua ten kilometres to the north of the peaks. Farm lands and coffee plantations like the Hacienda El Progreso form a semi-circle around the volcanic mountain.
Species including butterfly, salamander, and orchid, are unique to this refuge. Thus, the mountain top craters have become an 'island' home for an incredible array of flora and fauna. Therefore, this volcano has a setting like the Mountains of the Mist in West Java, Indonesia (See my blog post: http://indianwithnoborders.blogspot.ca/2013/10/highway-11-road-trip-from-bogor-to.html).
According to population counts from September 1999 to November 2000, almost 1000 mantled howling monkeys lived around the peak. McCann's research team found, "However, most of Mombacho’s monkeys are found not in RNVM but in the 25 surrounding shade coffee plantations. (McCann et al., 2003)"
That is why a natural reserve was created for it. The Reserva Natural Volcán Mombacho (RNVM) extends to the volcano’s summit from 850 m elevation. Mombacho Volcano Nature Reserve has a protected area of 6, 644 hectares in total with a core area of 578 hectares (Somarriba-Chang 2010). Thus, the reserve has a large buffer area.
Activities Allowed in the Reserve:
According to a transboundary diagnostic analysis (TDA) using funds provided in part through the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the financial mechanism for both the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the level of protection in the RNVM allows for protection, research, and some extractive activities.
The Mombacho nature reserve is equivalent to a Managed Resource Protected Area within the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) protected areas categories. Its main management objective is the sustainable use of natural ecosystems (Somarriba-Chang 2010). As a result, the Mombacho Nature Reserve is in the same management category as a the Biosphere Reserve Bosawasin in Nicaragua.
Day trip to RNVM:
Hacienda El Progreso, a coffee farm owned by the Café Las Flores coffee company, has its plantation on the Pacific-facing (western) slopes of the peak. It has become one of Nicaragua’s leading eco-tourism destinations. Consequently, a day trip to the nature reserve could easily include a visit to a coffee plantation. This is what our delegation chose to do.
A Rainforest Alliance Certification for the plantation shows its attention to sustainable farming practices and social concerns for the nearby community. However, the Rainforest Alliance standards do not measure up to the higher prices, higher social and environmental standards of the Fair Trade brand (Wikipedia). According to to my board colleague, a world leading expert about sustainability certification, says the Rainforest Alliance system is more suitable for large producers.
Steam Pit:
A pit about 1.5 meters in diameter is located at the edge of a wind swept opening close to the peak. About 10 meters from the opening, a faint odour of sulphur gas (hydrogen sulphide) caught my attention. I stood at the edge of the pit for 1-2 minutes. Very quickly I felt like I was in a very hot sauna. The steam fogged my camera lens so I could not get a close up photo of it.
Earthquake right after my visit to the volcano:
On November 10, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake 52km shook the sea floor southwest of Masachapa, Nicaragua. It occurred at 3:45 pm local time according to the USGS website National Earthquake Information Center.
At Oaxaca, Mexico, such a quake would be powerful enough to rattle windows and cupboards. That is what a colleague has experienced with similar quakes at Oaxaca and elsewhere in Central America.
The epicentre of the quake was 90 kilometres to the southwest of our location. No telephone or hydro lines swayed or bounced along our route at the time. Nor did we feel it in our small bus as we travelled back to our hotel at Granada during the quake.
Concluding reflection:
Just two cloud forests that remain standing in Nicaragua has been a disappointing and sobering thought for me. Prevention of the loss of a unique forest ecosystem such as a cloud forest in any country is a goal worth striving for! It is my hope that forest certification can play a positive role to ensure that the remaining cloud forests in Nicaragua will last for many generations to come!
References:
McCann, C., K. Kimberly Williams-Guillén, et al. (2003). Shade Coffee Plantations as Wildlife Refuge for Mantled Howler Monkeys (Alouatta palliata) in Nicaragua. Primates in Fragments. L. Marsh, Springer US: 321-341.
Somarriba-Chang, Matilde (2010). Testing ecotourism principles in Nicaragua. Diss. (sammanfattning/summary) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., Acta Universitatis agriculturae Sueciae, 1652-6880 ; 2010:37 ISBN 978-91-576-7450-0 [Doctoral thesis]
Ui, T. (1972). "Recent volcanism in Masaya-Granada Area, Nicaragua." Bulletin Volcanologique 36(1): 174-190.
Photo album:
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The Central American volcanic zone stretches 1,500 km from Guatemala to Costa Rica along the Pacific coast of Central America. There are hundreds of volcanic formations along the zone. Volcanoes have vented 100 kilometres from the Pacific oceanic edge of the Cocos Plate, a tectonic plate that plunges north-eastwards, beneath Central America. Earthquakes, as a result, often extend along this zone up to Mexico.
Nicaragua possesses 19 volcanoes (Wikipedia). Visitors could easily do short road and boat trips to view 12 volcanoes in Nicaragua. During my flight departure from Mangaua to Houston, Texas, within minutes of leaving the airport, my United Airlines jetliner flight soared along ten volcanic peaks very close to each other all standing in a line.
Five, young volcanic centres have emerged at the Masaya-Granada location, mid-way along this volcanic zone (Ui, T.,1972). This short blog entry will focus on just one volcanic centre, the Volcán Mombacho. This inactive volcano within the Masaya-Granada centre, towers to a height of 4,265 feet (1,344 meters above sea level).
For some reason I feel compelled to visit volcanos and glaciers during my travels. So, I was very happy to have an opportunity to visit Volcán Mombacho.
The November 10th tour was led by a local guide from the Café Las Flores coffee company. It was close to the end of the rainy season in the region. As a consequence, the small album of my photos provides an impression of Volcán Mombacho when it was cloaked in clouds.
The natural reserve:
Dense, tropical forest encircles it and extends right to the peak. Thick mist often enshrouds the peak, thus, creating a cloud forest. There are only two cloud forests left in Nicaragua. One of the remaining cloud forests is on Volcán Mombacho (McCann, 2003). What is more, an Elfin forest with dwarf trees stands at the peak too.
The city of Granada nestles along the shore of Lake Nicaragua ten kilometres to the north of the peaks. Farm lands and coffee plantations like the Hacienda El Progreso form a semi-circle around the volcanic mountain.
Species including butterfly, salamander, and orchid, are unique to this refuge. Thus, the mountain top craters have become an 'island' home for an incredible array of flora and fauna. Therefore, this volcano has a setting like the Mountains of the Mist in West Java, Indonesia (See my blog post: http://indianwithnoborders.blogspot.ca/2013/10/highway-11-road-trip-from-bogor-to.html).
According to population counts from September 1999 to November 2000, almost 1000 mantled howling monkeys lived around the peak. McCann's research team found, "However, most of Mombacho’s monkeys are found not in RNVM but in the 25 surrounding shade coffee plantations. (McCann et al., 2003)"
That is why a natural reserve was created for it. The Reserva Natural Volcán Mombacho (RNVM) extends to the volcano’s summit from 850 m elevation. Mombacho Volcano Nature Reserve has a protected area of 6, 644 hectares in total with a core area of 578 hectares (Somarriba-Chang 2010). Thus, the reserve has a large buffer area.
Activities Allowed in the Reserve:
According to a transboundary diagnostic analysis (TDA) using funds provided in part through the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the financial mechanism for both the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the level of protection in the RNVM allows for protection, research, and some extractive activities.
The Mombacho nature reserve is equivalent to a Managed Resource Protected Area within the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) protected areas categories. Its main management objective is the sustainable use of natural ecosystems (Somarriba-Chang 2010). As a result, the Mombacho Nature Reserve is in the same management category as a the Biosphere Reserve Bosawasin in Nicaragua.
Day trip to RNVM:
Hacienda El Progreso, a coffee farm owned by the Café Las Flores coffee company, has its plantation on the Pacific-facing (western) slopes of the peak. It has become one of Nicaragua’s leading eco-tourism destinations. Consequently, a day trip to the nature reserve could easily include a visit to a coffee plantation. This is what our delegation chose to do.
A Rainforest Alliance Certification for the plantation shows its attention to sustainable farming practices and social concerns for the nearby community. However, the Rainforest Alliance standards do not measure up to the higher prices, higher social and environmental standards of the Fair Trade brand (Wikipedia). According to to my board colleague, a world leading expert about sustainability certification, says the Rainforest Alliance system is more suitable for large producers.
Steam Pit:
A pit about 1.5 meters in diameter is located at the edge of a wind swept opening close to the peak. About 10 meters from the opening, a faint odour of sulphur gas (hydrogen sulphide) caught my attention. I stood at the edge of the pit for 1-2 minutes. Very quickly I felt like I was in a very hot sauna. The steam fogged my camera lens so I could not get a close up photo of it.
Earthquake right after my visit to the volcano:
On November 10, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake 52km shook the sea floor southwest of Masachapa, Nicaragua. It occurred at 3:45 pm local time according to the USGS website National Earthquake Information Center.
At Oaxaca, Mexico, such a quake would be powerful enough to rattle windows and cupboards. That is what a colleague has experienced with similar quakes at Oaxaca and elsewhere in Central America.
The epicentre of the quake was 90 kilometres to the southwest of our location. No telephone or hydro lines swayed or bounced along our route at the time. Nor did we feel it in our small bus as we travelled back to our hotel at Granada during the quake.
Concluding reflection:
Just two cloud forests that remain standing in Nicaragua has been a disappointing and sobering thought for me. Prevention of the loss of a unique forest ecosystem such as a cloud forest in any country is a goal worth striving for! It is my hope that forest certification can play a positive role to ensure that the remaining cloud forests in Nicaragua will last for many generations to come!
References:
McCann, C., K. Kimberly Williams-Guillén, et al. (2003). Shade Coffee Plantations as Wildlife Refuge for Mantled Howler Monkeys (Alouatta palliata) in Nicaragua. Primates in Fragments. L. Marsh, Springer US: 321-341.
Somarriba-Chang, Matilde (2010). Testing ecotourism principles in Nicaragua. Diss. (sammanfattning/summary) Uppsala : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., Acta Universitatis agriculturae Sueciae, 1652-6880 ; 2010:37 ISBN 978-91-576-7450-0 [Doctoral thesis]
Photo album:
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| Road from Granada to Reserva Natural Volcán Mombacho (RNVM) |
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| Tour reception house of the Café Las Flores coffee company |
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| Road leads to the nature reserve. |
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| The Crater Trail is mainly a moderate hike around a 1 km trail. |
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| A tropical climate, forests at different elevations on the mountain, and the proximity to Lake Cacibolco, creates high biodiversity on Volcan Mombacho. |
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| The number of plant species that live on this tree is greater than all species of trees in a forest typical of Sweden or England (Source: above trail sign). |
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| Elfin forest |
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