A troubled past...
Anastasio Somoza García To better understand the inner workings of the environmental conservation issues in Nicaragua, it helps to look at the political and social issues that have riddled this country's development in the past.
Nicaragua has been plagued with military dictatorships over the past 150 years along with the political influence of developed countries such as the US and Great Britain. The most famous military dictatorship was the Somoza family, ruling from 1927-1979. The United states engineered the family's power by making the Somoza family Nicaragua's National Guard, a position that the family would soon extort. After the fall of the Somoza family in 1979, the Sandinistas, who were rooted in the catholic church and the Nicaraguan military, and the Contras, a smaller rebel population, became the two competing political parties. In the course of this country's political instability there were many violent rebellions and wars fought, resulting in forgotten land-mines, destructed forests, and polluted ecosystems. By 1990 the country finally stabilized, implementing a general election system and distancing itself away from previous methods of political rule, soon evolving into a democratic republic. Unfortunately the country still remains the 2nd poorest in the Western Hemisphere. Here lies one of the main issues of environmental conservation in Nicaragua: in order to have the entire population in support of the environment, there has to be political stability and money to fund programs. The country has had so many internal and external issues that environmental conservation has been largely ignored in favor of other seemingly more pressing national issues. Fortunately, now ⅕ of Nicaragua's land is naturally preserved by the State and more people are traveling and vacationing to the area, raising environmental awareness and generating environmental consciousness.
Nicaragua has been plagued with military dictatorships over the past 150 years along with the political influence of developed countries such as the US and Great Britain. The most famous military dictatorship was the Somoza family, ruling from 1927-1979. The United states engineered the family's power by making the Somoza family Nicaragua's National Guard, a position that the family would soon extort. After the fall of the Somoza family in 1979, the Sandinistas, who were rooted in the catholic church and the Nicaraguan military, and the Contras, a smaller rebel population, became the two competing political parties. In the course of this country's political instability there were many violent rebellions and wars fought, resulting in forgotten land-mines, destructed forests, and polluted ecosystems. By 1990 the country finally stabilized, implementing a general election system and distancing itself away from previous methods of political rule, soon evolving into a democratic republic. Unfortunately the country still remains the 2nd poorest in the Western Hemisphere. Here lies one of the main issues of environmental conservation in Nicaragua: in order to have the entire population in support of the environment, there has to be political stability and money to fund programs. The country has had so many internal and external issues that environmental conservation has been largely ignored in favor of other seemingly more pressing national issues. Fortunately, now ⅕ of Nicaragua's land is naturally preserved by the State and more people are traveling and vacationing to the area, raising environmental awareness and generating environmental consciousness.