Mangrove forests are incredibly important ecosystems. In a study from 2014, mangrove forests were found to provide ecosystem services (benefits to humans) valued at $194,000 per hectare annually. Today is International Mangrove Day and here are just a few reasons we should care about mangroves – and invest in protecting them: 1. Biodiversity. Home to […]
Salvadoran Communities to Coordinate Major Investment in Mangrove Conservation
$2.5 million destined for locally-led conservation initiatives in the bay The Fund for the Initiative of the Americas, FIAES, a leading environmental funder and conservation organization in El Salvador, announced last month it would be investing $16.6 million over the next five years in the protection of seven wetland areas and nature reserves across the […]
Sugar and El Salvador’s Economic and Social Woes: Not Just a Tempest in Your Coffee Cup
Sugarcane production has more than doubled in El Salvador over the last several decades, especially in the eastern region surrounding the Bay of Jiquilisco. The department of Usulután, particularly in the Lower Lempa zone where our partners the Mangrove Association and La Coordinadora del Bajo Lempa are based, has experienced the greatest growth rates since […]
COP21: What does it mean for the Lower Lempa?
As the 21st United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP21) winds down, we at EcoViva reflect on what these negotiations may mean, if anything, for the people most vulnerable to climate change – particularly those of El Salvador’s Lower Lempa. People of the Lower Lempa are experiencing the effects of climate change firsthand, suffering prolonged […]
Remembering Katrina: A Global Lesson in Community Organizing and Adaptation
Today marks ten years since Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans and surrounding communities, killing over 1,800 people while displacing countless more. Poorly-designed levees and inadequate disaster response were in large part to blame for the high toll exacted. Man-made hurricane protection systems failed fantastically. The disaster also highlighted how decades of one-track […]
