What's in store for Nicaragua's wildlife?   

The map of the Americas is about to change, with construction of a new cross-country canal in Nicaragua. This mega-project aims to connect the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea by a 172-mile route that cuts through Lake Nicaragua. Construction, conducted by a private company from Hong Kong, has been in progress since December 2014. Despite the potential global impact of this massive project, there has not been a study of the canal's ecological effects. The Nicaraguan government hopes that the canal will bring jobs and economic growth. 

How might this continental re-shaping affect Nicaragua's biodiversity? Dr. Jorge Huete-Perez, vice president of the Academy of Sciences of Nicaragua and former visiting scientist at OGL, is bringing international attention to the issues at stake. A community of scientists, led by Dr. Huete, is calling for scientific studies to protect the future of Nicaragua's environment and its people.

Nicaragua has rich biodiversity in its rainforests, mountains, coral reefs, and freshwater. Lake Nicaragua (or Cocibolca) is the largest lake in Central America and larger than the state of Delaware. It supplies drinking water and irrigation, and it is home to sawfish, tarpon, and rare freshwater sharks. Nicaragua's coasts are nesting grounds for endangered sea turtles, and the Caribbean coast supports coral reefs and mangroves. 

Dr. Huete and colleagues are concerned that the plan to dredge Lake Nicaragua will harm water quality for aquatic life as well as the residents, agriculture, and fisheries of the region. Once the canal receives shipping traffic, the scientists warn of even more severe impacts, such as pollution, saltwater contamination of the lake, and invasive species that often hitchhike in the bilge water of passing ships. These threats could destroy Nicaragua's native species, such as cichlid fish that are found nowhere else in the world.

Map of the proposed Nicaragua canal route. (Credit: Environ. Sci. Technol.)