Cuidamos el Lago Nicaragua, el canal destuye el agua potable y la naturaleza - Rettet das 2. größte Trinkwasserreservoir

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Conservation: Nicaragua Canal could wreak environmental ruin

Axel Meyer& Jorge A. Huete-Pérez

19 February 2014

Plans for a 300-kilometre waterway joining the Pacific and Atlantic oceans need independent environmental assessment, urge Axel Meyer and Jorge A. Huete-Pérez.

Lake Nicaragua is the largest drinking-water reservoir in Central America and is home to fish species key to evolutionary science.

Last June, the Nicaraguan government granted a concession to a Hong Kong company to build a canal connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, through the Caribbean Sea. The HK Nicaragua Canal Development Investment Company (operating as HKND Group) signed a 50-year lease, renewable for another 50 years. It plans to break ground in December after spending this year establishing a route and conducting feasibility studies. Included in the concession are the rights to build and operate industrial centres, airports, a rail system and oil pipelines, as well as land expropriation and the rights to natural resources found along the canal route.

The Nicaraguan government says that the US$40-billion project will boost economic growth in the country — the second-poorest nation in the Americas — from 4.5% in 2013 to 14.6% in 2016. No economic or environmental feasibility studies have yet been revealed to the public. Nicaragua has not solicited its own environmental impact assessment and will rely instead on a study commissioned by the HKND. The company has no obligation to reveal the results to the Nicaraguan public.

In our view, this canal could create an environmental disaster in Nicaragua and beyond. The excavation of hundreds of kilometres from coast to coast, traversing Lake Nicaragua, the largest drinking-water reservoir in the region, will destroy around 400,000 hectares of rainforests and wetlands.

The accompanying development could imperil surrounding ecosystems. Some 240 kilometres north of the most likely route of the canal lies the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve — 2 million hectares of tropical forest that is the last refuge of many disappearing species (see 'Nicaragua carve-up'). Less than 115 kilometres to the south is the Indio Maiz Biological Reserve, with more than 318,000 hectares of tropical dry forest. Worse still, the probable canal route cuts through the northern sector of the Cerro Silva Natural Reserve.

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The project threatens multiple autonomous indigenous communities such as the Rama, Garifuna, Mayangna, Miskitu and Ulwa, and some of the most fragile, pristine and scientifically important marine, terrestrial and lacustrine ecosystems in Central America.

An international community of conservationists, scientists and sociologists needs to join the concerned citizens and researchers of Nicaragua in demanding two things: first, independent assessments of the repercussions of this mega-project; and second, that the Nicaraguan government halt the project should the assessments confirm fears that this canal will yield more losses than gains for the region's natural resources, indigenous communities and biodiversity.

At what price?

Many have dreamed of a canal through Nicaragua — from the Spanish conquistadors to Napoleon III. The US industrialist Cornelius Vanderbilt, the United States and the United Kingdom all had plans for such a canal by the mid-1800s, well before the Panama Canal was completed in 1914. Engineering challenges, projected costs and, more recently, competition with the Panama Canal, have prevented such plans from being realized.

The most likely route1 of the HKND's canal is 286 kilometres long and would cut an approximately 90-kilometre swathe across Lake Nicaragua, requiring a major transformation of the lake bed and local rivers. To rival the expanded Panama Canal (slated for completion in 2015) by accommodating ships of up to 400,000 tonnes, the proposed Nicaraguan waterway will be 27.6 metres deep, and the HKND has claimed that it may be an implausible 520 metres wide. Lake Nicaragua, however, has an average depth of only 15 metres. The extensive dredging required would dump millions of tonnes of sludge either into other parts of the lake or on to nearby land. Either way, the sludge will probably end up as damaging sedimentation2.

Lake Nicaragua would also serve as the reservoir for the canal's lock system, requiring dams to be constructed in an area of frequent seismic activity, which would increase the risk of local water shortages and flooding. The lake would probably suffer from salt infiltration in the lock zones, as in locks of the Panama Canal. This would transform a free-flowing freshwater ecosystem into an artificial slack-water reservoir combined with salt water. Declining populations of native aquatic fauna such as euryhaline bull sharks, sawfish and tarpon, important for sport fishing and tourism, could also suffer.

Changes in chemical composition and disruptions to dissolved oxygen levels in the water from pollutants and construction could harm numerous populations of freshwater and marine fish found nowhere else in the world3. Boat wakes and dredging could weaken and denude the shoreline of rivers leading inland from the new ports on both coasts4. This could affect the rivers Escondido, Rama and Oyate on the Atlantic side, and Las Lajas and Brito on the Pacific side.

Invasive species from container bilge water are another concern. The arrival of non-native fish can have catastrophic results, as demonstrated by the dramatic decline in Lake Nicaragua's cichlid fish population since the introduction of African tilapia in the 1980s5. Cichlids are central to evolutionary research. Ecology and genetics studies over four decades have resulted in tens of publications involving researchers from more than a dozen countries. One study, for example, revealed that in less than 10,000 years, several species of cichlid evolved from one population in the Apoyo Lagoon, a crater lake close to Lake Nicaragua6.

Other vulnerable ecosystems7 in the Cerro Silva–Indio Maiz–La Selva Corridor, such as the biodiversity-rich wetlands of San Miguelito and Bluefields, will suffer from dredging, sedimentation, invasive species, emissions and other pollution. Shipping and the construction and operation of deepwater ports8 on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts will affect the nesting and egg-laying habitats of several endangered sea turtles and threaten coral reefs and mangroves. Cichlid fish, jaguars and harpy eagles are among the many species threatened by the Nicaragua Canal.

On land, animal populations will be artificially confined to territories carved out by the canal's infrastructure and accompanying projects, disrupting migration patterns, connectivity and ecological dynamics. Already, the extraordinary concentrations of endemic species in the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor are experiencing rapid habitat loss. This crucial biodiversity hotspot is a conservation system established in 1997 by Mexico and the countries of Central America to limit human activity and to create a safe migratory corridor between North and South America.

Nicaragua's Indio Maiz and Bosawas biosphere reserves — key links in this corridor — sandwich possible canal routes. Hundreds of thousands of hectares of the forests and wetlands would be cleared for the canal, destroying the habitats and food sources of already endangered species such as the Baird's tapir (Tapirus bairdii)9, the spider monkey (Ateles geoffroyi), the harpy eagle (Harpia harpyja) and the jaguar (Panthera onca), a creature of mystical importance to Mesoamerican cultures.

“Inhabitants of all species with ancient ties to the land will be uprooted.”

The social, economic, cultural and environmental costs of population resettlement are expected to be enormous. Hundreds of villages will have to be evacuated and the indigenous inhabitants relocated. Archaeological sites along the route of the canal will be in danger too. This upheaval could reignite the civil violence that has long blighted the region. The situation is already tense as outsiders invade ancestral lands with cattle and carry out illegal logging.

Might there be an economically, geographically and politically feasible route for the proposed canal, railway and oil pipeline that would entail significantly reduced risk? The general consensus in Nicaragua is no. Inhabitants — of all species — with ancient ties to the land will be uprooted regardless.

International action

The contract for an interoceanic canal in Nicaragua represents a classic example of the challenges faced by a developing country in balancing economic growth and environmental protection. More sustainable ways to raise revenue and employment from Lake Nicaragua could include expanded irrigation, tourism and aquaculture. The population of Nicaragua is expected to grow by 37% by 2050, so water shortages and pressure on natural resources are already set to increase, limiting sustainable growth and public welfare. In preparation for a future of climate change, food insecurity and biodiversity loss, Nicaragua must establish long-term measures for the protection of its environment, not sacrifice itself to speculators.

A loose coalition of more than 30 concerned groups filed legal complaints with the government of Nicaragua in the second half of last year. These included three communities — the Miskitu and Ulwa indigenous peoples and the Rama–Kriol territorial government in the South Atlantic Autonomous Region — arguing that the canal concession violates their land rights and legal autonomy (seego.nature.com/ttshoc). These legal petitions were overridden by the National Assembly in December.

Swift and decisive international action is called for. The Nicaraguan Academy of Sciences (of which one of us, J.A.H.-P., is president) is coordinating efforts with the InterAmerican Network of Academies of Sciences to carry out an independent impact assessment. We need more conservation groups and social organizations to lend their expertise and funds if we are to prevent the tragic devastation of indigenous communities along with terrestrial, marine and freshwater biodiversity and resources in Central America.

Thank you for helping us preserve one of the last paradises on earth!

Ayuda a conservar el agua potable y la naturaleza del Lago Nicaragua

El lago Lago Nicaragua o „Cocibolca“ es uno de los dos lagos de agua dulce más grade de América Latina. El nivel del lago se he cambiado desde hace los ultimos 15 anos por culpa del riego de los plantationes permanentes y las facturas que estan filtrando y vendiendo el agua del lago.

Ahora algo peor esta pasando. Daniel Ortega esta planificando la construcion de un canal que estubiera la destrucción de una biosystema.

El presidente Daniel Ortega da la responsibilidad de la construción „sustenible“ a 2 milliones trabajadores chinos que trabajan por un salario mas bajo que gana la población nicaraguense. Su acomodatión va ser el pueblo Rivas, una cuidad pequena de 26 046 habitantes.

Impactos ecológicos
El 20 de febrero 2014 advierten Axel Meyer de la Universidad de Konstanz y Jorge A. Huete -Pérez, presidente de la Academia de Ciencias de Nicaragua, en un comentario en Nature, que el impacto sobre los ecosistemas circundantes estuviera violente. En su opinión, el canal provoca un "desastre ecológico" en Nicaragua y sus alrededores.

Serían destruido 400.000 hectáreas de bosques tropicales y humedales que forman el hábitat de especias en peligro de extinción como la danta centroamericana, el Geoffroy- araña o el jaguar, amenaza a los derechos de un gran número de pueblos indígenas autónomas y pone ecosystemas de bosque primario en peligro.

Además, la ruta discurre por la Reserva Natural Cerro Silva y podría poner en peligro a otros ecosistemas circundantes, como la Reserva de Biosfera Bosawás Reserva Biológica Indio Maíz , que representan el último refugio de muchas especies en peligro de extinción.

El camino planificado del canal cruca directamente el Lago Nicaragua. Una entrada de agua salada en este grand depósito de agua potable seria inevitabe.

De la contrución y el uso resultan contaminantes y trastornos del contenido de oxigeno que pondría una seria de especias endémicas de peces en peligro que son alimento basico de mucha gente que viven alrededor del lago. Además, el proyecto requeriría la construcción de un sistema de bloqueo en esa zona de que resulta un riesgo del abastecimiento de agua potable y un mayor riesgo de inundación.

La profundidad del canal propuesto de 27,6 metros es casi el doble de la profundidad del lago de Nicaragua de 15 metros. Con un ancho del canal prevista de 520 metros de Nicaragua tendría que ser dragado ampliamente. Con este plan hay que desechar millones toneladas de sedimentos en el lago o en tierra que contaminan estes partes.

Impactos económicos y sociales
En una entrevista con Spektrum Axel Meyer toma la presunción de que los intereses geopolíticos de China son la fuerza impulsora detrás del projecto de competencia del Canal de Panamá que es controlado de los US Americanos.

La construcción legal del Tratado está diseñado para que el Estado no tenía control sobre la forma en que la inversión para que el dinero también podría fluir a manos privadas. Una novedad es , sin embargo, que el Grupo HKND es absuelto antes de todos los costos económicos y ambientales. Además los evaluaciones ambientales de la construcción no es hecho de expertos independientes, sino por el propio Grupo HKND que esta conductando el projecto.

Mientras se habían recibido en contra de la decisión del gobierno por parte de los pueblos indígenas ya 30 juicios ( hasta el 25 de febrero de 2014) . Queja está, entre otras cosas, que no estaban consultados ni del proyecto y la construcción.

En diciembre de 2014 van a comenzar el trabajo. Por favor ayuda llamar la atención del presidente a su desición destructivo.

Gracias para preservar uno de los últimos paraísos naturales de la tierra!

Y gracias por mehores propruestos para esta tradución! Espanol no es mi lengua maternal :)

Rettet das 2. größte Trinkwasserreservoir Lateinamerikas

Der Nicaragua-See ist der zweitgrößte Süßwassersee Lateinamerikas. Neben einigen Konzernen die seit Jahren seinen natürlichen Wasserspiegel durch das Abfüllen in Flaschen und die Bewässerung der umlegenden Felder senken, droht nun die Zerstörung eines Biosystemes durch den geplanten Kanalbau. Der nicaraguanische Präsident Daniel Ortega übergibt hierbei die Arbeit und folglich Verantwortung für den "nachhaltigen" Kanalbau an 2 Millionen chinesiche Arbeiter, die günstiger als die nicaraguanische Bevölkerung arbeiten sollen und in Rivas, einer Stadt mit 26.046 Bewohnern, untergebracht werden sollen.

Ökologische Auswirkungen
Am 20. Februar 2014 warnen Axel Meyer von der Universität Konstanz und Jorge A. Huete-Pérez, Präsident der nicaraguanischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, in einem Kommentar in Nature ungewöhnlich scharf vor möglichen Auswirkungen auf umliegende Ökosysteme. Ihrer Einschätzung nach kommt der Kanal auf der forcierten Strecke einem „ökologischen Desaster“ für Nicaragua und Umgebung gleich.

Es würden 400.000 Hektar Regenwald und Feuchtgebiete zerstört, die den Lebensraum von bereits gefährdeten Tierarten wie dem Mittelamerikanischen Tapir, dem Geoffroy-Klammeraffen oder dem Jaguar bilden, die Rechte einer Vielzahl autonomer indigener Bevölkerungsgruppen bedroht und wissenschaftlich bedeutsame, unberührte terrestrische und lakustrische Ökosysteme gefährdet. Darüber hinaus läuft die Strecke durch das Cerro Silva Natural Reserve und könnte weitere umliegende Ökosysteme wie das Bosawás Biosphere Reserve oder das Indio Maíz Biological Reserve gefährden, die den letzten Zufluchtsort vieler gefährdeter Spezies darstellen.

Die geplante Kanalstrecke läuft direkt durch den Nicaraguasee. Dies habe nicht nur einen unvermeidlichen Salzeintrag in das größte Trinkwasser-Reservoir Mittelamerikas zur Folge, sondern führe auch zur Ansiedlung invasiver Spezies mit „katastrophalen“ Auswirkungen auf lokale Populationen. Der mit dem Bau und der Benutzung einhergehende Schadstoffeintrag sowie Störungen des Sauerstoffgehalts würden eine Vielzahl von endemischen Fischarten gefährden und somit auch die Hauptnahrungsmittelquelle vieler ansäßigen Menschen. Weiter würde das Projekt den Bau eines Schleusensystems in erdbebengefährdetem Gebiet erfordern, was eine Gefährdung der Trinkwasserversorgung und erhöhtes Flutrisiko mit sich brächte.

Die geplante Kanaltiefe von 27,6 Meter beträgt fast das Doppelte der mittleren Tiefe des Nicaraguasees von 15 Meter. Mit einer angedachten Kanalbreite von 520 Metern müsste der Nicaraguasee umfangreich ausgebaggert werden. Hierbei fielen Millionen Tonnen Sediment an, die in anderen Seeteilen oder an Land schädlich entsorgt werden müssten.

Wirtschaftliche und soziale Auswirkungen
In einem Interview mit Spektrum wirft Axel Meyer die Vermutung auf, dass geopolitische Interessen Chinas die treibende Kraft hinter dem Konkurrenz-Projekt zum unter US-amerikanischer Aufsicht stehenden Panamakanal darstellen, da mit dem Kanal nicht nur eine Alternativverbindung zu Venezuela bereitstünde, sondern mit der Baukonzession auch umfangreiche Rohstoffabbau- und Landnutzungsrechte übertragen würden.

Das juristische Konstrukt des Vertrages sei so angelegt, dass der Staat keine Handhabe auf die Art und Weise der Investitionen hätte, sodass Geld auch in private Hände fließen könnte. Ein Novum sei jedoch, dass die HKND-Group bereits im Vorfeld von allen ökonomischen und ökologischen Folgekosten freigesprochen wird. Weiter würden die für den Bau notwendigen Umweltgutachten nicht von – wie sonst üblich – unabhängigen Fachleuten erstellt, sondern von der HKND-Group selbst.

Inzwischen seien von Seiten indigener Bevölkerungsgruppen bereits 30 Klagen (Stand 25. Februar 2014) gegen den Regierungsbeschluss eingegangen. Beschwerdegegenstand sei unter anderem die ausgebliebene Konsultation bezüglich des Bauvorhabens.

Im Dezember 2014 soll mit den Arbeiten begonnen werden. Bitte helfen Sie mit dem Presidenten auf seine zerstörerische Entscheindung aufmerksam zu machen. Selbst durch Neuwahlen kann die Bevölkerung sich nicht für einen neuen Presidenten entscheiden, weil dieser in der Verfassung seine alleinige Macht bis zum Tode verankert hat.

Danke für ihre Unterstützung zur Erhaltung eines der letzten Naturparadiese unserer Erde!

I was happy to see, there are two more petitions about the same issue! Take a look!

Encontré que hay dos petitiones más por el Lago! Que bien! Mira!

Ich war erfreut zu sehen dass es schon 2 weitere Petitionen zu dem selben Thema gibt! Schau doch kurz rein!

https://secure.avaaz.org/es/petition/Evtemos_la_destruccion_del_gran_lago_de_Nicaragua_el_lago_Cocibolca/?pv=16

https://secure.avaaz.org/es/petition/Salvemos_al_Lago_Cosibolca_o_Gran_Lago_de_Nicaragua/?pv=8