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NICARAGUA, THE ENVIRONMENT & THE LONDON MARATHON

Will you be taking part in next year’s World Environment Day? It falls on June 5^th and NSC is doing two things: raising funds so that more Nicaraguans can attend their National Earth Fair and organising a study tour to coincide with it.

The Earth Fair, attended by around 30,000 people, is an exciting event with social, cultural and political aspects. This year’s fair in Estelí bore the slogan "Water, forests, humanity...solidarity with the planet!" As well as children’s’ activities, theatre and actions such as tree-planting, environmental groups, community groups and politicians discussed water access and quality, genetic modification and forest loss amongst many other issues.

One of the organisations involved is the Young Environmentalists Movement or Club (CJA, Club de Jóvenes Ambientalistas).  The movement is aimed at raising awareness of the necessity to minimise the consequences and effects of the climate change and recognises the enormity of the task. “…this is a struggle between a loose tiger and a tethered donkey: you’re looking at how to protect tomorrow and the economic sector is eating it all up today.” (Raomir Manzanares, CJA).

For Earth Day 2008 the CJA worked with school children over two weeks on recycling and conservation and earlier this year co-ordinated a mass activity cleaning the banks and water of Xiloa volcano crater lake which contains fish unique to the lake. Volunteer divers took part and a live music event kicked off the proceedings.

This is where you come in. There is some funding for the Earth Fair from the government, businesses and environmental NGOs but participants also need to contribute.  20 % of the funds raised by this appeal will go the CJA with the aim of enabling more people from remote communities to participate.  The rest of the money will enable NSC to carry on its work such as organising the study tour, bringing over an environmental speaker to the UK in 2012 and fundraising activities.                                                    

One such activity was the 2011 London Marathon and some of you will have sponsored our runners.

Part of the money raised was donated to the MCN in the rural community of Guadalupe Abajo in northern Nicaragua.  This area suffers from high levels of poverty, unemployment, poor nutrition, and the consequences of rapidly rising food prices. Local people have identified backyard gardens as one way of addressing these problems. The funds you donated will be used to provide tools, plants and technical support to enable them to plant fruit-trees and vegetables such as squash, pipián and cucumber.                                                   

As MCN co-ordinator Leonor del Carmen Velazquez Padilla said:  “ We have food security and water supply problems…. Making backyard gardens is not only producing food but raising self-esteem. It’s also fun. Kids learn and develop good habits which in the future will help them to avoid food shortages.”

Thank you to all NSC supporters who contributed to the fruit-trees project by sponsoring the runners. Please give generously to this new appeal so we can help the CJA in their valuable political and practical work. Follow the link to donate online  >>

Background to our appeal

As Lauren Sinreich described in her thesis, the people of Nicaragua and their environment are very much entwined. “Together they survived poverty, repression, exploitation and degradation throughout the Somoza dictatorship and the demands of the international commodities market. …”

Then came the Sandinista Revolution of 1979. “Not only humans desired liberation. The entire ecology cried for it. The revolution is also for lakes, rivers, trees and animals”. (Ernesto Cardenal, ex-Minister of Culture). The Sandinista government initiated  programmes aimed at promoting social and environmental justice, abolishing Somoza’s natural resources concessions,  carrying out land reform and, despite the disastrous effects of the US sponsored ‘contra’ war and the economic embargo, managing to establish  ecological reserves.

In 1990 the right-wing Chamorro government was elected followed by that of Arnoldo Alemán and Enrique Bolaños. Nicaragua experienced the devastating effects of over-exploitation of natural resources coupled with structural adjustment programmes. Many farmers had little choice but to employ techniques that further degraded fragile land. Large-scale logging resumed.  In 1998 Hurricane Mitch caused at least 3,800 fatalities and left over 500,000 homeless. In 2007 Hurricane Felix affected at least 40,000 people. In both cases extreme damage was done to the land.

Now fast forward to 2011. In power again for the last five years, the Sandinistas are trying to combat massive deforestation, water pollution, dry rivers and lakes, and food shortages.  “The principle enemy is human beings, not animals, hurricanes, droughts, but the environmental repercussions of human actions.” (Presidential advisor Jaime Incer Barquero)

Fortunately there is hope – the Nicaraguan government and social movements are carrying out many innovative initiatives to protect people, their communities and the environment. Nicaragua Solidarity Campaign will be working with a variety of organisations including the Young Environmentalists and the Nicaraguan Community Movement. We will be publicising their work, organising environmental tours to Nicaragua and speaker tours of the UK, and funding small projects. Our aim is to build solidarity links between Nicaraguan organisations and their UK counterparts.