In our goal to conserve and plant forests around the world, we're excited to be working alongside our partner Eden Reforestation Projects to plant native species of trees at the Cerro de Atapal site, in Nicaragua.

Nicaragua is home to the second largest rainforest in the western hemisphere, following closely behind the Amazon Rain forest in Brazil (where we have conserved 166,000 acres of biodiverse rainforest!)

Due to unregulated logging, beginning in the 1990’s, Nicaragua has been negatively affected by deforestation for decades. Because It’s our mission to plant and conserve trees in areas that have experienced a minimum loss of 70 percent of vegetation, the Cerro de Atapal site is a great place to begin rebuilding what has been destroyed.

According to Dartmouth, Nicaragua loses about 1% of its rain forest cover every year. That’s where 8 Billion Trees and Eden Reforestation Projects step in!

 

What Kinds Of Trees Will We Plant?

Nicaragua is a biodiverse goldmine. The country is home to over 670 species of birds, 70 species of amphibians, 200 species of reptiles, 1070 species of fish, and 200 species of mammals… not to mention about 7,500 species of vascular plants!

As a tropical humid forest, Nicaragua includes native species of Acacia, Mahogany (Caoba), Cedro Cenizaro, and Cenizaro trees. And, numerous species of animals rely on these trees to provide their natural habitat.

Native peoples also depend on these native tree species for their medicinal properties. So, needless to say, we’re extremely excited to reforest this devastated area and bring back lost environments!

 

Why is Reforestation in Nicaragua so important?

In the recent Dartmouth study, researchers considered the consequences of rapid and rampant deforestation on the indigenous people of Nicaragua, and determined:

“Indigenous communities depend on the preservation of tropical forests for food, shelter and medicines. In the past, Indigenous communities have struggled to get the government to contractually protect the forests and prevent conquest by colonists.

“However, in 2002, new laws were enacted in favor of the indigenous community. Since 2002, there have been many improvements concerning forest cover loss. The image below, from the World Resources Institute, shows that land not protected by the government experiences deforestation at a much higher rate much than the lands occupied by indigenous communities.

 

8 Billion Trees, while partnering with Eden Reforestation Projects, will continue to foster good relationships with the local governments and indigenous communities in order to ensure that the trees we are planting and conserving now, are protected and able to flourish for generations to come.

At 8 Billion Trees, we’re planting for the animals, the plants, and the people who call Nicaragua home… but also for the planet we call Earth. Join us in our fight to save the second largest rainforest in the western hemisphere!