ResourcesOverview
The east coast of Nicaragua lies within the Caribbean Sea Large Marine Ecosystem (CSLME). The Caribbean Sea is the second largest sea in the world encompassing an area of 2,515,900 km². Half of the water in the CSLME is deeper than 3,600m, and 75% is deeper than 1,800m (Richards and Bohnsack, 1990). Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America (129,494 km² - Caribbean and Pacific water area 9,240 km²). The Caribbean coastline is 450 km long (INPESCA 1990) and the continental shelf (the largest in Central America) has many coral reefs. Most of the coral cays are used as campsites by turtlemen, lobstermen, and recently pirate fishermen for other countries. The near shore coast of Nicaragua is characterized by shallow entrances. The Nicaraguan continental shelf is bordered by two deep basins: the Colombian Basin to the east and the Cayman Trough to the north. Areas near the CSLME and Nicaragua with similar marine fauna include the Bahamas, Gulf of Mexico, Straits of Florida, Bermuda to the north, and the northern coast of South America to the mouth of the Amazon River to the east. The maritime claims of Nicaragua include the contiguous zone consisting of a 25-nm security zone, the continental shelf out to its natural prolongation , and a territorial sea out to 200 nm (CIA 1999). There is good background information available on the CSLME thanks to a multidisciplinary study called the Cooperative Investigations in the Caribbean Sea and Adjacent Areas (CICAR), completed during the 1970’s (Richards and Bohnsack, 1990). The USAID/National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sponsored Environmental Initiative of the Americas Fisheries Project (Trott 1996) provides the most current comprehensive biological information on the Caribbean commercial marine resources of Nicaragua.
The Caribbean coast of Nicaragua is broken by river mouths and deltas and large lagoons. The central mountains form the country’s main watershed. The eastern rivers are longer than the western flowing rivers and carry much greater volumes of water. These include the 425 mile long Coco River, flowing 295 miles along the Nicaragua - Honduras border into the Caribbean in the extreme north; the Rio Grande de Matagalpa, emptying into the Caribbean north of Laguna de Perlas, 267 miles east of its source; as well as the San Juan, Prinzapolka, Escondido, Indio and Maiz Rivers (Foer 1992). Wetlands of importance are described in Scott and Carbonell (1986).
The eastern Caribbean lowlands of Nicaragua form the extensive and still sparsely settled lowland area known as Costa de Mosquitos. These low level plains characterize the Caribbean coast of Nicaragua which, with an average width of 100 kms, are among the widest in Central America. The Caribbean lowlands are divided into the North Atlantic Autonomous Region (Región Autonomista Atlántico Norte - RAAN) and the South Atlantic Autonomous Region (Región Autonomista Atlántico Sur - RAAS) and constitutes about 45% of Nicaragua's territory. These lowlands are a hot, humid area that ../../includes coastal plains, the eastern spurs of the central highlands, and the lower portion of the Río San Juan basin. The soil is generally leached and infertile. Pine and palm savannas predominate as far south as the Laguna de Perlas. Tropical rain forests are characteristic from the Laguna de Perlas to the Río San Juan, in the interior west of the savannas, and along rivers through the savannas. Fertile soils are found only along the natural levees and narrow floodplains of the numerous rivers and along the many lesser streams that rise in the central highlands and cross the region en route to the complex of shallow bays, lagoons, and salt marshes of the Caribbean coast (LCRS 1999).
Forests are abundant, and despite the large-scale clearing for agricultural use, about one-third of the land in Nicaragua, or approximately 4 million hectares, was still forested in 1993. Most of the forests consist of tropical rain forests found in the Caribbean lowlands, - where surface transportation is practically nonexistent. Hardwoods abound in this region, but the stands are mixed with other wood, making exploitation difficult. However, some logging of mahogany, cedar, rosewood, and logwood for dyes takes place. In addition, the large stands of pine in the northeast support logging and a small plywood industry (LCRS 1999).
Geography
Area: 130,688 sq. km. (50,446 sq. mi.); slightly larger than New York State.
Cities: Capital--Managua (pop. 1 million). Other cities--Leon, Granada, Jinotega, Matagalpa, Chinandega, Masaya.
Terrain: Extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes.
Climate: Tropical in lowlands; cooler in highlands.
People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Nicaraguan(s).
Population (2001 est.): 4.91 million.
Annual growth rate (2001 est.): 2.15%. Density--33 per sq. km.
Ethnic groups: Mestizo (mixed European and indigenous) 69%, white 17%, black (Jamaican origin) 9%, indigenous 5%.
Religion: Predominantly Roman Catholic, with rapidly growing percentage of Evangelical Protestants.
Languages: Spanish (official), English and indigenous languages on Caribbean coast.
Education: Years compulsory--none enforced (28% first graders eventually finish sixth grade). Literacy--75%.
Health: Life expectancy--62 yrs. Infant mortality rate--50/1,000.
Work force (1999): 1.7 million. Unemployed--20%; underemployed--36%.
Economy
GDP (2001): $2.4 billion (PPP 12.3 billion).
Annual growth rate (2001 est.): 2.5%.
Per capita GDP (2001 est.): $470.
Inflation rate (2001 est.): 8%.
Natural resources: Arable land, livestock, fisheries, gold, timber. Agriculture (31% of GDP): Products--corn, coffee, sugar, meat, rice, beans, bananas.
Industry (23% of GDP): Types--processed food, beverages, textiles, petroleum, and metal products.
Services (45% of GDP): Types--commerce, construction, government, banking, transportation, and energy.
Trade (2001): Exports--$640 million (f.o.b.): coffee, seafood, beef, sugar, industrial goods, gold, bananas, sesame. Markets--U.S. 43%, European Union 33%, Central American Common Market (CACM) 17%, Mexico 2%. Imports--$1.7 billion (f.o.b. 2001): petroleum, agricultural supplies, manufactured goods. Suppliers--U.S. 32%, CACM 21%, Venezuela 11%, European Union 9%.
Profile
Most Nicaraguans have both European and Indian ancestry, and the culture of the country reflects the Ibero-European and Indian heritage of its people. Only the Indians of the eastern half of the country remain ethnically distinct and retain tribal customs and languages. A large black minority, of Jamaican origin, is concentrated on the Caribbean coast. In the mid-1980s, the central government divided the eastern half of the country--the former department of Zelaya--into two autonomous regions and granted the people of the region limited self-rule.
The 1995 constitutional reform guaranteed the integrity of the regions' several unique cultures and gave the inhabitants a say in the use of the area's natural resources. Roman Catholicism is the major religion, but Evangelical Protestant groups have grown recently, and there are strong Anglican and Moravian communities on the Caribbean coast. Most Nicaraguans live in the Pacific lowlands and the adjacent interior highlands. The population is 54% urban.
History
Nicaragua takes its name from Nicarao, chief of the indigenous tribe then living around present-day Lake Nicaragua. In 1524, Hernandez de Cordoba founded the first Spanish permanent settlements in the region, including two of Nicaragua's two principal towns: Granada on Lake Nicaragua and Leon east of Lake Managua. Nicaragua gained independence from Spain in 1821, briefly becoming a part of the Mexican Empire and then a member of a federation of independent Central American provinces. In 1838, Nicaragua became an independent republic.
Much of Nicaragua's politics since independence has been characterized by the rivalry between the liberal elite of Leon and the conservative elite of Granada, which often spilled into civil war. Initially invited by the Liberals in 1855 to join their struggle against the conservatives, an American named William Walker and his "filibusters" seized the presidency in 1856. The liberals and conservatives united to drive him out of office in 1857, after which a period of three decades of conservative rule ensued.
Taking advantage of divisions within the conservative ranks, Jose Santos Zelaya led a liberal revolt that brought him to power in 1893. Zelaya ended the longstanding dispute with Britain over the Atlantic Coast in 1894, and reincorporated that region into Nicaragua. However, due to differences over an isthmian canal and concessions to Americans in Nicaragua as well as a concern for what was perceived as Nicaragua's destabilizing influence in the region, in 1909 the United States provided political support to conservative-led forces rebelling against President Zelaya and intervened militarily to protect American lives and property. Zelaya resigned later that year. With the exception of a 9-month period in 1925-26, the United States maintained troops in Nicaragua from 1912 until 1933. From 1927 until 1933, U.S. Marines stationed in Nicaragua engaged in a running battle with rebel forces led by renegade liberal Gen. Augusto Sandino, who rejected a 1927 negotiated agreement brokered by the United States to end the latest round of fighting between liberals and conservatives.
After the departure of U.S. troops, National Guard Cmdr. Anastasio Somoza Garcia out-maneuvered his political opponents, including Sandino who was assassinated by National Guard officers, and took over the presidency in 1936. Somoza, and two sons who succeeded him, maintained close ties with the U.S. The Somoza dynasty ended in 1979 with a massive uprising led by the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN), which, since the early 1960s, had conducted a lowscale guerrilla war against the Somoza regime.
The FSLN established an authoritarian dictatorship soon after taking power. U.S.-Nicaraguan relations deteriorated rapidly as the regime nationalized many private industries, confiscated private property, supported Central American guerrilla movements, and maintained links to international terrorists. The United States suspended aid to Nicaragua in 1981. The Reagan administration provided assistance to the Nicaraguan Resistance and in 1985 imposed an embargo on U.S.-Nicaraguan trade.
In response to both domestic and international pressure, the Sandinista regime entered into negotiations with the Nicaraguan Resistance and agreed to nationwide elections in February 1990. In these elections, which were proclaimed free and fair by international observers, Nicaraguan voters elected as their president the candidate of the National Opposition Union, Violeta Barrios de Chamorro.
During President Chamorro's nearly 7 years in office, her government achieved major progress toward consolidating democratic institutions, advancing national reconciliation, stabilizing the economy, privatizing state-owned enterprises, and reducing human rights violations. In February 1995, Sandinista Popular Army Cmdr. Gen. Humberto Ortega was replaced, in accordance with a new military code enacted in 1994 by Gen. Joaquin Cuadra, who espoused a policy of greater professionalism in the renamed Army of Nicaragua. A new police organization law, passed by the National Assembly and signed into law in August 1996, further codified both civilian control of the police and the professionalization of that law enforcement agency.
The October 20, 1996 presidential, legislative, and mayoral elections also were judged free and fair by international observers and by the groundbreaking national electoral observer group Etica y Transparencia (Ethics and Transparency) despite a number of irregularities, due largely to logistical difficulties and a baroquely complicated electoral law. This time Nicaraguans elected former-Managua Mayor Arnoldo Aleman, leader of the center-right Liberal Alliance, which later consolidated into the Liberal Constitutionalist Party (PLC). Aleman made progress in liberalizing the economy and fulfilling his campaign promise of "works not words" by completing infrastructure projects such as highways, bridges, and wells (thanks in large part to foreign assistance received after Hurricane Mitch hit Nicaragua in October 1998). His administration was, however, tainted by charges of corruption that resulted in the resignation of several key officials in mid-2000.
In November 2000, Nicaragua held municipal elections. Aleman's PLC won a majority of the overall mayoral races, but the FSLN fared considerably better in larger urban areas, winning a significant number of departmental capitals, including Managua.
Presidential and legislative elections were held on November 4, 2001--the country's fourth free and fair elections since 1990. Enrique Bolaños of the PLC was elected to the Nicaraguan presidency, defeating the FSLN candidate Daniel Ortega, by 14 percentage points. The elections were characterized by international observers as free, fair and peaceful.
President Bolaños was inaugurated on January 10, 2002. During the campaign Bolaños promised to reinvigorate the economy, create jobs, fight corruption and support the war against terrorism.
Information provided by CIA Worldfactbook, US Department of State, Coral Reef Action Network (ICRAN). ReefBase: Oliver, J. and M. Noordeloos. Editors. 2002, UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center,
11 May 2008 at 10:00am
A noted scientist will be visiting Earthwatch in Maynard to discuss coral reef conservation on May 23.
12 May 2008 at 3:09am
Ah, the power of text messaging. Sometimes it gets you directions. Last week it got Coral Reef Senior High a free concert on its campus.
10 May 2008 at 11:35pm
Coral, caves and Mayan ruins beckon in Belize
12 May 2008 at 5:32pm
Tsumori's latest collection offers a glimpse of the colorful aquatic kingdom sans any saltwater chafing. Pieces from the collection evoke fishy themes with coral, shells, sakana and air bubbles scattered through patchwork netting and undulating, w...
