Agroforestry at The Base of The Volcán Mombacho
Natural Reserve: Conserving a
Nicaraguan Cloud Forest
A Grant Proposal Submitted in Fulfillment of
The Requirement for Global Forest Ecosystem
Conservation Foundation
(GFECF)
Submitted By:
Carlos R. Garcia
Don Quixote Eco-Consultants Inc.
For: Sean C. Thomas
Director, Global Forest
Ecosystem Conservation Foundation
Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto
Abstract
Cloud forests are a type of evergreen forest found on tropical mountain slopes and ridges
that are frequently enveloped by a blanket of clouds and mist. They face many of the
same threats that afflict other tropical forests around the world. However, due to their
unique ecology and location on mountain slopes, cloud forests are also highly susceptible
to climatic processes related to lowland deforestation and global warming. Studies over
the past ~15 years have shown that these two anthropogenic driven process have led to a
dramatic lifting of the “cloudbank” base height above the altitude of these forests. This in
turn has altered the moisture levels in the ecosystem and ultimately led to the drying out
of the mountain vegetation. One way to prevent this would be by regenerating and/or
restoring lowland forest habitats adjacent to mountain ranges. This could be
accomplished by promoting sustainable agroforestry practices such as shade-grown
organic coffee in favor of slash-and-burn agriculture. The proposed project aims to
address this problem in the Volcán Mombacho cloud forest reserve (Nicaragua) by
implementing a shade-grown organic coffee project at the base of the reserve. The results
from this project will certainly shed light on the benefits of shade-grown organic coffee
to the forest ecosystems around the region, as well as helping to protect the cloud forest
and the unique biodiversity of the Volcán Mombacho reserve.
Background
Cloud forests are a type of evergreen forest found on tropical mountain slopes and ridges
that are frequently enveloped by a blanket of clouds and mist. They are cool and wet
ecosystems whose ecology and physiology are directly tied to their contact with clouds
and the high levels of precipitation that they receive throughout the year (both vertical
and horizontal rainfall) (Bubb et al., 2002). The persistent cloud cover and mist affects
cloud forests by reducing sunlight, wetting tree canopies and suppressing
evapotranspiration in the vegetation. As a result, cloud forests tend to exhibit rare and
important characteristics that are unique to their forest ecosystems (Foster, 2001).
2
One of the most representative and important features of cloud forest ecosystems
is the fact that its trees are often dwarf, gnarled and completely covered with an
abundance of epiphytic plants i.e., mosses, ferns, bromeliads and orchids (Ibid, 2001).
This profusion of epiphytes in the leaves and branches of dwarf cloud forest trees allows
them to act as sponges and to capture moisture that condenses in their epiphytic
vegetation (Bubb et al., 2002). The moisture ultimately drips to the ground (also covered
by a mat of epiphytic plants!) and enters the hydrological system where it provides a
regular and controlled supply of water to streams down below. Therefore, through their
“moisture capturing” role, cloud forests not only increase the supplies of fresh water but
also maintain ground cover and minimize soil erosion by acting as a cushion between the
surface of the soil and the impact of heavy tropical rain (Ibid, 2002).
Another important feature of cloud forest ecosystems is that they are rich in
biological diversity and serve as an important refuge for a myriad of endemic species of
flora and fauna (Solorzano et al., 2003). For example, more than 90 species of orchids,
including the endemic and endangered Maxillaria mombachoensis, are known to exist in
the Volcán Mombacho cloud forest reserve (Nicaragua) alone (Eco-Exchange, 2004). In
general, however, the grand majority of species found in the Mombacho reserve, and
other cloud forests around the world, are believed to be still unknown to science
(Fundacion Cocibolca, 2003).
Cloud forests face many of the same threats that afflict other tropical forests
around the world. Most of these threats are related to deforestation and are caused by
several factors including: clearance of forests for farming and cattle rising; unsustainable
fuel wood harvesting; road construction; and, even deforestation for drug cultivation!
3
(Foster, 2001) However, their unique ecology and location on mountain slopes makes
them also susceptible to climatic processes related to land use changes and global
warming (Nair et al., 2003). These anthropogenic driven processes affect cloud forests by
lifting the “cloud base” height above the altitude of the forest. This in turn alters the
moisture levels in the ecosystem (derived from the direct interception of cloud water by
epiphytic plants) and ultimately leads to the drying out of the mountain vegetation
(Lawton et al., 2001). If cloud forests are situated at the summit of the mountain, they
will not have a “higher ground” to relocate to and will become extinct (Ibid, 2001).
There are two complementary hypotheses that attempt to explain the
aforementioned climatic process. The first hypothesis argues that the clearance of
forestland at the foot of mountains (i.e., into pastures) alters surface and air temperatures
in ways that prevent the proper formation of cumulus clouds above them (Nair et al.,
2003). Cattle pastures are warmer and drier than tropical rainforests (water evaporating
from trees lowers air temperature). The pastures increase the temperature and reduce the
humidity of the air mass blowing above it, forcing the air to be lifted higher up before it
can cool into mist (Ibid, 2003). The second hypothesis, similarly, links changes in cloud
base height to the increase in sea surface temperatures as a result of global warming (Ibid,
2003). This change in air temperature, once again, forces the air mass to be lifted higher
before it can condense and fall as orographic (horizontal) precipitation. The implications
of the first hypothesis (lowland deforestation) is of great significance in the context of
cloud forest conservation and management as it suggests that felling rainforests in favor
of pastures, in nearby tropical lowlands, poses a serious threat to the forests in adjacent
mountains (Lawton et al., 2001).
4
The Volcán Mombacho Cloud Forest Reserve - Granada, Nicaragua
Located 18 kilometres southwest of Granada and near the shores of lake Cocibolca (home
to the world’s only species of fresh-water shark! - Carcharhinus leucas) (Fundacion
Cocibolca, 2003), the Volcán Mombacho reserve is one of the most important cloud
forests of Nicaragua. Rising to around 1,400 metres above sea level the Mombacho
Volcano is a 7,222 ha reserve (578 ha core; 6644 ha buffer zone) surrounded by coffee
plantations and small farms (Ibid, 2003). The reserve is one, of only two, protected virgin
cloud forests in the Pacific region of the country and contains high levels of biodiversity
that have existed within the centuries old trees since pre-Columbian times
(Nicanews.com, 1998).
Figure 1. View of Volcán Mombacho from the City of Granada.
Examples of endemic and endangered species found in the Volcán Mombacho reserve
are: Maxillaria mombachoensis, Epidendrum glumarum (orchids); and, Bolitoglossa
mombachoensis (a salamander discovered in 1998) (Ibid, 1998). The reserve, asides from
being very biologically diverse, provides other ecological and social benefits including:
1. Serves as a habitat-refuge for a variety of renown species such as, the resplendent
quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) and Mantled Howler Monkeys (Alouatta palliata)
5
(Eco-Exchange, 2004).
2. Provides lowland communities with a constant source of fresh water. Fresh water is a
valuable resource in the region, especially during pronounced dry season periods
(Personal visit, 2001).
3. The Volcán Mombacho reserve and its cloud forest are a culturally important part of
the city and people of Granada (Ibid, 2001).
Nonetheless, notwithstanding the aforementioned benefits provided the cloud
forest, the Volcán Mombacho reserve faces many of the similar problems affecting other
cloud forests around the world. However, the most important challenge threatening the
Volcán Mombacho reserve today is the deforestation of its lowland forest base (EcoExchange, 2004). Farmers are increasingly cutting down trees around the base of the
volcano (in buffer zone of the reserve) in order to plant sun-grown coffee (Ibid, 2004).
These sun-stressed coffee plants produce more beans than shade coffee plantations, but
require increased doses of expensive agrochemicals inputs in order to grow well (Ibid,
2004). This unsustainable approach sets in motion an unending cycle of slash-and-burn
agriculture that clears and degrades the fertile land (rich volcanic soils) around the base
of the reserve due to erosion (Fundacion Cocibolca, 2003).
Additional problems that emanate from this unsustainable farming practice
include: the pollution and sedimentation of nearby streams resulting from heavy pesticide
use and above ground runoff; and, the degradation of shade coffee plantation habitat important for many cloud forest species including the Mantled Howler Monkeys
(Alouatta palliata) (Personal visit, 2001). However, the single biggest threat that this
farming approach poses on the cloud forest atop the Volcán Mombacho is the prevention
6
of tropical dry season cloud formation and the lifting of the cloudbank base height above
the altitude of the cloud forest. This climatic process has previously occurred and has
been studied by scientists - Nair et al., 2003 - in other nearby cloud forests of Central
America (Monteverde, Costa Rica). The results from the Nair et al. study suggest that, if
current trends in tropical farming practices are allowed to continue in the lowland forests
adjacent to mountains, the land use changes will force cloud forests upward and in low
mountains drive them to extinction!
This is the fate that awaits the Volcán Mombacho cloud forest reserve (a low
mountain, less than 1,400 metres tall!) and its valuable biodiversity unless urgent action
is taken to mitigate the damages caused by the slash-and-burn agriculture practices
employed by some farmers at the base of the Volcano. Toward this end, this proposal will
attempt to prevent further degradation of forestlands at the base of the Mombacho
volcano by implementing a sustainable agroforestry project that will help to conserve the
cloud forest and the ecological/social services it provides. The project to be implemented
will be a shade-grown organic coffee plantation.
Rationale
The shade-grown coffee method, as a profitable and ecological sound form of
agroforestry, will succeed as a conservation strategy in the Volcán Mombacho cloud
forest reserve due to one important reason: the fact that there is a precedent for success of
projects of this nature in other cloud forests of Central America (Cockburn, 2004). A
notable and recent example of a shade-grown coffee project that has been both,
ecologically and economically successful is the project being conducted at the “Las
7
Nubes” cloud forest in Costa Rica. Las Nubes, which is owned by York University, is a
conservation area located halfway up the Talamanca mountain range and next to the “Los
Cusingos” Neotropical Bird Sanctuary, on the Pacific slope of Costa Rica (FES, 2003). In
between Las Nubes and Los Cusingos there are coffee plantations and cattle pastures
(Ibid, 2003).
Since 1998, the Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES) at York University has
worked with local farmers in the area to encourage traditional shade-grown coffee
methods instead of sun grown plantations (Ibid, 2003). The goal of researchers at FES
was not to only to promote ecologically friendlier manners of growing coffee among the
local farmers of the area, but also to attempt to create a biological corridor between Las
Nubes and Los Cusingos Neotropical Bird Sanctuary (Ibid, 2003). This biological
corridor would serve two important purposes: A. To restore natural habitat important for
the conservation of montane forests of the region (including Las Nubes) and the
biodiversity they harbor; B. And, to ensure farmers’ traditional ways of living (Personal
communication with Howard Daugherty).
The efforts of York University researchers and the local growers of the area were
recently rewarded when this past March 17th (2004), Timothy’s World Coffee announced
a partnership to market a brand of sustainable grown coffee from the farmlands adjacent
to Las Nubes conservation area (Cockburn, 2004). Timothy’s agreed to buy the coffee at
a premium price from the local co-operative composed of over 200 local farmers. The
coffee will sell for Cnd. $13.99 per pound with US $1.60 going to the local co-operative
of the area. In comparison, the fair-trade floor price of coffee was at US $1.26 on March
17th, 2004 (Ibid, 2004).
8
In light of the successful approach depicted by the Las Nubes shade-grown
organic coffee project, the goal of this proposal will be to replicate the methods and
successes achieved by the Las Nubes cloud forest project and apply them to the context
of another nearby cloud forest: the Volcán Mombacho cloud forest reserve. The proposed
project will achieve its goals by: A. Developing an environmental education program to
promote the ecological and economical values of shade-grown organic coffee; B.
Creating a self-sustaining local micro co-operative organization that will assist in the
management of the project and that, in time, will take over the project and successfully
manage it on its own; C. Working with farmers in an agroforestry project that will, in
essence, increase shade cover and re-introduce the cultivation of shade-grown organic
coffee to the designated project area - a 150 ha of degraded forestland area, located on
the Northeast side at the base of Volcán Mombacho reserve. This is a prime region for
the proposed project in light of the high farming activity within the area due to its relative
close proximity to the city of Granada (18 km) (Personal visit, 2001).
Objectives
Objective 1: To develop an environmental education program to promote the ecological
and economic values of shade-grown organic coffee.
Activities: A. To conduct 5 focus groups in order to have a better understanding of the
concerns, needs and overall perspectives of the local farmers and people of the area;
B. To conduct 5 workshops on aspects relating to shade-grown organic coffee based on
the general input and perspectives provided by community; C. To compile the
information gathered into an easy to read and easy to understand pamphlet/manual that
9
could be used by various individuals and/or other organizations (i.e. schools, government,
NGO’s, etc.).
Comments: The educational component of the proposed project is an integral part of the
process since it allows everyone involved to not only learn together about the specific
challenges of the region in question, but also to facilitate rapport building between the
project organizers and the local community. Rapport building is important for teamwork,
a necessary skill to develop in order to make the project a successful.
Objective 2: To create a self-sustaining local micro co-operative organization that will
assist in the management of the project and that, in time, will take over the project and
successfully run it on its own.
Activities: A. Provide the community with the necessary training and assistance required
to organize a local micro co-operative; B. Provide the micro co-operative with the tools,
information (i.e. access to potential markets information) and resources required to fulfill
its mandate.
Comments: The successful implementation and operation of the local micro co-operative
in the community is the KEY to the long-term success of the proposed project. This is
because the micro co-operative will serve as the vehicle through which the long term
sustainability and continuity of the project will be achieved.
Objective 3: To conduct an agroforestry project that will increase shade cover and reintroduce the cultivation of shade-grown organic coffee to the designated project area.
10
Activities: A. To determine the tree species required and/or desired for the successful
implementation of the shade-grown organic coffee plantation; B. If required, to obtain
these species from local nurseries around the area. Alternatively, saplings could be culled
from the surrounding forests and be utilized to regenerate certain areas within the project
site (depending on specific soil and micro-climatic conditions); C. To determine where to
plant the trees based on the specific goals specified by the community; D. To conduct site
preparation (if required); E. To plant trees with the help of the community in general.
Comments: The use of native trees in order to restore the local forest habitat is one of the
main goals of the project. For this purpose, research will be conducted in order to identify
native trees that are best suited to provide direct benefits for the shade-grown organic
coffee plantation and indirect benefits for the community in general (i.e. non-timber
products). Preliminary research has determined that the following species are well suited
for shade coffee plantations: Persea Americana (Avocato – food for the community);
Platymiscium pinnatum (Cristobal – wood); Cedrela odorata (Cedar - wood); Citrus
sinensis (Sweet orange – fruit); Yucca guatemalensis (Yucca – legume/live fence!)
(Cloudbridge Project, 2004).
Deliverables
1. Ecological/Social Information: The results derived from the Volcán Mombacho
reserve project will yield important information regarding the benefits of shade-grown
organic coffee to the forest ecosystems of the region (cloud forests!) and to the local
farming communities.
11
2. Serve as a Model: The success of the project will serve as a model and blueprint for
other organizations (NGO’s) and communities in search of sustainable means of
livelihood while maintaining traditional ways of life.
3. To Conserve and to Protect: The ultimate deliverable to be generated by this project
will be the restoration of degraded forest habitats and the protection of existing virgin
forests ecosystems (the Volcán Mombacho cloud forest reserve).
Budget and Budget Justifications
1. Environmental Education Program:
$2,500 - Resources
2. Establishment of Micro Co-operative:
$30,000 - Operational costs (no salaries)
2A.Co-operative Staff Salaries:
$15,000 - Staff of four: Director
($500/month); Accountant ($350/month);
Community Liaison ($250/month); Project
Assistant ($150/month)
3. Agroforestry Project:
$7,500 - Cost of seedlings
____________________________________________
Total =
$55,000
* All figures in US dollars; Estimated costs are for 1 year only. For further details, please
refer to the full-length version of this document. Extra copies of this, or the full-length
version of this document may be obtained from:
Don Quixote Environmental Consultants Inc.
21 Cervantes Street
Windwills, La Mancha
Spain
P.O. Box 12345
E-mail: DQEC@thisaddressisfake.es
12
Potential Funding Sources
1. The Rainforest Alliance (http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/)
2. The World Conservation Monitoring Centre – The Mountain Cloud Forest Initiative
(http://www.unep-wcmc.org/)
3. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) – Tropical Montane Cloud Forest Initiative
(http://www.iucn.org/themes/wetlands/tmcf.html)
4. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) –
(http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/index-e.htm)
5. The International Development Research Centre (http://web.idrc.ca/)
6. Centre for Subtropical Agroforestry – University of Florida
(http://cstaf.ifas.ufl.edu/reschnica10.htm)
7. The Nature Conservancy (http://nature.org/)
8. The World Wildlife Fund – Forests for Life Programme
(http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_we_do/forests/)
9. United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) (http://www.unep.org/)
10. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) – Forestry Department
(http://www.fao.org/forestry/index.jsp)
13
Works Cited
1. Becker, C.D. 2003. Grassroots to Grassroots: Why Forest Preservation was Rapid at
Loma Alta, Ecuador. World Development, Vol. 31, No. 1 pp. 163-76.
2. Benzing, D.H. 1998. Vulnerabilities of Tropical forests to climate change: The
significance of resident epiphytes. Climatic Change, 39: 519-540.
3. Bubb, P., Aldrich, M. and J. Sayer. 2002. Tropical Montane Cloud Forests – Time for
Action. FAO. Rome, Italy.
4. Cloudbridge Project. 2004. Cloudbridge Private Nature Reserve. Cloudbridge Project.
(March 29th, 2004) (http://cloudbridge.org/project.htm)
5. Coshow-Rains, K., Nadkarni, N.M., Bledsoe, C.S. 2003. Epiphytic and terrestrial
mycorrhizas in a lower montane Costa Rican cloud forest. Mycorrhiza, 13:257 –264.
6. Eco-Exchange. 2004. Realities of Managing Mystical Mombacho. Rainforest Alliance.
(March 28th, 2004) (http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/programs/cmc/newsletter/feb98-2.html)
7. Faculty of Environmental Studies (FES). 2003. Las Nubes. York University. (March
28th, 2004) (http://www.yorku.ca/lasnubes/index.htm)
8. Foster, P. 2001. The Potential negative impacts of global climate change on tropical
montane cloud forests. Earth-Science Reviews, 55: 73-106.
9. Fundacion Cocibolca. 2003. Reserva Natural Volcan Mombacho. Fundacion
Cocibolca. (March 29th, 2003). (http://www.mombacho.org/)
10. Harrington, E.G., Marin-Morales, M. (year?). Informacion Sobre El Café. Faculty of
Environmental Studies, York University. Las Nubes, Costa Rica.
11. IUCN. 2002. Tropical Montane Cloud Forests Initiative. IUCN. (March 29th, 2004).
(http://www.iucn.org/themes/wetlands/tmcf.html)
12. Lawton, R. O., Nair, U. S., Pielke, R. A. & Welch, R.M. 2001. Climatic impact of
tropical lowland deforestation on nearby montane cloud forests. Science, 294, 584 –
587.
13. Nadkarni, N.M., Wheelwright, N.T. 2000. Monteverde, Ecology and Conservation of
a Tropical Cloud Forest. Oxford University Press.
14. Nair, U.S., Lawton, R.O., Welch, R.M., Pielke, R.A. 2003. Impact of land use on
Costa Rican tropical montane cloud forests: Sensitivity of cumulus cloud field
characteristics to lowland deforestation. Journal of Geophysical ResearchAtmospheres, 108(D7): No.4206
14
15. Nicanews.com. 1998. Conservation: The rape of Mombacho's Orchids.
Nicanews.com. (March 29th, 2004) (http://www.nicanews.com.ni/nn14/orchids.html)
16. Pedraza, R.A., Williams-Linera, G. 2003. Evaluation of native tree species for the
rehabilitation of deforested areas in a Mexican cloud forest. New Forests, 26: 83-99.
17. Solorzano, A., Castillo-Santiago, M.A., Navarrete-Gutierrez, D.A., Oyama, K. 2003.
Impacts of the loss of neotropical highland forests on the species distribution: A case
study using resplendent quetzal an endangered bird species. Biological Conservation
114: 341-349.
15
Appendix
Mar. 17, 2004. 08:34 AM
The Toronto Star
York perks up coffee trade
Helps Costa Rica farm shade-grown beans for export
Timothy's agrees to buy at premium from co-operative
NECO COCKBURN
BUSINESS REPORTER
The people who dream of a perfect world in which coffee rains from the sky can take heart: The
clouds opened yesterday.
York University and Timothy's World Coffee have announced a partnership to market a brand of
sustainably grown coffee from farmlands adjacent to a Costa Rican conservation area, Las Nubes,
which is owned by the university.
The shade-grown coffee, a selling point that other java companies have promoted of late, will hit
Timothy's 140 locations across Canada next month.
"It's no longer business as usual. The ecological component and the social dimension have to be
built into the equation along with the profit," said Howard Daugherty, an associate professor in
York University's Faculty of Environmental Studies and a force behind the initiative.
Coffee from Las Nubes, Spanish for "clouds," will sell for $13.99 per pound, with a portion going
back to the university.
"The retail price point is at the higher end of our coffees, but the growers are getting good value,
the university is getting some financial support, as well as the consumer getting great coffee,"
Timothy's president Becky McKinnon said.
The 133-hectare Las Nubes conservation lands, located on the Pacific slope of the Talamanca
range in southeast Costa Rica, was donated to the university in 1998 by Toronto medical
researcher Dr. Woody Fisher, who purchased the area after a trip to Costa Rica.
York University's Faculty of Environmental Studies then began working with the Tropical
Science Centre in Costa Rica and the local growers' co-operative to ensure the sustainability of
farmers' livelihoods and their environment.
Using traditional shade-grown methods rather than plantations results in about three times less
yield, but a vast improvement in habitat, environment and product quality, Daugherty said.
When farmers are assured of a higher price for their products, it's easier to get them to switch, he
added.
The local co-operative is paid $1.30 (U.S.) per pound, which is effectively raised to $1.60
because Timothy's pays certain transportation and processing costs within the country. The fairtrade floor price of coffee is $1.26 per pound.
Java traded at 76.55 cents in New York yesterday. A glut on the market has pushed prices down
over the years, resulting in poverty for many farmers.
About 200 growers in the Las Nubes region will benefit from the coffee's sales, Daugherty said.
Their co-operative also sells to other markets, but receives lower prices.
"A lot of these families are at the whims of international markets," said Anna Baggio, a former
York student who graduated in 2000 after finishing a conservation research project around Las
Nubes.
"The farmers will be paid a fair price for their coffee, so they can focus on their livelihoods and
building a sustainable future for their communities. At the same time, we can ensure the health of
these areas," she added.
A Canadian dollar from every pound of Las Nubes coffee sold at Timothy's will be donated to the
Fisher Fund for Neotropical Conservation, which supports research in the conservation area.
16