The Canopy




A Rainforest Alliance Publication	JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2001

Reviving the Landscape: Two Years After Mitch

By Kristen Earls

Photo © Centro CONADES

Since Hurricane Mitch swept through Central America over two years ago, conservation relief efforts continue to focus on reconstructing the land itself, the source of livelihood for much of the region's population. Although the storm resulted in tragedy for many, it has also served to highlight the effectiveness of sustainable land use.

Shortly after the disaster, the Rainforest Alliance's Catalyst Grants Program established a Hurricane Mitch relief fund, with support from the Earth Love Fund, aiding efforts to combat the damage while promoting responsible land-use practices to guard against future devastation. Catalyst Grant recipient Centro CONADES in Nicaragua used the money to reforest part of the Río Coco regional watershed with 150,000 trees. This vulnerable area is being replanted with vegetation that, had it existed before the hurricane hit, would have naturally protected the soil, stabilizing it with root systems. They are using a disease-resistant species that will provide greater stability to the soil over time.

There is a measurable difference between storm damage inflicted on sustainably managed land versus conventionally managed land. According to a publication funded in part by the Ford and Rockefeller Foundations, land under sustainable management retained 28-38 percent more topsoil than its counterpart. General surface erosion was two to three times greater on conventionally farmed land. This report and others recommend the adoption of practices such as watershed protection, soil and water conservation, shade-grown crop cultivation, and the planting and managing of protected and uncultivated forests interspersed with farmland.

These practices have long been among the core principles of the Rainforest Alliance's Conservation Agriculture Program, which works on the ground to help farmers adopt responsible land-use methods and collaborates with international market partners to offer an economic incentive for change.

Sources: USAID; World Neighbors' "Reasons for Resiliency: Toward a Sustainable Recovery after Hurricane Mitch." To read more about our agriculture program, please visit www.rainforest-alliance.org/programs/cap. To donate to our Catalyst Grants Program, please call 1-888-MY-EARTH.

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