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El SalvadorWith an area of just over 21,000 square miles, and a 92 percent loss of forest cover, El Salvador contains some of the most severely threatened ecosystems on the planet today. Several well-known species have suffered extinction in El Salvador due to the loss of their habitat, including the scarlet macaw, jaguar and others. Still more species, like the ocelot and great curassow, face extinction. The need for development and infrastructure of protected areas is central to the sustainability of the future of El Salvador's native ecosystems, as well as to the people depending on them. El Salvador is second only to Guatemala in population, and is the most densely populated republic on the mainland of the Americas. Over six million people call El Salvador home and 48 percent of this population subsists below the poverty line. 90 percent of the population is of Mestizo descent, one percent is Amerindian, and the remaining nine percent are Caucasian. As Central America's smallest country, compounded with an economy in flux, El Salvador's natural resources are under constant pressure from agricultural use, and subsistence activity.
Agriculture is the cornerstone of the national economy, with coffee accounting for a large portion. SalvaNATURA, the leading environmental organization in El Salvador, member of the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN), and partner of the Rainforest Alliance, has been working with coffee farmers to implement sustainable management of coffee farms. Farms that meet the SAN's rigorous criteria can sell their coffee as Rainforest Alliance Certified. Rainforest Alliance certification is the only verification system to audit for environmental, social and economic criteria. Sustainable coffee can support nearly the same biodiversity as primary forest. SalvaNATURA found that coffee farms are vital for more than 188 bird species, 31 mammal species, 26 reptile species and 326 tree and plant species! Buy certified coffee from El Salvador online now! Human activity is not the only threat to El Salvador's environmental equilibrium. Nestled between Guatemala and Honduras, El Salvador is made vulnerable to various natural threats including hurricanes, earthquakes and volcanoes. In 1998 Hurricane Mitch devastated the country's infrastructure and took many lives. Much of the damage came from landslides resulting from deforestation. Since 1991, SalvaNATURA has been managing a haven of protection that remains a lifeline for the species dwelling within it. Extending almost 12,000 acres, El Imposible National Park is the largest protected area in the country. The work fostered and continued through the diligence of the staff at SalvaNATURA has seen great success. In fact, the discovery of a plant species entirely new to science has proven the depth and richness of biodiversity found at El Imposible. Ageratum salvanaturae is proof positive of the possibilities and wonders of constancy in conservation. Support El Imposible, Adopt-A-Rainforest today! El Salvador currently has several other protected areas in development, one of which is Los Volcanes National Park. The park is central to an innovative biological corridor project in which SalvaNATURA hopes to link Los Volcanes to El Imposible, providing a stretch of wilderness for both agricultural use and species conservation. The project involves working with coffee farmers in the biological corridor between the two parks to help them regain environmental and economic sustainability through sustainable farm management practices. SalvaNATURA also has plans to promote sustainable tourism in Los Volcanes. Sustainable tourism provides an excellent income source for local people while keeping natural habitat intact. To learn more about biodiversity conservation in El Salvador, visit the Rainforest Alliance's Eco-Index search page and select El Salvador from the country list. Sources:
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