Press & Publications

Current Press

October 2010:  The Vice President of El Salvador visited Usulutan to launch the literacy project run by our local partners, Associacion Mangle.  Read the full article on President Funes' website(in Spanish).

September 2010:  Bulletin from the U.S.-El Salvador Americas Initiatives Fund (FIAES) featuring EcoViva and our proposed mangrove restoration initiative (in Spanish).

Featured October Newsletter Articles

Endangered Sea Turtles Show Signs of Recovery

Now that the wetlands and sea turtles of the Gulf of Mexico have been devastated by the BP oil spill, our work to protect the Bay of Jiquilisco Biosphere Reserve of El Salvador has become more critical than ever. The area contains one of the largest remaining tracts of wetland mangrove forest in the Western Hemisphere and is a crucial nesting site for four species of sea turtles, including the most endangered sea turtle species in the world, the Eastern Pacific Hawksbill.

Sea turtles that nest in El Salvador have, until recently, had very little prospects for survival. Hundreds of local families have depended for years on collecting sea turtle eggs that they sell to middlemen who, in turn, sell them to high-end urban restaurants as a delicacy. A recent government ban on the sale of these eggs seems to have only driven up demand for them on the black market.

But there is a ray of hope. The community-run sea turtle hatchery program started in 2001, with support from EcoViva and other international partners, is showing its first major signs of success this year. Currently, five hatcheries along the San Juan del Gozo Peninsula provide a place for local families to legally sell sea turtle eggs for the same price they receive on the market. Since the program began, at least 750,000 baby sea turtles have been hatched and released.

Oscar Carranza, the local marine biologist overseeing the project, recently reported to us that a new influx of turtles, many of them very young, has been seen laying eggs this year on local beaches. Since it takes eight to nine years for sea turtles to reach gestational age, there is reason to believe that many of these are the very first turtles who were released by the hatcheries coming back, at last, to nest.

Ultimately, local families need a viable alternative to selling turtle eggs to survive. With support from EcoViva, the Mangrove Association is beginning to provide training and support to these families so they can get involved in organic farming, sustainable aquaculture and community-run ecotourism initiatives as better ways to make a living.

We envision a day when, with your help, hundreds of sea turtles will peacefully swim onto the beaches of the San Juan del Gozo Peninsula at night to make their nests. Local parents will take their children on a moonlit walk not to show them how to collect eggs, but simply to witness the marvel of wildlife before their eyes.

A New Generation expands the Zone of Peace through Arts and Education

Much of the news coming out of El Salvador these days is about gang violence. But not in most of the Lower Lempa region. In 1998, dozens of communities organized together as La Coordinadora declared the area a Zone of Peace. With the strong support of the Foundation for Self-Sufficiency in Central America (FSSCA), local leaders then successfully negotiated a gang truce in 2001.

Fast for ward nine years. There are now two Coordinadoras, one on either side of the Bay of Jiquilisco. Together they form the Mangrove Association, which carries out a wide variety of local projects and policy initiatives that positively impact a population of about 35,000 people.

The FSSCA has also evolved, and changed its name to EcoViva. EcoViva continues to provide grants, technical support and volunteers to local communities through the Mangrove Association.

The term Zone of Peace isn't used much anymore, but still, the 90+ member communities of Mangrove Association remain an oasis of calm in a country wracked by violence. And various youth projects started since the gang truce, such as the Rays of Light Youth Art Project and the theater troupe, have been integrated into an innovative, arts-based youth leadership program.

Recently the program began collaborating with the Salvadoran Ministry of Education to train young people to teach basic literacy to low-income rural adults, in many cases their own parents and neighbors. By the end of next year, some 2,400 youth will be leading literacy circles. The goal within four years is to teach 54,000 people to read and write, increasing the literacy rate in the state of Usulután to 96% of the rural population. EcoViva is currently seeking funding to make sure the program can reach the most remote communities.

Until now, young people in rural El Salvador have had few options for positive engagement in their communities. This program gives them a chance to be leaders, and to engage in conversations with their elders about key issues such as gender roles and violence. We hope you’ll join us to support this initiative, the next step in a collaborative effort to mend a social fabric torn by war.

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