The Nicaragua Grand Canal
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FUNDECI |
Environmental and Social Impact AssessmentSustainable Development and Wild Nature Conservation in NICARAGUAGaia
Whether Nicaragua gets a canal is no longer mere speculation. A company from Hong Kong, HKND, has been awarded a concession for the construction and operation of The Nicaragua Interoceanic Grand Canal, and an environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) was recently completed by the international consultant Environmental Resources Management (ERM). The ESIA, which evaluated the environmental and social feasibility of the overall project, but without making specific design or location choices, is more than 12,000 pages long. The ESIA for the Nicaragua Grand Canal is still under government review. To conduct the field work for the ESIA, ERM counted on local expert contributions coordinated by the Nicaraguan nonprofit FUNDAR. GAIA scientists participated in the ESIA for the Nicaragua Grand Canal in the field throughout the proposed route, collecting data in the field and also in composing reports for the environmental study.
The Nicaragua Interoceanic Grand Canal is projected to cost US$50,000,000,000, promising to be among the most costly projects ever performed. It is proposed to be much wider than the Panama Canal, designed for much larger ships, thereby serving the region in a complementary way to the older canal. As what promises to be the largest engineering construction job in the world, the Nicaragua Interoceanic Grand Canal has already generated considerable debate inside the country. GAIA scientist Jeffrey K. McCrary, along with three other biodiversity specialists in Nicaragua, Aldo Hernández-Portocarrero, Octavio Saldaña-Tapia, and Ricardo Rueda-Pereira, published a correspondence in Nature, in which a pair of allegations regarding the ESIA for the proposed canal, presented by scientists in an earlier publication in the same magazine. The environmental impact assessment is likely to be made available for public review soon, as part of the evaluation process for large projects, at which time much raw data on the biodiversity of this very little-studied region are expected to be available. Scientists will participate in the cataloguing of data for public and scientific benefit, once the data are cleared for publication. Report in Science on the Nicaragua Grand Canal, including interview with Gaia scientist Jeffrey McCrary.Article by Richard Condit in PLOS Biology on the Nicaragua Grand CanalCorrespondence in Nature on the Nicaragua Grand CanalAuthor list for Correspondence in Nature
Editorial in El Nuevo DiarioReport on Nature correspondence in El Nuevo DiarioReport on Nature correspondence in El 19Report on Nature correspondence in NicaNetGaia scientist Jeffrey McCrary interview on canal environmental impact statement in Global Construction ReviewReport on the Nicaragua Canal in Havana TimesExecutive Summary of the Environmental and Social Impact Assessment Nicaragua Interoceanic Grand Canal Environmental Resources ManagementResumen Ejecutivo de la Evaluación de Impacto Ambiental y Social Nicaragua Gran Canal Interoceánico Environmental Resources ManagementThe Gaia Program supports numerous iniciatives in environmental management. Please contact us by email, or by telephone 011-505-8882-3992. Can you volunteer your time or make a small donation to help us continue to serve the environment in Nicaragua? Please help us make Nicaragua a better place for all people and nature.
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