EcoViva efforts continue positive impact on native environments

In the past year, EcoViva has made great strides in advancing our goals of protecting critical mangrove habitat in El Salvador, raising people’s standard of living, and promoting community and civic participation. Mangrove forests provide a critical refuge for biodiversity and serve as nurseries for commercially important juvenile fish. Restoring degraded mangrove areas creates suitable habitat for fish spawning, protecting species, and ensuring a long-term source of income for the community through sustainable fishing. Using the proven method of Ecological Mangrove Restoration (EMR), we restored over 50 acres of mangrove forest, and our community partners continue to steward the forest by creating and enforcing resource management plans grounded in scientific research. By strengthening environmental policy and involving community members in those discussions, we are able to create lasting change that will protect the Bay of Jiquilisco.

Among other successes, we formalized a partnership with the Salvadoran Marine Science Institute to establish a local fisheries monitoring network and science-based management planning, benefiting over 250 small-scale fishers practicing sustainable techniques. We worked with over 125 local leaders and community members to release over 13,000 baby sea turtles into the wild, plant over 2,600 trees, and preserve nearly 5,000 acres of priority crabbing and fishing habitat. Thanks to the support of Foundation Beyond Belief, we continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our partners in Central America and work together for a fair economy and a healthy environment.

EcoViva was Foundation Beyond Belief’s Natural World Beneficiary in Q4 of 2015 and received a $9000 grant from the Humanist Giving program.