In many ways, the stunningly lush cloud-forest reserve on Mombacho Volcano stands as one of Nicaragua’s greatest conservation successes. Surrounded by the country’s heavily deforested lower-Pacific basin, the 10-year-old Mombacho Volcano Natural Reserve has endured manifold threats posed by urban and agricultural expansion. Most importantly, it has remained largely insulated from Nicaragua’s rampant land clearing, which has eliminated nearly half of the country’s forest cover in the past 50 years. Though plant and animal trafficking have taken a toll on Mombacho, the reserve remains a haven for biodiversity. Its close proximity to Granada, a colorful colonial town that has seen a tourism boom in recent years, has helped make the volcano one of the country’s top ecotourism draws, attracting 30,000 visitors... [Log in to read more]