Mangrove forests, such as the one of La Tirana in the coast of El Salvador, are part of a complex ecosystem that protects coastlines from erosion and filters coastal waters.
Communities living in and around these forests depend on this natural resource for their livelihoods and care for the biodiversity of these fragile ecosystems.
The Salvadoran government has proposed, as part of a US$ 277 million aid programas, to develop tourism projects along the country’s coastline which threaten the mangrove forests and local communities. This key proposal could be signed in September 2013.
If tourism projects are developed in the protected areas, as the government expects will happen as part of the US Millennium Challenge Fund ‘Fomilenio’ aid program, “the mangrove forests and communities who depend on these fragile ecosystems would be seriously affected”, says Ricardo Navarro, director of CESTA/ Friends of the Earth El Salvador.