NICARAGUAN PARKS .— 
     
     FOR THE PEOPLE 
     
    
   
   
    
     National parks have formed a fundamental part of nature conserv- 
     
     ation and recreation in North America since the founding of Yellow- 
     
     stone over a century ago. This is not the case, however, in many 
     
     countries of the developing world where the idea of conservation has 
     
     a scant history and few, if any, nature preserves are established. 
     
     Natural areas are farsaken in the interest of food production or, 
     
     more frequently, resource exploitation by multinational corporations. 
     
     As a contrast to this pattern, the Central American country of Nicar- 
     
     agua has been developing, since the advent of the Sandinista govern- 
     
     ment in 1979, a large and varied system of parks remarkable both for 
     
     their beauty and their attention to the needs of Nicaraguans. 
     
    

    
     On my trip to Nicaragua this summer, I had a chance to visit the 
     
     centrepiece of this system, the Volcan Masaya. This park was origin- 
     
     ally established under the Somoza dictatorship in 1975 with the for— 
     
     eign tourist in mind: paved roads traverse it from the park entrance 
     
     to the edge of the volcano crater (this in a country where few people 
     
     own cars). The present progressive government is encouraging local 
     
     use, and now groups of school children represent 30% of the park's 
     
     visitors. 
     
    

    
     The park features an active and several extinct volcanoes, lava 
     
     flows, and lush vegetation. Bird species include cotingas, squirrel 
     
     cuckoos, gnatcatchers and the fabulous long-tailed motmot. A popula- 
     
     tion of parakeets of the genus Aratinga actually nest inside the 
     
     crater of the volcano, flying to and fro amid the cloud of escaping 
     
     gases. A pleasant vertigo overcomes the human observer who watches 
     
     their effortless flight from above. It is said that these birds pair 
     
     for life; during my visit, I almost never observed an odd-numbered 
     
     flock. 
     
    

    
     The largest park in Nicaragua is Saslaya, part of the newly- 
     
     formed 110,000 hectare Bosawas reserve. This park is important for 
     
     its pristine mountain cloud-forest containing some of Central Amer— 
     
     ica's most endangered species - the ocelot, jaguar, tapir, mountain 
     
     lion and quetzal. 
     
    

    
     A coastal park, Chacocente, will preserve thenestinggrounds of 
     
     the Pacific Ridley sea turtle. This creature, for some reason, nests 
     
     at only a few Pacific sites at huge densities. Tens of thousands of 
     
     turtles will occupy a kilometer of beach for several days every 
     
     month. The nesting grounds at Chacocente are highly vulnerable to 
     
     human disturbance during this period and were thus a high priority 
     
     for Nicaraguan conservation. 
     
    

    
     Nicaragua's humanist approach to parks is exemplified by its 
     
     development of Isla Zapatera, an island in Lake Nicaragua. This park 
     
     contains many pre-Columbian stone carvings as well as a rich flora, 
     
     including several orchid species which may be unique to the island. 
     
     It is also home to several hundred peasants who have farmed and 
     
     fished there for many years. Normal procedure for a park would he to 
     
     move these people from the land, but this does not suit the Nicar- 
     
    
   
   
    
     BY PETER FELDSTEIN 
     
    
   
   
    
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