MLR Forestal publishes catalogue of mammals that have a safe home on the company’s farms

One of the pillars of MLR Forestal is the promotion of sustainability. This is a constant work that is materialized with efforts such as the launch of the catalog of mammals found in the properties of MLR in the Northern Caribbean. This type of document is not only educational and illustrative, but also testifies to the work that the agroforestry company does in promoting the biodiversity of the area.

In this catalog, available for free in digital format and which will soon have a limited printed edition that will be distributed in the schools near the operation, photographs of 17 species of 35 identified in the agroforestry plantations and conservation areas of the company are recorded. Some species that can be observed in the catalog are the sloth, the anteater, the tigrillo, the congo monkey and the spider monkey. On company-owned farms, these and many other species live safely because protecting them is a policy of MLR Forestal.

Catalog in PDF format (21MB)

“For some years MLR Forestal has been working with the clear vision of managing its operations with strict respect for biodiversity because we are in the buffer zone of the Bosawás reserve and we know that our reforestation process allows the biological connectivity of these areas to regenerate,” explained Luis López, the company’s Sustainable Development Manager.

Valuable data obtained first-hand

The 43-page catalog could be made thanks to the fact that the company implements a constant and systematic biological monitoring system that has allowed to identify and evaluate the diversity of species of both flora and fauna of each of the management units located in the municipalities of Siuna and Bonanza.

The monitoring method consisted of the installation of two camera traps for three consecutive days on each farm. In situ observations were also made during tours of the conservation areas. In many cases it was possible to photograph the species and in others by identifying footprints, feces and sounds.

For Enrique Castillo, head of Biodiversity Management at MLR Forestal, “documenting the existing information on the natural resources of a region should be considered a high priority for the country’s scientific research because information plays an essential role and more in this case where it has been obtained first hand”.

A source of information understandable to all audiences

Castillo also stressed that the document is a source of information accessible and understandable to all audiences. “The document also presents the degree of conservation of the species and that helps mitigate the human impact on the environment. The work done by MLR is very important for Nicaragua because in the country very few projects like these are carried out by the private sector”, he said.

In the words of López, having carried out this initiative is due to “the environmental responsibility of the investment group, since the management of the company from the beginning considered the possibility of establishing a project that strengthens the environment and natural resources on the North Caribbean Coast. This means that every contribution we make allows us to inherit to our future generations a renewed, rejuvenated environment and ideas that can inspire other companies.”

The mammal catalogue is not MLR’s first biodiversity registry, as it published a bird catalogue in June 2021 that is also available for free in digital format. In this catalog, 250 species of birds were identified, the most special being the yellow-naped parrot because it is the one that is most at risk of extinction. The company will soon present directories of amphibians and reptiles.