‘We know our land best.’

Ex-mayor calls for more local control over natural resources

Calls for local control over natural resources are echoed up and down Nicaragua's Atlantic Coast, including the community of Pearl Lagoon, an easy trip by passenger launch from the major hub of Bluefields.

Ex-mayor Christopher Garth recalled his frustrations dealing with the central government. "They made all the decisions," he said, leaning the back of his chair against the wall of his waterfront house. "They were the ones who granted permission to cut timber and decided where to export."

But this will soon change. Mayors are now elected by their local constituents, not appointed by the central government. And a new IDB-financed program will strengthen the ability of regional and local governments to take on greater responsibility. Future mayors will not simply process decisions made far away, but take initiatives on their own.

According to Garth, such local control is urgently needed. The Atlantic Coast needs its own agencies to take charge of development, he said. Local people and their own elected officials must help to make decisions about exports and imports, cutting forests, and fisheries management. "We have to work together with the central government, but they have to listen to us," he said, turning over a small blue book titled Moravian Daily Texts.

The same goes for environmental protection. Much of the region's natural resources remain largely intact, he said, but he worries that decisions made far from the Atlantic Coast will not address the real problems. "We live here, we know the environment," he said. "We know that if you cut down the forests, you will cause erosion, and soil is carried to the sea, where it will hurt the shrimp." While logging firms are supposed to reforest, he said, mostly they don't.

"With local control, we will be there to watch over what the companies are doing and make them follow the rules."