| Local residents' knowledge of their environment and sustainability of their farming practices are often ignored by decision-makers when they address environmental management of protected areas. The isolated community of La Aurora, in Nicaragua, provides an example of this situation. La Aurora is inhabited by two sets of residents: long-term residents living in the area for four generations, and a more recent group of relocated residents who came to La Aurora in 1992. For this thesis, the conditions faced by the residents of La Aurora are described and analysed from the local residents' perspective. A census and a survey-questionnaire were applied to the 89 households of the community; ten case studies with the two classified groups, and fifty-four interviews. Approximately 68% of La Aurora's residents (78% of the long-term residents, and 51% of the recent residents) did not know that the Cerro Silva is a reserve and that the community is settled within the reserve. Yet, other responses to the research suggested that locals are consistent in their willingness to be involved in developing and implementing effective decisions regarding sustainability and resource use in the reserve. |
