Nicaragua’s Third Biosphere Reserve Soon to be More Accessible

Oct. 1, 2010 - PRLog -- The Government of Nicaragua recently announced its plan to construct a small airstrip in Ometepe Island to boost the island’s tourism. The project consists in building a small airstrip, about 1,000 meters long, that will include an air terminal and a dock for seaplanes.

According to the International Airports Administration Company of Nicaragua (EAAI, for its acronym in Spanish), construction will begin in six months and US$750 thousand will be invested during its first phase.

According to Orlando Castillo, General Manager of the EAAI, the project will help increase the flow of tourists and accelerate economic development in the region. According to the Nicaraguan Tourism Board (INTUR, for its acronym in Spanish), approximately 3,000 tourists visit the island per month.

Ometepe Island, located in Lake Nicaragua, recently became Nicaragua’s third World Network of Biosphere Reserves. The nomination was approved unanimously by the 22nd Session of the International Coordinating Council of the Man and the Biosphere Program (MAB) of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

Ometepe, composed of two volcanoes, Madera and Concepcion, is considered the largest island in the world located within a freshwater lake. According to the UNESCO, the island has plenty of pre-Columbian archaeological ruins, petroglyphs, statues and ceramics that show the antiquity of human settlement on its soil.

The island is surrounded by Lake Nicaragua, an important source of freshwater supply hosting numerous underwater species, such as sawfish and freshwater sharks.

Some of the most popular tourism hotspots nearby include San Juan del Sur, where Survivor Nicaragua was currently filmed, and Solentiname Islands, home to numerous aquatic birds.