from deforestation and development. The reserve's conservation plan aims to integrate local inhabitants into their environment via sustainable agricultural practices (see La Ruta Moskitia Ecotourism Alliance). Indigenous populations play a large part into the success of the conservation plan, both inside the reservation and outside the reservation in the buffer zones. Assigning titles and recognizing de facto property rights played an important part of the beginning of the conservation plan in the reserve. There is currently a need to update any conservation plan for the reserve. The conservation plan requests continued commitment to clarifying land ownership in and around the reserve. More research needs to be done to understand the value of the reserve and the potential threats it faces. There are currently no park guards or any official entity actively patrolling or guarding the reserve. Climate The annual precipitation is between , and the local inhabitants have noticed a trend towards dryer seasons. The climate in the region is key to preserving the valuable wet forests and important for the agriculture upon which the indigenous people depend. The reserve also receives an average of four severe tropical storms every ten years. The tropical storms echo through the rest of the reserve through the numerous waterways. Development plans and agriculture depend upon the river's natural levees to drain water from low-lying areas. The after-effects of the Hurricane Mitch in 1998 disrupted the development of the Patuca II hydroelectric facility. Geography The land stretches from La Moskitia coast through lagoons and along the Río Plátano up into the mountains. The buffer area also includes the Paulaya and Sico valley, and will eventually extend to the Patuca River. The reserve is mostly mountainous, including Pico Dama, a giant granite formation, and Punta Piedra, the highest peak at . The reserve includes nearly the entire watershed of the Río Plátano, and many other smaller waterways. Much of the region is covered with mountainous terrain. The rivers wind through both the lower and mountainous regions. The forms many oxbows as it crosses the long stretch of flat lowland that separates the foothills from the lagoons. The river has created oxbow lakes, marshes, and natural levees. The geography of the region makes agriculture and conservation especially complicated. The low-land areas covered with water throughout the winter, and the rivers and the various tributaries house a wide variety of flora. The coastal region to the north