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On December 8, 2017, Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz joined lifelong activists Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn for a conversation about international solidarity and organizing in today’s political climate as a benefit to support the work of EcoViva and our partners in Central America.
Resilience at the Roots follows a community in El Salvador who, after fleeing government repression and spending a decade in exile, returned to their country to rebuild their lives in the coastal lowlland areas surrounding the Bay of Jiquilisco. But their challenges were not over: in 1998 Hurricane Mitch hit, and other severe storms followed, washing away homes, destroying crops, and burying the community in rising waters. They recognized that these storms were linked to climate change and loss of protective mangrove forests, and so began to organize. Today, the movement they started has succeeded in creating a network of vibrant, democratic communities that protect and restore their natural resources and ecosystems, and has grown into one of the most successful global organizing models working for climate justice "
Every time we travel, we have some great experiences. We share some of our stories in our blog. You can also learn about upcoming local events as well as plans for future trips.
EWB Iowa Professional Chapter spreads both the vision and the mission of EWB-USA by partnering with disadvantaged communities to improve their quality of life through environmentally and economically sustainable engineering projects. The Chapter engages developing communities in resolving particular infrastructure needs that the community itself has identified. Projects include, but are not limited to, the design and construction of water distribution, wastewater treatment, sanitation, energy, and shelter systems. The overall objective of every project is to incorporate and train the community in all phases of the sustainable projects to ensure ownership, appropriateness, and long-term effectiveness.
EWB involves professionals and students from a variety of professions including engineering, public health, anthropology, geology, business, communications, and graphic design. EWB Iowa Professional Chapter works together with EWB-USA, EcoViva and other university chapters to improve the quality of life in partner communities. Students are involved in every step of the process, enabling them to learn firsthand about solutions to the problems of the developing world.
About 110 species are considered "mangroves", in the sense of being a tree that grows in such a saline swamp. For comparison, the tropical rainforest biome contains thousands of tree species, but this is not to say mangrove forests lack diversity. Though the trees themselves are few in species, the ecosystem that these trees create provides a home (habitat) for a great variety of other species.
Mangrove swamps protect coastal areas from erosion, storm surge (especially during hurricanes), and tsunamis. The mangroves' massive root systems are efficient at dissipating wave energy. While this is a benefit, the ability can be fleeting in the face of these phenomena. Mangrove swamps typically grow in areas where wave action is low. Large storms or prolonged high seas can severely damage them. In the process, habitat for algae, barnacles, oysters, sponges and bryozoans can disappear, as it did after the storms in El Salvador in 1998. This disruption in the food chain has had devastating effects on the people of the region. The efforts to restore and protect this ecosystem continue to this day.
The EWB Iowa Professional joins EcoViva and their partners in The Mangrove Alliance to protect El Salvador’s estuary and mangrove forest ecosystems, including the Bay of Jiquilisco. It is the largest protected area in the country at over 100,000 acres and was named a UN-recognized Ramsar Convention Wetland of International Importance in 2005 and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2007.
The Mangrove Alliance is a coalition of community-based conservation organizations concerned with protecting the mangrove forests of El Salvador. The Alliance was established in 2016 to facillitate coordination and collaboration among all the stakeholders concerned with the wellbeing of the mangrove forests of El Salvador.
The Mangrove Alliance’s strategy consists of three interconnected parts: (1) community-led stewardship of mangrove forest ecosystems, (2) action-oriented scientific research to strengthen conservation and restoration initiatives, and (3) smart coastal policy that puts the wellbeing of local people and the environment first.
You can also volunteer to help us at the University of Iowa Chapter. It may not involve travel, but it will lend a hand.