[{"bbox": [86, 154, 340, 183], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.2 Problem Analysis"}, {"bbox": [97, 199, 1186, 465], "category": "Text", "text": "Nicaragua's geographic location and natural exposure to climate variability and change impacts, such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climatic patterns, the Pacific monsoon system, and the occurrence of tropical storms, storm surges and hurricanes. These generate droughts, floods, landslides, water shortages, crop destruction, and bushfires. Due to economic, social, cultural and environmental factors, Nicaragua is highly vulnerable to multiple hazards, such as those linked to hydrometeorological events, that account for significant human and economic losses and damages. The World Bank estimates accumulated losses reaching some USD 301.75 of purchase power, equivalent to an average annual loss per unit of GDP of 1.72%.³⁰ As a result of disasters, between 1970 and 2020, over 14 600 lives have been lost, and almost 40 000 people have lost their homes³¹. As a result of the recent hurricanes in 2020, 'the economic decrease from the last years suggests that the country does not have the same economic strength from three years ago to face the impacts of extreme natural events'³²."}, {"bbox": [97, 491, 1186, 703], "category": "Text", "text": "Natural hazards come along with human-made ones. Deforestation and ecosystem degradation are the main drivers of GHG emissions and vulnerability to climate change. It is estimated that the country has lost at least 30% of forest coverage in the last 10 years, with subsequent effects on river basins, wetlands, water provision and loss of biodiversity. Nicaragua has 68 types of ecosystems and vegetation formations, equivalent to 60% of the overall ecosystems of the Central American region³³. Nevertheless, almost 50% of the national territory is in the category 'over used land' category. In the last seven years, almost half of the national territory has been degraded in terms of soil quality, ecosystems and biodiversity. This degradation is mainly focused in the country's north-central region, specifically on the pine forest areas, affecting the biosphere reserve zone of Bosawas and Indio Maiz in the Southeast."}, {"bbox": [97, 730, 1185, 809], "category": "Text", "text": "Government policies have favoured institutional models supporting activities with direct adverse effects on environmental sustainability, e.g. mining, mono-cropping, extensive cattle raising and other. The mentioned policies set the priority framework for both government authorities and relevant economic actors in the country³⁴."}, {"bbox": [97, 835, 1186, 1074], "category": "Text", "text": "The climatic phenomena of 'El Niño' and 'La Niña' affect the national territory, impacting the temperature variation and the rainfall level. In general, 11.47% of the national territory suffers from frequent floods due to extreme climatic events. The increase of the country's average temperature in 2021 was around 1.5 °C above the average recorded temperature. The greatest difference in thermic range between minimum and maximum temperatures from over 1.5 °C on the same day in many sectors of the country has been recorded, too. The projected behaviour of the maximum temperature for 2021-2040, based on the CasEMS5 model, for the national territory, indicates an increase up to 4 °C over the historical standard. The IPCC argues that the probability of extreme weather events has increased by 1/5 over time. Specifically, on the Caribbean Coast, hurricanes will occur on average every 4 years, whereas in the early 1990s it was every 20 years."}, {"bbox": [97, 1101, 1186, 1260], "category": "Text", "text": "Since 2007, indigenous and afro-descendant territories from the Nicaraguan Caribbean coast have suffered the impact of 10 tropical cyclones, 5 of them hurricanes of category between 3 to 5 (Iota (2020), Eta (2020), Otto (2016), Ida (2009) and Felix (2007)). These hurricanes have affected 19 out of the 23 (83%) indigenous and afro descendants entitled territories from the Nicaraguan Caribbean coast. On the other hand, Pacific, Northern and Central indigenous peoples have been struck by drought and floods related to 'El Niño' and 'La Niña', respectively. The climate vulnerability situation jeopardizes livelihoods and food security for these populations."}, {"bbox": [86, 1514, 352, 1536], "category": "Footnote", "text": "³⁰ Nicaragua's NDC update. 2020."}, {"bbox": [86, 1536, 407, 1558], "category": "Footnote", "text": "³¹ Retrieved from: https://public.endat.be."}, {"bbox": [86, 1558, 768, 1580], "category": "Footnote", "text": "³² Nicaragua. Impacto de los Huracanes Iota y Eta. Evaluación Inicial Rápida. FAO, 2020."}, {"bbox": [86, 1580, 1143, 1623], "category": "Footnote", "text": "³³ MARENA. V Informe Nacional de Biodiversidad de Nicaragua. 1a ed. Managua, Nicaragua. 2014. Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (MARENA)."}, {"bbox": [86, 1623, 536, 1645], "category": "Footnote", "text": "³⁴ Centro Humboldt. Situación Ambiental Nicaragua 2019."}, {"bbox": [1038, 1681, 1144, 1705], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 8 of 32"}]