Indio Maíz-Tortuguero

"The Indio Maíz-Tortuguero jungle is a transboundary region that is made up of the Indio Maíz Reserve in Nicaragua and the Tortuguero National Park in Costa Rica . . . The Indio Maíz Biological Reserve is one of Nicaragua’s most large reserves, largely undamaged by illegal colonization or deforestation. Contiguous with Costa Rican protected areas . . . the Indio Maíz-Tortuguero region includes tall upland rainforest, and mangrove forests, swamps, beaches, and lagoons. With six meters of rainfall per year, both primary productivity and biodiversity are extremely high . . . In this forest, tropical humid forest and very humid tropical forest predominate. Regarding its ecological importance, this forest stands out for protecting beaches for the spawning of 4 species of sea turtles": the Green, Leatherback, Hawksbill, and Loggerhead turtles. "The Indio Maíz Reserve was historically one of the most undamaged large reserves in Nicaragua, but increasing deforestation as a result of illegal ranching expansion and land trafficking is threatening the forest and the wildlife that depends on it."