New Nicaragua canal threatens ecosystems

Activists protest against the building of the inter-oceanic canal in Nicaragua. Some 500 say they will lose their land if the project goes ahead. - AFP

A proposed waterway to rival the Panama canal will wreak havoc on forests and displace people, NGO warns.

SHIPPING firms should pressure the Nicaraguan Government and the Chinese backer of a proposed canal to ensure that the project does not force indigenous people off their land and inflict massive environmental damage on the country’s ecosystem, an environmental advocacy group has urged.