The Indio Maíz fire has been the biggest warning of the damage that has been happening inside the reserve.
Single-crop cultivation companies accelerate the invasion of the reserve and force people to move inside the protected areas of the forest or migrate to other countries.
In November 2016, environmental damage was reported (mainly on the soils) due to Hurricane Otto.
The settlers burn areas, cut down trees and dump pesticides to settle illegally.
We have confirmed the existence of 10 chapels or temples in the core area of the reserve that have settled illegally.
The interests in the reserve have called the attention of a more powerful sector, the large cattle ranchers, who invade illegally to establish pasture and fatten the cattle.
These extractive industries have an impact both on water bodies and on the wildlife found in the exploited areas.
This group has structured a network of operators, many of them are land traders who already operated in the Indio-Maíz Reserve.
The construction of schools (6 Catholic and 11 Evangelical), roads, solar panels and churches, promotes the invasion.
Fundación del Río counted more than a 100 mills in total, mainly in the town of San Carlos, an area close to the buffer zone of Indio-Maíz Reserve.