A group of environmental scientists has voiced strong concern about the impact of a controversial Central American canal across Nicaragua.

The Nicaragua Interoceanic Grand Canal, an effort to connect the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, is slated to bisect Lake Nicaragua, the main freshwater reservoir for the entire Central American subcontinent.

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Members of the consortium alarmed scientists, such as environmental engineer Pedro Alvarez from Rice University, who says the plan will put species at risk of extinction, have deleterious effects on a fragile ecosystem, and necessitate the forced relocation of indigenous peoples in the path of the canal.

Alvarez is co-corresponding author of an article that includes 21 co-authors from 18 institutions in the United States and Central and South America that gathered at a multidisciplinary international workshop in Managua, Nicaragua, last November to discuss the project.

"The biggest environmental challenge is to build and operate the canal without catastrophic impacts to this sensitive ecosystem," Alvarez said.

"Significant impacts to the lake could result from incidental or accidental spills from 5,100 ships passing through every year; invasive species brought by transoceanic ships, which could threaten the extinction of aquatic plants and fish, such as the cichlids that have been evolving since the lake's formation; and frequent dredging, impacting aquatic life through alterations in turbidity and hypoxia, triggered by resuspension of nutrients and organic matter that exert a relatively high biochemical oxygen demand".

The 172 mile canal is being built by the Hong Kong Nicaragua Canal Development Group at a cost of $50 billion. The Nicaraguan government green-lit the project last June and construction of the roads needed to provide access for supplies and heavy equipment has already begun. The canal, which will be deeper, wider and longer than the Panama Canal to its south, is scheduled to open in the second half of 2019.

Nicaragua is among countries considered most vulnerable to climate change. Environmentalists are concerned changes to the watershed could lead to a shortage of water in the event of drought and catastrophic weather events.

They acknowledged Nicaragua's hope the canal, one of the largest engineering projects ever attempted, would create jobs and lift the nation out of extreme poverty.

The study titled was published by the American Chemical Society journal Environmental Science and Technology.

TagsNicaragua Canal, Nicaragua, environmental concerns, environmental issues, Nicaragua Interoceanic Grand Canal, Nicaragua Interoceanic Grand Canal connects Pacific and Atlantic oceans, Lake Nicaragua