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Projects List
Costa Rica: Coopeagri Forestry
(BioCarbon Fund)
1 Project Documents
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(Photo: FONAFIFO) |
The project will expand in a specific area of the country the scope of the Program of Payments for Environmental Services (PSA), currently implemented in Costa Rica on national resources by FONAFIFO, an independent organization. FONAFIFO will pay to the farmers the environmental services of biodiversity protection, protection of water resources and scenic beauty generated by the reforestation activities, and these payments will be complemented with the additional incomes coming from the carbon sales. At least 600 farmers in 38 rural communities are currently associated to Coopeagri, a cooperative that groups 10,162 affiliates dedicated to farming activities such as coffee, sugar cane and forest plantations, and have agreed to introduce forestry production activities in their farms. The additional incomes from carbon sales will allow FONAFIFO: i) to create a new PSA modality: reforestation of degraded lands through human induced promotion of natural seed sources (natural regeneration), and ii) to improve the cash flow pattern typical of reforestation activities, to make it appropriate for small and medium land owners needs. Of the total project area of 4,140 ha primarily used for cattle raising, 450 ha will be allocated to agroforestry, 1,200 ha will be dedicated to reforestation through natural regeneration, and 2,490 ha to commercial reforestation, 50% with native species, such as Amarillón (Terminalia amazonica), Botarrama (Vochysia ferruginea), Cebo (Vochysia guatemalensis) and Pilón (Hieronyma alchorneoides), and 50% with non-native species such as Melina (Gmelina arborea) and Teak (Tectona grandis). Agroforestry will be promoted on lands presently used for agriculture or cattle and will include windbreaks, plantation in small blocks, plantation of trees in rows and fences, and trees mixed with crops. Reforestation by induced natural regeneration will be recommended on degraded hillsides areas, and man-made reforestation on medium to high quality sites presently covered with pasture.
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(Photo: FONAFIFO) |
The project is expected to sequester around 0.56Mt CO2e by 2017. The newly established forests will provide raw material for the local forest industry while relieving pressures on natural forests and providing new habitat for biodiversity, and will provide other environmental benefits, such as protecting hydrologic regime and water resources, and reducing land erosion. It will also create employment in the forestry industry. Currently, the main economic activities of the rural communities covered are based on agriculture and cattle raising. These activities, such as coffee production, are suffering difficult times due to low international prices of the products. The new activities proposed will bring local social benefits for the community, including the increase of domestic incomes, the training of landowners, and the generation of employment. The project activities are integrated with the production activities of the farmers, which voluntarily will dedicate part of their farms to reforestation or agroforestry, and therefore reduce potential negative effects and leakage, and likely improve sustainability and permanence.
The project is developed and financed by FONAFIFO (www.fonafifo.com), which has a distinguished track record in financing forest programs in Cost Rica, and Coopeagri. FONAFIFO, which would serve as intermediate, has developed technical and administrative capacity to promote reforestation projects in the country through the implementation of the PSA program. Although the project was originally designed for 20 years, the sponsors engaged to assure the 60-y permanence for its CERs.
THEMATIC INFORMATION
For more information on this project's thematic information (i.e., Biodiversity, Other Environmental Benefits and Risks, Socio-economic benefits and risks, Leakage, Risk of Non Permanence, and Additionality), please click here.
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