Preserving and expanding the forest
Our project in Costa Rica is as ambitious as it is complex: First and foremost is the protection of the lowland rainforests and the biodiversity of the Amistad-Osa corridor. To this end, Naturefund buys up areas of rainforest in order to have them declared as private protected areas, thus making it more difficult for loggers and poachers to gain access to these areas. In addition to the preservation of the remaining rainforest, the expansion of the biological corridor is another important goal. Through reforestation, the so-called "patches" are to be connected with each other. The goal is to create a contiguous forest patch between Corcovado and Amistad National Parks, which will expand the habitat of the species living there and promote their exchange.
Natural weapon in the battle for the climate
But securing and rebuilding the rainforest are not the only functions of our project in Costa Rica: capturing climate-damaging CO2 from the atmosphere is an equally important pillar that goes hand in hand with rainforest protection. This is because tropical rainforests can absorb enormous amounts of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide and store the carbon it contains in their plants and soil. Thus, these forests play an indispensable role in mitigating climate change - and their destruction affects not only the people of Latin America, but also our European climate! Our project in the Costa Rican lowland rainforest therefore also directly addresses the climate crisis: Our first step is the purchase of 1,000 hectares of land, on which approximately 60 percent forest protection and 40 percent reforestation will take place. It is estimated that these activities on the project area will bind more than 260,000 tons of CO2 over 20 years.