Carara ecological corridor

The proposed project is part of the larger ‘Carara Ecological Corridor’ project that aims to restore the forest connection between the lowland rain forest of Carara and the montane cloud forest of Turrubares Mountain range in Costa Rica. The Corridor tries to protect the remaining biodiversity, to restore the ecosystem’s stability and integrity and to improve possibilities for sustainable farming in the area. The project activities aim to: * Protect the remaining forest patches; * Restore interconnectivity through enhancing natural regeneration and ecologically sound reforestation; and, * Develop an educational strategy to raise awareness among local people and to strive for sustainable community-based forest management. The proposed project focuses on management and reforestation of recently acquired parts of the corridor. This Carara Ecological Corridor project also received support from the NC-IUCN’s Purchase for Nature fund (SPN) and is also supported by the International Tree Fund (ITF).

The Carara Ecological Corridor project started in 1999 with an agreement between Arbofilia and the International Tree Fund (ITF). To support the development of the corridor, the SPN of NC-IUCN supported land purchase within the corridor; the goal of this grant was to focus on sustainable management and reforestation of the newly acquired parts of the Corridor. Several of the objectives were fully met, such as protecting the area against degradation, forest restoration and protection against monoculture plantations. Other objectives were for the most part fulfilled, such as re-establishing a connection between the ecosystems; sustainable management of the areas purchased, developing awareness amongst the local communities and improving understanding of the ecosystems. The following concrete outputs were achieved: a) 13,000 trees (representing 40 native rainforest species) were planted and protected; b) 6 water sources within the rainforests of Carara region are now protected; c) 8 parcels of rainforests contributed to the connectivity of the corridor. d) 20% of the necessary repairs were made to the infrastructure; e) Pollution levels of two rivers have been improved; f) 130 hectares of rainforest are now permanently protected in permanent form and 400 hectares are now partially protected; National Park Carara is also partially protected the due to the abandonment of the rainforest within this Park; g) greater local knowledge on the rainforests has been generated. Four communities will benefit directly from the protected water sources and 20 communities will benefit indirectly from the improved water quality. Tree species planted should provide food and habitat for threatened local wildlife. Thirty species of trees were planted in order to recover habitat for scarlet macaw (Ara macao). The area is now more suitable for ecotourism. Arbofilia had a difficult year in 2004, with the main problems being lack of funding and lack of member's support, another issue (campaigning against a power line, SIEPAC, in the corridor) required the attention of those normally involved with the project and transport problems were also encountered. Despite these difficulties Arbofilia has managed to achieve good results.