The Costa Rica Emissions Reduction Program aims to increase the impact at the national level of public policies that have been successfully applied over the last 30 years to protect forest landscapes that cover more than half of the 5.1 million hectares of surface of the country.
Costa Rica signed an agreement with the World Bank on Friday to receive 60 million dollars for the reduction of carbon emissions through forest conservation, which makes it the second Latin American country to achieve an agreement with the entity.
The agreement will reward local communities and provide incentives for their efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.
“This agreement offers new incentives that will help expand participation in these programs, particularly in rural communities where forests play a fundamental economic role; to achieve a more productive approach to forestry and to strengthen monitoring and coordination between agencies ”, stated the Minister of Environment and Energy, Andrea Meza.
Within the framework of the agreement to purchase emissions reductions, the World Bank's Cooperative Forest Carbon Fund, the entity commits up to 60 million dollars to buy verified reductions of 12 million tons of carbon dioxide achieved by 2025 through the Costa Rica Emissions Reduction Program.
The Costa Rica Emissions Reduction Program aims to increase the impact at the national level of public policies that have been successfully applied over the last 30 years to protect forest landscapes that cover more than half of the 5.1 million hectares of surface of the country.
According to the authorities, this includes strengthening the management of national protected areas, which cover 26% of the territory, and expanding national programs for sustainable forest management, fire management and landscape restoration.
“Costa Rica has a long tradition of pairing environmental protection with the creation of green jobs, based on a series of laws, policies, and forestry and biodiversity programs. Our conservation efforts have managed to preserve our ecosystems while providing a livelihood for citizens, ”added Meza.
In addition, it is intended to expand the Payment for Environmental Services Program that provides incentives to farmers or landowners in exchange for managing their lands to provide an ecological service in order to promote forest conservation and increase reserves of forest carbon through reforestation, tree plantations, agroforestry and silvopastoral systems.
"Costa Rica is committed to sustainably managing its abundant natural assets, and this agreement will generate significant green support after the current pandemic as the country seeks a resilient economic recovery in the coming years," said the World Bank representative for Costa Rica and El Salvador, óscar Avalle.
Costa Rica is the second country in Latin America and the Caribbean, after Chile, and the eighth in the world to sign an agreement to purchase emission reductions with the World Bank's Cooperative Fund for Carbon from Forests.
Se espera que varios otros países terminen de elaborar programas de reducción de emisiones y firmen sus respectivos acuerdos a principios de 2021.
Source: https://www.eleconomista.net/economia/Costa-Rica-recibe-60-millones-del-Banco-Mundial-para-conservacion-20201211-0010.html
