The German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and Chiquita Brands International are launching a new public-private partnership (PPP) initiative — the Nogal Nature and Community Project — in Costa Rica. The aim of this initiative is to preserve biodiversity, promote nature conservation awareness among the local population and create new sources of income for the people. On a Chiquita farm on the banks of the Ro Sucio in northeastern Costa Rica, not far from the border with Nicaragua, the 100 hectares of rainforest in the Nogal reserve adjacent to the farm will be placed under a conservation order and connected to forestland on neighboring farms by newly planted biological corridors.
“This is a practical, sustainable approach to conserving the natural environment and species for the benefit of humankind,” said George Jaksch, Chiquita’s senior director of corporate responsibility and public affairs in Europe. “However, it cannot succeed without the support of the people who live there.”
“Only people who appreciate the value of their natural environment are willing to conserve it,” said Johannes Spita, who is responsible for the PPP initiative at GTZ. To that end, the local population will be offered environmental education opportunities and training courses that are intended to provide local craftspeople, in particular, with new sources of income. Over a period of three years, a large number of people who live in the region, including many schoolchildren, are expected to visit the project and find out from a practical example how their support and active involvement can help to preserve the large but endangered variety of natural species in Central America.
The well-known Swiss retailer Migros (www.migros.ch) and the international environmental protection organization Rainforest Alliance (www.ra.org) are also taking part in the project as partners and sponsors.
The PPP initiative is seen as a model project and is linked to the initiative to establish the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor launched by six Central American states, which in 1997 agreed that separate nature reserves should be connected across national borders. Since 1999 GTZ, acting on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), has been supporting the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD) and the environment ministries of the relevant countries in establishing the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.
GTZ is an international cooperation enterprise for sustainable development with worldwide operations. It provides viable, forward-looking solutions for political, economic, ecological and social developments in a globalized world. GTZ’s main client is the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). Since the start of the PPP program, GTZ and private partners have established over 300 partnerships in more than 60 countries. More than ?140 million has been invested in these projects. The average public sector share has been around 40 percent.