Costa Rican Rainforests
Through a nonprofit called FUNDECOR, nearly 100 square miles in the central volcanic mountain range of Costa Rica are being set aside for forest preservation. The project is part of a country-wide program stopping the destruction of the Costa Rican rain forest which has thus far recaptured 26 percent of the country's land-mass-to-forest cover, sequestering millions of tons of carbon. Most of these humid tropical rainforests are old-growth, or mature second-growth, and noted for their extreme diversity of species. Besides fighting global warming, the forests preserve priceless biodiversity, protect local aquifers and watersheds, and mitigate erosion.
This forest area is a buffer zone for three national parks, Braulio Carrillo, Volcan Irazú and Volcan Turrialba. Braulio Carrillo encompasses five "life zones" ranging from tropical wet to cloud forest, and provides a home for 600 identified species of trees, more than 500 species of birds, and 135 species of mammals, including howler and capuchin monkeys, tapirs, jaguars, pumas, ocelots, deer, pacas, raccoons, and peccaries.
The protected area is mostly hilly or mountainous, primarily rural, with a few small villages, extensive farmland, and with several areas already protected as private preserves or municipal watersheds. The remainder is available for this preservation project. To date, the program has benefited more than 7,000 small-to medium-scale land owners for the environmental services their property provides for watershed protection, scenic beauty, biodiversity conservation, and carbon sequestration. The program helps support the economic, climate, and spiritual value of intact forests versus forests cleared for cattle pasture or other purposes.
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