Costa Rica has 51 biological corridors that represent 38% of the national territory. A large part of the country’s biodiversity is found outside of protected areas, so biological corridors play an important role in guaranteeing the mobility of flora and fauna between different habitats.
The country has committed to improving the effectiveness of these areas, in search of the protection of nature and the fight against climate change. It currently has 51 biological corridors, which represents 38% of the national territory.
In order to continue with this work, the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) and the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) develop the Biological Corridors project, in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Protection and Safety Nuclear of the Federal Republic of Germany.
“Despite their importance for conservation, protected areas are small in size and relatively isolated, which represents a threat to them. Biological corridors link the protected areas together and serve as bridges for many species of fauna and flora. With this project we were able to meet the goals of the National Biodiversity Strategy”, highlighted Jairo Sancho, coordinator of the program.
Initiative has improved the effectiveness of biological corridors
According to the institutions that carry out the project, since the implementation of Biological Corridors, the effectiveness of these areas has increased from 38% to 58%. As part of the initiative, SINAC has a participatory monitoring system to measure the progress of the implementation of the management plans of the zones, as well as the identification of connectivity routes defined at the national level.
Michael Schloenvoigt, director of the initiative, explained: “With climate change, biological corridors become a vital strategy for conserving the environment and the services they provide to human beings. Nature does not need us, it is we humans who need her. Only with the implementation of the project, it was possible to connect sustainable productive territories with Protected Wild Areas in an area greater than 650 thousand hectares, clean air, water, carbon storage and food are some of the benefits that the environment brings to humans”.
