The UN Green Climate Fund delivered this week US$13.3 million in recognition of the compensation of emissions made by the forests of Costa Rica. Of that amount, the fund highlighted that it covers US$3.3 million for environmental services in indigenous territories. It is the first time that this type of payment is made.
In total, there are 16 indigenous territories participating in the plan. This represents 42,289 hectares destined to forest protection, 880 hectares under regeneration and 485,202 trees in agroforestry systems.
The resources generated must be reinvested in this same population. “It is a recognition of a country initiative such as the Program for Payment for Environmental Services, led by FONAFIFO, and MINAE, which today, in addition, allows through Payment for Results, to do justice to pay the people who possess They do not have property title and the indigenous peoples who protect the land, under the Payment for Environmental Services scheme under great efforts”, said the vice minister of the Minae, Carlos Isaac Pérez.
The comprehensive management of the money will be in charge of the National Fund for Forest Financing (Fonafifo). From there they will be divided into two key areas of environmental preservation: the Program of Payment for Environmental Services (PSA) and the National Fire Management Program. “We are deeply honored to see institutional efforts crystallize and become a motor to continue protecting Costa Rica’s forests. But we are even more honored to know that these resources that we are making official today allow us to bring economic opportunities to indigenous territories, rural women, small owners and young people”, said José Vicente Troya, Representative of the Development Program at the UN in Costa Rica.
How are these forests protected?
To deliver the money, international experts validated the country’s environmental services with 32 different indicators. In this review, it was determined that there are 156,454 hectares earmarked for forest protection and a further 9,635 hectares are focused on natural regeneration. Other data, highlighted by the measurement, is that there is a significant percentage of protected areas in underdeveloped cantons.
In passing, it was stressed that 19% of environmental payments are in the hands of women and also that there are 20% in the hands of small owners (farms smaller than 50 hectares). Along these lines, it is also mentioned that less than 2% of payments go to people under 35 years of age, so it is necessary to involve young people more in the system.
