Costa Rica‘The water supply system is stressed. Some days the water taps are shut off by noon. One reason is the poor infrastructure of water supply, particularly in urban areas. San Jose, the capital city, has seen rapid growth and is home to approximately 75% of the population.
The state of Costa Rica’s rivers is a bigger problem. The amount of rainfall has decreased over the years and the dry periods have become longer. Deforestation has also led to the loss of important groundwater resources. Many of the rivers that still run have been poisoned by chemicals from industries or farms.
These farmers are the ones who can help to combat the country’s water problems by being more sustainable. This includes using less chemicals and not cutting down trees. It also means planting more trees, rotating crops or animals to allow the ground to regenerate.
This initiative aims to bring these ideas together and encourage farmers to combine pastures with trees so they can get shade in some areas and help conserve water. It’s a sustainable idea that can also be exported to other countries.
A film by Linda Vierecke
Farmers can plant trees to create shade and keep their property greener during droughts by planting trees.
Project objective: The conservation of forest ecosystems because these are often endangered from competing land uses, like agriculture. In addition to direct grants, the project encourages private investments in low emission agricultural production that does no harm to forest ecosystems.
Project partners: LandScale is a collaborative initiative led by Rainforest Alliance, Verra and Conservation International. It works in collaboration with various political parties in the target countries. This is the National System of Conservation Areas of Costa Rica (SINAC). There are many local partners for implementation, including the Water fund Agua Tica.
The German Federal Ministry for the Environment supports the project as part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI).
Project duration: The project ran for five years and will end in March 2022.
Budget: The German Federal Ministry for the Environment is funding the project in Costa Rica, Ghana, Guatemala and Peru with around 4 million.