Costa Rica’s Inspiring Example of Forest Conservation
Costa Rica has become the first country in Latin America and the Caribbean to receive payments from the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility for reducing carbon emissions from deforestation and forest degradation—commonly known as REDD+. The first payment – of $16.4 million for independently verified emission reductions — is a milestone for Costa Rica. It is also the first tropical country in the world to have reversed deforestation.
Costa Rica established a national REDD+ strategy, along with forest reference emission levels, systems for national forest monitoring, and safeguards. A broad public consultation helped to better understand the underlying drivers of deforestation and degradation in and outside of forest jurisdictions. In 2019, the country received a Champion of the Earth award – the United Nation’s highest environmental honour—for its role in the protection of nature and its commitment to ambitious policies to combat climate change.
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