Chiquita Joins Conservation Project

NEW YORK - Jun 20/05 - SNS -- The German Technical Cooperation (GTZ) and Chiquita Brands International are launching a new public-private partnership initiative – the Nogal Nature and Community Project – in Costa Rica.

The aim of this initiative is to preserve biodiversity, promote nature conservation awareness among the local population and create new sources of income for the people.

On a Chiquita farm on the banks of the Río Sucio in northeastern Costa Rica, not far from the border with Nicaragua, the 100 hectares of rainforest in the Nogal reserve adjacent to the farm will be placed under a conservation order and connected to forestland on neighboring farms by newly planted biological corridors.

The well-known Swiss retailer Migros and the international environmental protection organization Rainforest Alliance are also taking part in the project as partners and sponsors.

The initiative is seen as a model project and is linked to the initiative to establish the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor launched by six Central American states, which in 1997 agreed that separate nature reserves should be connected across national borders.

Since 1999 GTZ, acting on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), has been supporting the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD) and the environment ministries of the relevant countries in establishing the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor.