Help 30 persons and save 2025 hectares of forest

The fires in Australia left the world reeling, with a sense of indignation, sadness, and anguish. Yet other countries have tried to avoid such disasters by purposely creating opposite scenarios. For example, Costa Rica promotes conservation on one hand, with tough laws against deforestation on the other.

In Costa Rica, it is illegal to cut down the forest. In this way, we have reforested our country up to 52% of our landmass, as can be seen in images taken by Nasa (see https://ticotimes.net/2019/09/05/nasa-image-shows-how-well-costa-rica-has-prevented-forest-fires). Yet this has been done, mainly by private farmers. ASIREA has selected 5 families from our region who have done spectacular efforts to protect the forests they own, even at the expense of their family. Mireya, for example, with her elderly mother, brothers, and sisters, continues to care for over 600 hectares which protect many tropical animals, including the jaguar.

Also, these families continue to petition the Costa Rican government for its support-having met in February with the Minister of Agriculture and the Minister of the Environment. On the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, where humidity comes in from the ocean, these forests are not only important because of the biodiversity they protect, but also because they contribute to a stable climate in the whole country.

Still, we are far from our goal. Of $121,500 dollars we proposed, we have $119,069 to still raise. These resources are allocated directly to the families, who can reinvest in the protection of their forest or in urgent, basic needs such as health or education. We thank all the donors for their continued support for this cause that helps humans and the environment!