The Barbilla-Destierro Biological Corridor is made up of a patchwork of several hundred privately owned properties. Because of its fragmented nature it is not possible to preserve the entire corridor for conservation purposes. Our solution to this challenge is to identify a chain of strategically located private properties that if protected, can provide a land bridge through which wildlife may pass around the Reventazon reservoir unharmed.
CORRIDOR CONSERVATION PROPERTIES
Appropriate stewardship is vital if the Barbilla-Destierro Biological Corridor is to be preserved and protected from unsustainable land use. The Jaguar Project identifies strategically located properties within the corridor and matches them with new and environmentally-focused owners who pledge to preserve and protect them. Once the land has been secured we then continue to work on in partnership with the new owners assisting and advising them on all aspects of the conservation of their property.
THE TERRA RESERVE
In 2019 the Rodriguez Cheever Foundation purchased one of our conservation properties and created the 96 acre Terra Reserve. In 2022 they then went on to purchase the neighbouring Reventazon Panorama property as well, increasing the size of their reserve to 150 acres.
The Terra Reserve is a model conservation farm. It’s location at the northern end of the Reventazon reservoir makes it of particular importance to jaguars and other large mammals who are trying to migrate across the Barbilla-Destierro Biological Corridor.
The founders of the Rodriguez Cheever Foundation are Luis Rodriguez and Sharon Cheever. They are dedicated conservationists who have focused their efforts on all levels of the ecosystem in order to turn their former cattle farm into a safe haven for an enormous number of species. Within weeks of the Terra Reserve’s creation we began planting more than 30 native species of trees on the deforested parts of the property. Over 7,000 trees have so far been planted, many of which were donated by the ICE (Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad). The ICE provide free trees to landowners who are located within the corridor in order to try to alleviate the environmental problems caused by the creation of the Reventazon Hydroelectric Dam.
To increase the level of biodiversity and move beyond the range of tree species that are provided by the ICE, the Terra Reserve created its own nursery in order to grow its own trees. Terra has invited experts in all fields of conservation from birds and bees to plants and reptiles to come and work with them. They have assembled a talented team of environmentalists that continue to work together to monitor and protect all aspects of the reserve’s biodiversity.
The Costa Rican Government’s FONAFIFO program is designed to encourage the restoration of degraded habitats through reforestation, and it offers financial incentives to landowners who reforest their property.
The Jaguar Project offers landowners within the corridor advice on how to inscribe their properties into the FONAFIFO program, and we also assist them with the complex paperwork involved as a free service. We can help facilitate financial rewards in return for reforestation, as well as for the preservation of existing forest. Since the Reventazon Valley is not only located within a threatened biological corridor, but also in a region with several "conservation holes", it qualifies for the highest level of Government financial support available.
REFORESTATION RESOURCES
CATIE and EARTH University are two of the world's epicentres for advanced tropical forest management. They are both located at the edge of the Barbilla-Destierro Biological Corridor and have offered their expertise to assist with our reforestation programs.
CATIE
The Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) is a world leader in the integrated management of agriculture and natural resources. Located in Turrialba at the foot of the Reventazon Valley the centre is an autonomous non-profit institution working toward promoting education, research, innovation, the sustainable management of agriculture and conservation of natural resources.
With the help of expert advice from CATIE we have developed a reforestation program uniquely suited to the Reventazon Valley. Focusing on fruit-bearing trees that are known to attract jaguar prey species we have identified an optimum mix of tree species that will provide a fast growing, wildlife-friendly habitat which can also yield a sustainable fruit harvest if required.
EARTH UNIVERSITY
EARTH (Escuela de Agricultura de la Región Tropical Húmeda) is a private non-profit University located in the nearby town of Mercedes just 10 kilometers outside the Barbilla-Destierro Biological Corridor. Their world-renowned educational programs focus on agricultural sciences and sustainable development, and they have kindly offered to advise us on the reforestation of our conservation properties.
In conjunction with EARTH, The Jaguar Project is promoting an innovative new style of cacao polyculture in the region. Breaking away from the traditional style of cacao monoculture which does not adequately support wildlife, we are working with several properties within the corridor to develop mixed cacao plantations that can serve as habitat for endangered species whilst also providing a financial return. By layering several plantations on top of one another in an Analog Forestry style we can repair the Barbilla-Destierro Biological Corridor and help restore connectivity.
Two of the corridor’s most influential landowners, the chocolatiers Rausch and the Rossi family, have already initiated mixed cacao plantations which we hope will serve as model farms to inspire other landowners in the region to follow suit.
OUR WORK IN THE OSA PENINSULA
After many years of focusing our work on the Barbilla-Destierro Biological Corridor due to its strategic importance for feline conservation, The Jaguar Project has now expanded its influence to work on another equally vital biological corridor.
In 2022 The Jaguar Project secured a conservation property at the edge of Corcovado National Park for Hendrik Jan Lovink from Holland. Working in partnership with Osa Conservation and Grow Jungles we have initiated a reforestation program on the property, planting 39 native tree species that are endemic to the peninsula. 11 of those species were selected specifically because they are in danger of extinction.
This video made by Grow Jungles highlights our joint efforts to reforest the Corcovado-Piedras Blancas Biological Corridor.
Osa Conservation are a non-profit organisation that is dedicated to protecting the globally significant biodiversity of the Osa Peninsula. They are the leaders in conservation in Costa Rica with multiple projects that cover all levels of the Osa ecosystem from the reefs to the canopy. Their primary focus is on protecting and restoring habitat, and through their ambitious Ridge to Reef project they plan to plant 100,000 trees a year in the biological corridors that connect Corcovado, Piedras Blancas and La Amistad National Parks.
The Ridge to Reef project aims to increase connectivity between Costa Rica’s most vital ecosystems, and it is one of the largest and most important conservation efforts in the world. The Jaguar Project is proud to be one of the many partners that Osa Conservation are working with in order to achieve this goal. The image below illustrates the basic concept of the Ridge to Reef project.
In 2022 The Jaguar Project secured a 100-acre conservation property for Brooke Lyndon-Stanford from Great Britain. Due to the property's strategic location within the Corcovado-Piedras Blancas Biological Corridor we have placed it under formal protection though the Costa Rican Government's FONAFIFO program. Our camera trapping here has revealed an extraordinary amount of wildlife including the presence of 3 different species of felines, clearly underlining the property’s high priority for conservation. Working in conjunction with Osa Conservation as a part of their Ridge to Reef project, The Jaguar Project is initiating a reforestation program to restore the deforested parts of the property in order to repair the integrity of this key biological corridor.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAMS
Successful corridor restoration can only be achieved with the cooperation and assistance of the local inhabitants. Effective environmental solutions must be synchronistic to their concerns and empathic to their basic needs.
The Jaguar Project is working with the community to help raise awareness of feline conservation issues. We also work with local farmers to encourage responsible agricultural and ranching practices in an effort to reduce incidences of human-jaguar conflict.
We go to great lengths to inform the residents of these biological corridors that humans are in no danger of attack from any of the six Costa Rican wildcat species. Costa Ricans tend to believe that wildcats can be a threat to their safety, but contrary to popular local belief there are no reports of anyone being attacked or killed by a jaguar or any other feline species anywhere in Central America.
