Guanacaste No. 2 In National
Tree-Planting Campaign
(InfoWebPress) – The province of Guanacaste is No. 2 in the number
of trees planted as part of the national campaign “A que sembras un
arbol” (Bet You Will Plant a Tree), with 1,331,453 trees out of
7,007,323 throughout the country, or 19 percent of the national
total. The cantons of Nicoya and Abangares are among the top 10 with
513,049 and 200,426 trees, respectively.
The tree-planting campaign was implemented for the second year in a
row in 2008 as a component of Plant for the Planet, an initiative of
the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
Thanks to the success of the campaign in 2007, when 5.9 million
trees were planted in Costa Rica, the effort was continued in 2008
to promote reforestation, agroforestry systems and forest management
— and thus reduce the risks associated with climate change, preserve
biodiversity, reclaim forest coverage, and maximize competitiveness
in various parts of the country to improve people’s quality of life.
The second year of the campaign included a novel component: the Bet
You Will Plant a Tree Student Contest, promoted by the Ministry of
Education (MEP) with support of Coopeande (a teachers’ cooperative),
through which all public and private schools were invited to
implement reforestation or education campaigns in their communities
about the importance of planting, taking care of and sustainably
harvest trees to reduce the impact of global warming.
Bet You Will Plant a Tree is sponsored by the Ministry of the
Environment and Energy (Minae) through an inter-institutional
commission that involves public and private entities that develop
forestry-related activities, protect natural resources, and manage
water and energy resources.
That commission is made up of 10 government institutions and other
organizations, including Minae, the National Forestry Office (ONF,
coordinator of the group), the National Conservation Areas System (SINAC),
the Foundation for the Development of the Central Volcanic
Cordillera (FUNDECOR), the National Forest Financing Fund (FONAFIFO),
MEP, the Costa Rican Forestry Chamber (CCF), the Costa Rican
Electricity Institute (ICE), the National Power and Light Company (CNFL),
and the Costa Rican Water and Sewer Institute (AyA).
Inspired by Professor Wangari Maathai, who won the Nobel Peace Prize
in 2004, Bet You Will Plant a Tree had an enthusiastic reception and
once launched thousands of people propagated the initiative. Thanks
to interest from Costa Rican forestry producers, state institutions,
private organizations, businesses and many volunteers, the goal of
planting 5 million trees in 2007 was surpassed.
In 2008, the goal was to plant 7 million trees, both native and
exotic species, in rural and urban areas. Following the planting
stage, officials involved did field surveys to quantify and monitor
the trees planted. |
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