Costa Rican Bananas To
Go Carbon Neutral
The Costa Rican banana
industry is intending to
go carbon neutral in a
joint effort to make the
small Central American
nation the first to
offset all its carbon
dioxide emissions by
2021.
President Oscar Arias
recently announced that
Costa Rica aims to cut
its net greenhouse gas
emissions to zero by
2021, in time to
celebrate the country
200 years of
independence. A plan of
action has already been
approved and many
projects are now
underway to reach this
target.
Costa Rica is an
international leader on
green issues, with
protected areas like
national parks and
biological reserves
covering more than a
quarter of its
territory. It is the
first tropical nation to
reverse deforestation.
Thanks to conservation
and replanting, its
forest cover has
increased from 21
percent in 1987 to 52
percent today. The
banana industry’s
contribution to
conservation and
reforestation is 6,305
hectares of replanted
forests, 14.4% of the
land used for banana
plantations. The country
also generates 78
percent of its energy
with hydroelectric power
and another 18 percent
by wind or geothermal
power. The next step is
to cut emissions from
transport, farming, and
industry.
Bananas are Costa Rica’s
main agricultural
commodity. As a result,
the National Banana
Corporation, CORBANA,
has invested more than a
million dollars on two
new adjoined research
facilities called the
Biological Control
Centreand the Banana
Molecular Biology
Centre.
These new laboratories,
created with funds from
banana producers
themselves, have been
created to research on
ways to reduce the use
of chemicals in the
production of bananas,
since they strongly
believe in sustainable
farming and long-term
development.
CORBANA, a public
entity, has invested in
new research into less
chemical intensive
methods of pest
reduction. The research,
which will explore
alternatives such as
natural fungus that
fights off disease and
pest in the field, will
benefit the banana
industry by offering a
value-added product
attractive to the
European market.
Last year CORBANA
successfully coordinated
an exchange forum in
Costa Rica with
scientific delegates
from 14 different
countries, all looking
for a solution to
promote both sustainable
production and food
security world wide.
This forum lead Plant
Research International
Wageningen UR and the
University of Wageningen,
Netherlands, to develop
a partnership with
French Agricultural
Research Centre for
International
Development (CIRAD),
France, Brazilian
Agriculture Research
Corporation (EMBRAPA),
Brazil, Catholic
University of Leuven,
Belgium, and the
National Banana
Corporation (CORBANA),
Costa Rica, to reduce
the use of pesticides in
banana farming by 50% in
10 years. |
