Forest resources for a stable environment

Fundacion para el Desarrollo de la Cordillera Volcanica Central (referred to as the Cordillera Development Foundation or CDF) will implement the project. The project"s first activity will be to strengthen the CDF, a newly created private organization. The project will support the hiring of CDF staff and of forest rangers and the construction of 15 multipurpose operational centers throughout the Central Cordillera. In addition, CDF and several local PVO"s will carry out an environmental education and extension program which emphasizes the welfare of the local communities. By the end of the project, CDF will exist as a permanent self-sustaining organization. CDF will improve the management of the Braulio Carrillo, Poas, and Irazu National Parks and of the nine other legally protected areas in the Central Cordillera. CDF will develop an integrated management plan for each protected area, revise and mark their boundaries as needed, and encourage the transfer of private holdings inside the national parks to the government. The project will also upgrade the visitor facilities and services at the three national parks and at Grecia Forest Reserve. These will include, inter alia: visitor centers, camping and picnic areas, sanitary facilities, nature trails, guides, riding horses, and the sale of food. Local inhabitants will receive priority in any employment opportunities generated from these activities. The third component -- sustainable forest production -- will be implemented in the buffer zones of the national parks, particularly in the Las Horquetas, La Virgen del Socorro, and Rio Cortino forests. CDF will develop guidelines and regulations regarding logging controls, tree harvesting, logging roads, and silvicultural practices. CDF will also create at least one commercial enterprise, which will acquire forestland, manage the logging of it under a unified plan, and then will itself process the wood it las logged. The original owners of the forestland will be able to participate as part owners of the enterprise. Again, employment opportunities will be generated for local residents both in the forests and at the enterprise"s sawmill. A total of $1 million of "incentive funds" will be set aside to subsidize the new enterprise and its investors. The final component will encourage the reforestation of cleared land that is not suitable for agriculture and will promote the integration of trees into local farming systems. Under the reforestation activity, as many as five nurseries will be established, with preference given to cooperatives and other local groups. The agroforestry activity will also be implemented primarily with groups of farmers.