Aim
- Recover forest cover near rivers and watersheds located in communities where Citizen Water Observatories (OCAs) operate, in order to promote a decrease in the degradation of the resource and a participatory environmental culture.
- Diagnose the state of degraded sites in protection areas served by the Citizen Water Observatories.
- Reverse, through these actions, the processes of forest degradation suffered by the country’s riverside forests, by raising environmental awareness and community participation in the segment of the river under its protection and protection with collective planting of trees and their respective long-term care.
- Establish a participatory monitoring mechanism for the recovered sites in the communities that formed Citizen Water Observatories.
- Generate an environmental education programme aimed at communities where there are Citizen Water Observatories.
Description
The ecosystem recovery days are activities managed by the communities organised in duly registered Citizen Water Observatories, with the accompaniment of the National Alliance of Rivers and Watersheds of Costa Rica (ANRCCR) and the presence of their institutional counterparts, NGOs or the private sector, in charge of donating forest species to begin the process of planting trees in sectors selected for this purpose. The donation of timber species is managed by ANRCCR.
This activity promotes the conservation of the flora and fauna of the riparian forest through reforestation, inventory and monitoring of species. This initiative seeks to reverse the degradation processes associated with the removal of forest cover through the construction of biological corridors that make it possible to recover the structural and functional continuity of fragmented and degraded life zones due to the combined effect of anthropic action and negative climatological events (floods, landslides, droughts).
This axis of action is subdivided into two activities that will be described in the following section of Steps
- Workshops and training on the process of planting and caring for a tree.
- Reforestation day in the communities.
Steps
1. Formal request for the implementation of the ecosystem recovery days
The OCA of the applicant community will arrange and coordinate with the ANRCCR the date and place to carry out the two activities included in this axis: the training workshop and the tree planting day.
2. ANRCCR efforts
The ANRCCR will arrange with the corresponding counterpart the donation of trees to carry out the planting. The number of trees will depend on the reforestation area to be defined in due course.
In addition, the ANRCCR will manage the following inputs:
(a) Technical assistance in the selection of forest species and tree planting site.
b) Workshops and training on the process of planting and caring for a tree.
c) Reforestation day in the communities.
d) Technical assistance in monitoring the area.
e) Report of workshops and activities in order to show the transparency of the processes.
3. Logistical organisation for the execution of the sowing day
The OCA will have the community logistics to accommodate a minimum of 25 participants. A community hall or classrooms must be available to host the training, provide the required clothing and tools to subsequently lead the participating group to the field and proceed with the planting, with the special contribution of children and adolescents with the aim of building environmental awareness and commitment in the youngest.
4. Workshops and training on the process of planting and caring for a tree
Forestry specialists provide the communities with a series of elements and techniques in the selection and preparation of soils to be used in reforestation with selected species native to the life zone to be subjected to these environmental recovery plans.
This component is complemented with elements, techniques and methodologies for the long-term care of the trees to guarantee a successful reforestation. The minimum capacity for this activity is 25 people from the community where OCAs are duly registered.
5. Reforestation day in the communities
Once the correct techniques for planting and caring for the trees to be planted have been taught, teams of community volunteers are organised and proceed with the planting. Each group is assigned the trees and the necessary clothing.
A minimum of 4 hours is invested in this process, with a minimum of 25 members of the community, with periodic follow-ups of the care of the planted plots with a periodicity defined by the technical training talks. The sown area, the spacing of the planting rows and the plots for this purpose are previously defined with technical criteria.
6. Long-term monitoring of progress in reforestation and environmental restoration programmes
With trained communities and the accompaniment of forestry specialists among members of the communities with OCAs, it will be possible to keep a controlled record of the progress of the reforestation plan initiated in the planting days. If possible, it would be of great value to implement community-managed nurseries.
As it is not only a matter of reforestation, but also of ecosystem recovery, inventories of flora and fauna in the areas subjected to these forest recovery campaigns would be revealing indicators of the environmental health of these environments.
Results
Restoration of degraded forest environments thanks to ecosystem recovery days, led by communities with registered OCAs.
Rules
Have appropriate clothing for the planting activity (field attire, appropriate footwear or rubber boots, waterproof layers in case of rain, mosquito repellent, sunscreen, water for hydration).
Scopes and challenges
Outreach: Communities more engaged and proactive in the restoration of degraded environments, and preservation of protected forest cover.
Challenge: Insufficient staff and resources to monitor the success of long-term reforestation programmes in economically constrained communities.