Biodiver_CITY – Establishment of Interurban Corridors
As of: January 2022
Half of the population of Costa Rica lives in the San José metropolitan area, whose expansion is causing ecosystem loss. Citizens lack local green spaces for relaxation and recreation, the concreting-over of land causes flooding and erosion, the water quality declines, and vital habitats for flora and fauna are lost. This also has negative impacts on the health of the population, the urban infrastructure and on business sectors at a local and national level. The project is therefore supporting key actors like the Ministry of the Environment in their efforts to integrate ecosystem services and interurban biocorridors into sustainable city planning. The focus here is on frameworks, statutory instruments and tools for urban planning, as well as building up implementation and cooperation capacities for the management of interurban biocorridors. Project work promotes the sharing of innovative approaches and the formation of strategic partnerships in city and biocorridor planning.
State of implementation/results
- The project website (biocorredores.org/…) and Facebook site (www.facebook.com/…) inform about current progress, events and products. --An atlas of ecosystem services in the metropolitan region of San Jose has been jointly developed with the Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung (UFZ) and the CATIE institute for agricultural research (www.youtube.com/…). It is online accessible via www.atlasverde.org/… --The importance of ecosystem services and public green spaces was successfully highlighted in a national awareness raising campaign using radio, television and the social media. Videos of the campaign are available here: biocorredores.org/… . --Within in the context of the “Green-Urban-Fund” 11 measures inspired by the management plans of the two inter-urban bio-corridors, Rio Torres and Río María Aguilar, have been implemented. --Together with the foundation “FUNDECOOPERA-CION” the project could establish a new funding program “Green City” that provides low-interest loans for investments in green infrastructure. --In the framework of the national strategy for the restoration of rivers and watersheds of the Ministry for Environmental Affairs, the project has co-developed a new hallmark branded „Río Amigable“. More information can be found at the project website: biocorredores.org/… .