Fundecor

Assessments of different nature have been conducted by Fundecor and external parties in order to feed, plan, monitor and verify the proposed solutions. First, and foremost, as the main source of information to understand vulnerability in the area, Fundecor has developed a detailed forest cadaster and its corresponding database holds information on each of the forest owners to whom Fundecor has ever given technical assistance in a time span of 22 years; information includes forest management plans, Permanent Sample Plots register and biologic monitoring. Information has been the basis of field monitoring, reporting and verification systems protocols used nationally, and the basis of time series analysis that have help understand landscape effects of land use change. Complementarily, more than 300 structured forest conservation and management agreements exist with such forest owners, which have allowed identifying and capturing social perceptions regarding direct field practices. Furthermore, Fundecor?s forestry engineers operate under a dynamic outreach and extension trustful relationship with each of the forest owners, which provides a unique workforce to explore adaptation action implementation at a local level. For an effective vulnerability analysis of our area of work, such information has been studied by overcrossing valuable information generated by assessments carried out by several public institutions. Among these assessments we should stress out: i. the national census of 2011 which provides a complete socio-economical assessment of the local population, ii. economic assessment of the direct and indirect costs of Climate Change developed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock jointly with the Ministry of Planning, and iii. Periodically updates on projections of future climate scenarios published by the National Meteorological Institute. On top of this valuable information, Fundecor considers associated input from technical field evaluations carried out under by the Forest Stewardship Council and the Global Conservation Standard regular audits. Aside from the 300 plus network of forest owner, Fundecor participates actively in different community associations, from Touristic Chamber to the local municipality. Our participatory planning method includes the organization of workshops with local farmers and forest owners as well as outreach through site visits to potential beneficiaries of the project. These visits allow the development and research team to acquire and document under technical and scientific parameters, firsthand knowledge of the living conditions, threats and livelihoods of the rural community. Partners: Private landowners (farmers) + Direct beneficiaries of the project as recipients of the Payment of Environmental Services (PES), technical assistance in forest management and support in wood commercialization. + Own and conserve the forests + Potential to diversify livelihoods + Initiate rural development actions through the participation in needs identification workshops +Active participation in the planning and monitoring of the project MINAE + Ministry of Environment and Energy + Worked jointly with Fundecor in the conceptualization and legalization of the PES Program. + Leads environmental policies and strategies SINAC ? ACCVC - PNBC + Belongs to MINAE + Public administrator of National Protected Areas + Manages, with the administrative support of Fundecor, more than 200,000.00 ha of Protected Areas within the Mountain Volcanic Range Conservation Area + Actively participates in planning and monitoring of Fundecor?s Biodiversity Credit pilot project DCC + In charge of government?s Climate Change policies and strategies + History of with Fundecor goes back to the joint implementation efforts outlined by the CARFIX and OCIC processes. FONAFIFO + In charge of the administration of PES Program and Costa Rica?s REDD+ strategy Municipality of Sarapiqu� + Local Government GCS/FSC + Provides methodological mechanisms and endorsement for Fundecor?s work through performance and compliance audits. + Raises funds for project implementation in collaboration with Fundecor Fundecor looks back at more than 20 years of bridging the gap between sustainable development initiatives in a fragmented landscape. The construction of a Resilient Community in a Climate Smart Territory is a never ending process. A challenge for which the Municipality of Sarapiqu� is eager to tackle ? and become the first carbon neutral and climate resilient county in Costa Rica -, and for which Fundecor is ready to provide the technical and strategic guidance. Fundecor is a non-governmental organization with an interdisciplinary staff of more than 30 people composed of biologists, natural resources managers, educators, forestry engineers and development planners, all of them working under an integrated resource management model. The organization has a ?top of the notch? GIS lab and a 22 year old field based monitoring system, that consolidates the organization?s experience and role as innovative technical trusted advisor for resource management scheme, developed at field level, but replicated nationally, such as Costa Rica?s Environmental Services Payment system. In terms of administrative capacity, we have a 20+ year clean audit track following USAID standards.