La Reserva Forest Foundation is a non-profit, volunteer, charitable organization dedicated to forest regeneration and preservation of the world’s vital indigenous tropical rain forests. La Reserva began in 1998 on a 100-acre dairy farm overlooking Lake Arenal, in Guanacaste province, Costa Rica. In the early years we planted tree bridges (biological corridors) to connect the remnant forests that remained on our farm, noting that animals could then move from one stand of trees to other forested areas without exposing themselves to predators on the ground. This inspired us in 1998, to allow the forests to regenerate naturally on the entire property, creating a private forest reserve.
La Reserva is dedicated to reversing the widespread conversion of tropical forest to farmland, recognizing that we are the “gardeners” of the Earth, not just exploiters and consumers. We call our work of forest regeneration “oxygen farming” because forests produce oxygen and absorb CO2, thus helping to curb global warming. This is the symbiotic relationship we share with trees, they breath in CO2 and exhale oxygen, we inhale oxygen and exhale CO2, no to mention all of our technology’s CO2 emissions.
The critical importance of the La Reserva Forest Foundation lies not only in its reversal of deforestation but also in its ability to create a hospitable environment for species forced out by over 80 years of farming and 20 years of real estate development by allowing forest regeneration. In this premontane wet forest habitat on the Continental Divide, the forest regenerates in as little as eight years, allowing biological corridors to quickly link former isolated patches of forest. These corridors provide necessary habitat for resident species and welcome back species unseen in this area for generations. In addition, they offer opportunities for endangered species to thrive and migrate, thus enlarging the gene pool and reducing the dangers of inbreeding.
If you plant it they will come! Indigenous tropical forest regeneration is NOT tree farming, which is a monoculture for profit, where trees are clear-cut, leaving soils exposed to future degradation. La Reserva’s native forest restoration philosophy has proven sound: our reserve now teems with more and larger families of Mantled Howler Monkeys, sloths and other forest mammals, dozens of species of reptiles and amphibians and over 160 species of tropical birds. As the forest grows and thickens, we are rewarded daily by the ever-increasing abundance of life, in this, one of the most biologically diverse corners of the planet.
La Reserva proves that it is not too late to save the Earth’s tropical forests and the life that depends upon them, us included. As our projects grow, we connect with people wanting to participate and similar organizations in the tropics to create a healing green belt around the world.
We also work with the Maleku indigenous people (see Maleku Project page) to use our forest regeneration techniques to restore their long lost forest habitat, creating forest corridors through pastureland to connect isolated forest islands, preserving existing forests via payments for environmental services to landowners and are expanding this ideology globally.