Huaravito Reserve: Ecosystem Restoration Monitoring

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by Randall Santamaria, Huaravito Reserve / Sacred Natural Site

Toyopan Sacred Forest / Huaravito Reserve

Randall Santamaria - Huaravito Reserve

Our reserve is a private protected area for the sustainable use of natural resources and the preservation of our sacred natural site, located in the Montes del Aguacate Biological Corridor of the Central Volcanic Mountain Range Biosphere Reserve in Costa Rica.

Last update: 26 Nov 2023

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Contexto

Défis à relever

Increasing temperatures

Land and Forest degradation

Loss of Biodiversity

Ecosystem loss

Lack of access to long-term funding

Lack of alternative income opportunities

Changes in socio-cultural context

Unemployment / poverty

Tree cover and biodiversity loss.
Climate change effects.
Post pandemic economic impact.

Scale of implementation

Local

Ecosystems

Tropical evergreen forest

Tema

Access and benefit sharing

Habitat fragmentation and degradation

Species management

Adaptation

Mitigation

Connectivity / transboundary conservation

Ecosystem services

Restoration

Sustainable financing

Gender mainstreaming

Food security

Health and human wellbeing

Peace and human security

Sustainable livelihoods

Local actors

Traditional knowledge

Land management

Protected and conserved areas management planning

Science and research

Culture

Tourism

Ubicación

Piedades Sur - San Ramon, San Ramón, Alajuela 20205, Costa Rica

10.104813, -84.564749

Central America

Procesar

Summary of the process

Both building blocks interact directly with each other, by providing data in situ about forest health, biodiversity richness and ecosystem services. With this information we can make planning and take decisions about our Ecosystem Restoration Monitoring Program and follow up the effectiveness of our Management Plan yearly (please review our Management Plan on the link provided).

Building Blocks

Mobile Apps

The use of mobile Apps such as eBird, iNaturalist, Merlin Bird ID, provocated a positive impact for us on monitoring ecosystem and biodiversity.

Enabling factors

Community engagement and environmental education.
Support of international organizations such as Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Environment for the Americas.

Lesson learned

Local knowledge and local communities are very important for monitoring process and ecosystem conservation/restoration.

Resources

Huaravito Reserve on iNaturalist

Restor Platform

Thanks to the Restor.eco platform, we analyze the restoration potential of our reserve, monitoring changes over time with satellite images and geospatial data, thus knowing the local biodiversity and its characteristics, current and potential soil carbon, as well as other variables such as patterns of land cover, soil acidity, or annual precipitation, using machine learning, artificial intelligence, and scientific units of measure.

Enabling factors

Access to spatial information.
Updated scientific data and resources.
Increases the impact, scale, and sustainability of restoration efforts.

Lesson learned

Restor is accelerating the global restoration movement by connecting everyone, everywhere to local restoration.
Restor connects people to scientific data, supply chains, funding, and each other to increase the impact, scale, and sustainability of restoration efforts.
Is not just about trees or forests, but also about grasslands, wetlands, coastal habitats and all the other places that support life on Earth.

Resources

Huaravito Reserve on Restor

Impacts

Conserving biodiversity | Counteracting climate change | Cultural/spiritual significance | Enhancing ecosystem processes | Regulating ecosystem services

Beneficiaries

Quebradillas town, Potrerillos town, Piedades Sur town (population of 20.000 people)

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG 1 – No poverty

SDG 2 – Zero hunger

SDG 3 – Good health and well-being

SDG 4 – Quality education

SDG 5 – Gender equality

SDG 6 – Clean water and sanitation

SDG 7 – Affordable and clean energy

SDG 8 – Decent work and economic growth

SDG 9 – Industry, innovation and infrastructure

SDG 10 – Reduced inequalities

SDG 11 – Sustainable cities and communities

SDG 12 – Responsible consumption and production

SDG 13 – Climate action

SDG 14 – Life below water

SDG 15 – Life on land

SDG 16 – Peace, justice and strong institutions

SDG 17 – Partnerships for the goals

Story

Biomonitoring bird species with kids

Randall Santamaria - Huaravito Reserve

Nuestra Reserva Huaravito es un sueño personal hecho realidad, ya que durante muchos años trabajé en diferentes horarios en diferentes empresas, lo que me ocasionó una serie de enfermedades físicas y mentales: insomnio, estrés y ansiedad.

Ahora puedo vivir en medio de la naturaleza, conservando el bosque y monitoreando la biodiversidad, enseñando a los visitantes sobre la importancia de conservar y regenerar los ecosistemas, para nuestro propio bienestar y el de las futuras generaciones.

También es para mi de gran satisfacción capacitarme y aprender constantemente sobre el uso de tecnologías, información espacial y aplicaciones móviles para generar datos que pueden ser monitoreados y reportados en tiempo real, además son de bajo costo y pueden ser replicados por personas en todo el mundo.