As part of its mission to honor the communities and land from which its bananas grow, Chiquita has committed to an additional 10 years of protection to the Nogal Reserve, according to the latest executive decree by the government of Costa Rica.
The Nogal Reserve was established as a Private Wildlife Refuge as the result of a joint effort between Chiquita and a portion of its clients and is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. To honor the reserve's longevity and accomplishments, Chiquita plans to continue long-term conservation of the area, promote environmental education for local communities, improve the local communities' quality of life and continue to be a model in the banana industry for biodiversity conservation.
Chiquita has been working for nearly two decades on forest connectivity, biodiversity conservation and scientific research. Created in 2004 to be an alliance of biodiversity, the Nogal Reserve is located between the Sucio River and a banana plantation in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, and is comprised of three fragments of forest connected by the Nogal-La Selva Local Biological Corridor. This connectivity is essentially the "highway" between the forest and private protection areas which promotes long-term conservation and biodiversity.
"Pledging an additional 10 years of protection to the Nogal Reserve is yet another way that shows that Chiquita is truly committed to protecting biodiversity," said Peter Stedman, Chiquita's Director of Sustainability. "This decree allows Chiquita to continue making strides towards positively impacting the environment that cultivates our bananas, while simultaneously aiming to be a model of cooperation in the banana industry for biodiversity conservation."
With support from the German Society for International Cooperation, Costa Rican government Rainforest Alliance and some of our clients, Chiquita has implemented a variety of sustainability initiatives to support environmental conservation and education, resulting in the protection of more than 720 plant and 330 animal species within the reserve's 257 acres of land.
This decree is the latest of many ways in which Chiquita has committed to upholding its commitment to sustainability. For nearly three decades, Chiquita has led the industry in sustainability practices through its "Behind the Blue Sticker" approach to business. To learn more about Chiquita's environmental efforts, check out the brand's Sustainability Report, which spotlights both its longstanding initiatives that support sustainability from farm to table, including its "30BY30" Carbon Reduction Program.
For more information:
Chiquita
www.chiquita.com