Conservation International

Conservation International is working with the government on the development of a payment mechanism for mangrove ecosystems’ services including blue carbon, where coastal communities that support management of their land or watersheds for the benefit of climate mitigation are compensated.

The project prioritises work with local women groups in the Gulf of Nicoya, including the group of women from the community of Montero, in Chira Island. Working with and empowering women in mangrove conservation work that relates to their day-to-day reality and livelihoods is a powerful vehicle to approach and have a positive influence over entire communities.

For over 30 years, Conservation International has been using science and policy to protect nature, working to spotlight and secure the critical benefits that nature provides to humanity. Since their inception, they have helped to protect more than 6 million square kilometres of land and sea across more than 70 countries.

Conservation International protects nature for the benefit of humanity. Through science, policy, fieldwork, and finance, it spotlights and secures the most important places in nature for the climate, for biodiversity and for people. With offices in 30 countries and projects in more than 100 countries, it partners with governments, companies, civil society, Indigenous peoples and local communities to help people and nature thrive together.

Our Partnership

The restoration project supported by the Swarovski Foundation, aims to assist Costa Rica's actions to achieve its decarbonization plan goals by restoring and protecting mangroves in service of climate change mitigation and the wellbeing of people, primarily women. This includes the establishment of female-led mangrove nurseries, replanting in degraded areas and training on mangrove restoration, and identification of alternative livelihoods opportunities linked to mangrove conservation.

The Gulf of Nicoya is the most important and productive estuary in Costa Rica, and one of the largest estuaries in Central America. For more than a century, fisheries in the Gulf have been the main source of food and income for communities along the coast. The 75,000-hectare Gulf of Nicoya is lined by over 20,000 hectares of mangroves, which play a key role in the Gulf’s ecosystems, nutrient cycling, and biodiversity.