At the 64th meeting of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council in Brazil, international funds were approved to develop projects in Costa Rica.
Initiatives such as “Accelerating the transition to zero net emissions, the nature-positive economy in Costa Rica,” “Beyond 30×30: ensuring sustainable marine systems in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor (ETPMC),” “Project GloLitter: Establishing partnerships to assist developing countries in addressing the problem of marine plastic debris from offshore activities,” and “Circular Solutions to Plastic Pollution Project” will be financed.
The first project focused on agricultural landscapes, bioenergy, and Industry (Netzero). It has a budget of US$10 million and will directly support Costa Rica in implementing its National Decarbonization Plan (NDP). It will also promote innovative technologies and approaches to accelerate a socially just and gender-sensitive positive transition to zero net-emission industrial and agricultural sectors.
Meanwhile, the second project has a regional budget of $16,000,000. It aims to ensure long-term sustainability in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) by strengthening the regional governance platform of the CMAR (Eastern Tropical Pacific Marine Corridor) agreed upon by the four member countries, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Colombia, and Panama.
It will also foster investments in the blue economy and promote conservation efforts that will strengthen the main marine protected areas (MPAs) that are part of the region comprising the four member countries.
This transforming project leads the first regional ocean governance and sustainability effort in the Western Hemisphere and will provide a model for others to follow. It will strengthen regional governance by improving regional corridor management, promoting blue economy initiatives to sustain CMAR conservation efforts, and strengthening regional monitoring and evaluation.
On the other hand, GloLitter responds to the country’s waste management problems caused by ships arriving at national ports. It will mainly benefit coastal populations and fishing communities.
Additionally, training will be provided to the populations on raising awareness of marine pollution and using plastic and fishing gear to prevent them from ending up in the sea.
These funds will allow Costa Rica to see these actions implemented and contribute to eradicating marine pollution.
Finally, the project that involves circular solutions to plastic pollution will generate global environmental benefits by discouraging using non-returnable beverage containers. Reducing plastic imports into Costa Rica will create environmental benefits by reducing threats to biodiversity from leaked plastics.
“Without a doubt, these funds drive projects with concrete objectives that incorporate climate and decarbonization strategies, blue economy, and biodiversity, channeling efforts towards a single objective: to protect the natural resources of the country and the planet for the benefit of current and future generations,” said Costa Rica’s Minister of Environment and Energy, Franz Tattenbach.
