Thanks to the outpouring of support we received at the end of 2021, we were able to use the money raised for our Land Purchase Fund to send our partner, the Monteverde Conservation League (MCL), a grant allowing them to purchase and protect 46.9 acreage of previously privately-owned Rainforest land (the Máximo Ramírez property).
MCL has had its eye on this piece of land for a while. The purchase of this land was necessary and strategic because it previously acted as an "island" within the Children's Eternal Rainforest (CER). Because of Costa Rican law, this meant that anyone visiting the privately owned land could cut through the Children's Eternal Rainforest, whether on foot, horse, or motorized vehicle. Now that this land is now under MCL's ownership, third parties who visited this land will no longer do so, reducing opportunities for trespassing, poaching, and other illicit activities in this area of the Rainforest.
The land outlined in red is the Máximo Ramírez property. The land shaded in green is land already owned and protected by the Monteverde Conservation League. The Caño Negro River (shown in the second picture) will now mark the division between the Children's Eternal Rainforest and the neighboring privately-owned property.
If Friends of the Rainforest hadn't been able to supply this grant, and MCL had missed this opportunity to acquire this land, it's likely that it would have been sold off to a tourism and development group, and nothing could have stopped them from paving a road directly through the CER for easier access to the property.
This purchase is a huge win for MCL and Friends of the Rainforest - and that's not even mentioning all of the incredible conservation value this property has in terms of the forest habitat, biodiversity, and water resources it protects, as well as the potential for reforestation and habitat restoration of pastured areas.
Learn more about our granting program here: https://www.friendsoftherainforest.org/grants