Sixaola

IDB Finances Sustainable Development along Panamanian Border « Costa Rica Real Estate Investment

DB Finances Sustainable Development along Panamanian Border

August 4, 2008 by Jennifer

“President Oscar Arias this week signed a $9.2 million loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) that will be used to finance sustainable development projects in the Sixaola River Basin on the Panama border. Costa Rica will contribute an additional $2.8 million to the effort, for a total budget of $12 million. (The Tico Times, July 1 8)

The Sixaola basin covers 2890 square kilometers (about 1115 square miles) stretching from the Caribbean coast to the Talamanca mountains in Costa Rica and the Central Mountain range on the Panamanian side. The area encompasses one of the last large tracts of nearly untouched forest in Central America, as well as coastal ecosystems such as wetlands and mangrove swamps.

The project will support the adoption of production practices compatible with the conservation and sustainable use of water, soil and biodiversity. For example, local communities will be involved in improving the management of micro-watersheds. The initiative will also promote alternative income-generating activities based on the sustainable use of natural resources. Ecotourism and infrastructure improvements will also be a focus for the program, with one goal being to tap the economic development potential of the watershed by identifying alternatives for production diversification and opportunities to create permanent jobs.

“With a little help,” Arias said in the speech, “Sixaola can take advantage of its enormous tourism potential and transform it into employment for its young and earnings for its families.”