PEOPLE, POLICIES AND CONSERVING BIODIVERSITY IN THE LA SELVA BIOLOGICAL CORRIDOR; AN INTEGRATED LAND CHANGE ASSESSMENT OF COSTA RICA’S ENVIRONMENTAL S

Land change remains a persistent threat to retaining forest habitats important to biodiversity. Costa Rica’s Environmental Service Payments (ESP) to private land owners aims to protect watersheds, biodiversity, sequester carbon and maintain aesthetic values. Land owners have received >US$50 million to establish and maintain forest on >250,000 hectares since 1996. Incentives are coupled with policies prohibiting forest conversion to other land uses. Our case study in an 8,000 km2 biological corridor evaluated ESP effectiveness at maintaining forest cover. Landsat TM images were used to compare land cover changes before and after ESP. A biophysical model of tropical forest types from 144 forest plots was integrated with image analysis to enhance change detection among habitats. Multistage interviews with ESP participants, non-participants, and regional experts were used to ascertain socioeconomic and policy factors influencing land use decisions and ESP program participation. Preliminary assessments show fragmentation greatest within forest types associated with high soil fertility and low topography, but has decreased significantly overall since 1996. Forest area increases were mainly through recruitment of exotic tree plantations with implications for the changing character of forest habitat in the corridor. Interviews suggest that forest establishment and retention were positively influenced by ESP and negatively by agricultural export price increases.

SESNIE, STEVEN E.; Morse, Wayde C.; Finegan, Bryan; Harvey, Celia A.; Gessler, Paul E.; Hollenhorst, Steve. University of Idaho College of Natural Resources, Department of Forest Resources, Moscow, Idaho 83844, USA, sesesnie((AT))lycos.com and El Centro Agronomico Tropical de Educación y Enseñanza (CATIE) Escuela de Postgrado Sede Central 7170, Turrialba, Costa Rica.