Mainstreaming biodiversity into food value chains

State of implementation/results

• 139 producers in both implementing countries are implementing biodiversity action plans, 27 others are reviewing the biodiversity management on their plantations using the Biodiversity Check Agrícola and will soon define their action plans as well. In total, the project reaches producers with a total area of 46,834 hectares. A digital biodiversity performance app for monitoring the action plans ("BPApp") is being used by the producers and facilitates the documentation of progress (further information: meteo.tech/…).
• In Costa Rica, the project is working with the Sistema Nacional de Areas de Conservación (SINAC) to develop a state award (Insignia) for farms with particularly biodiversity-friendly production. The prerequisite is the successful implementation of an action plan based on the Biodiversity Check Agrícola (BCA). Following an exchange on this experience, the Ministry of the Environment, Ministerio de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (MiMARENA) in the Dominican Republic has now also shown interest in introducing such a seal.
• Consumer awareness campaigns on biodiversity issues in the cultivation of bananas and pineapples are being carried out with the supermarket chains "Automercado" in Costa Rica and "Nacional" in the Dominican Republic. Automercado has built its own campaign landing page with the project: dejahuellaenlabiodiversidad.com/… Both supermarkets require the supplier companies of these fruits to implement action plans based on the Biodiversity Check Agricola.
• The project works with all market sustainability standards to improve biodiversity conservation in the cultivation of tropical fruits and specifically bananas and pineapples. There are cooperations with Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade and Global G.A.P. in consumer sensitization or in the application of tools developed in the project. Together with Lidl, the project's implementation partner Global Nature Fund developed the first biodiversity-focused standard for conventional fruit and vegetable cultivation. It exists as a separate module in the standard system of Global G.A.P. and is currently being applied for the first time for tropical fruits on a pilot basis in pineapple cultivation in Costa Rica.
• The Action Alliance for Sustainable Bananas (ABNB) and the project organized a joint expert event on the topic of biodiversity and climate protection for a banana cultivation of the future (www.presseportal.de/…) at the Fruit Logistica trade fair on 08.04.2022.
• At the Forum Nachhaltigkeit during the Biofach trade fair in July 27, 2022, representatives of the project gave a presentation on "Sustainable sourcing of agricultural products: Why biodiversity must be a key task in the food sector" and, together with the biodynamic farmers' association Demeter, shed light on how biodiversity-friendly supply chains for bananas and pineapples can succeed (www.presseportal.de/…).-- Action plans for biodiversity protection at landscape level now exist for two biocorridors in Costa Rica and one in the Dominican Republic. Modules ranging from EUR 5,000 to EUR 30,000 are currently being defined from which value chain actors interested in investing can choose. The targeted improved linkages between ecosystems in productive landscapes include, among others, the Caño Negro wetland in Costa Rica, valuable for Central America, habitat of rare migratory birds, as well as the Jura river course in the Dominican Republic, with linkages to relevant mangrove forests that are also home to manatees.

Latest Update:
04/2023