Forest & Private Land Conservation

This  program is  designed  to  identify  the  most  strategic  and  important  parcels  of land  and   determine  the  best  way  of  securing  their  protection into  the  future. The  Path  of  the  Tapir  is   comprised  primarily  of  private  lands  and  thus,  its future  success  is  completely  dependent  on   our  ability  to engage  private  land owners.  There  are  a  few  factors  that  are  currently  working  in   our  favor.  First, we  are  fortunate  that  there  are  some  relatively  large parcels  of  land  (300  ha - 500  ha),  owned  by  individuals.    Second,  in  many  cases  in  which  a  developer bought  a  large  tract   of  land  a  few  years  ago, these individuals  are  highly motivated  to  sell  at  significantly  discounted   prices  because  the  market  has declined  and  the  cost  of  maintaining  these  properties  is too high.

There  are  many  economic  and  sustainability  advantages  to  our  focusing  on private  lands.  There  are  multiple  government  incentives (e.g.,  PSAs  and environmental  easements)  designed   to  motivate  private  land  owners  to  conserve. In  addition,  ASANA  has  been  approached  by  numerous   landowners that  wish  to donate  their  land  to  ASANA  to  be  maintained  as  a  conservation  area  in perpetuity.    Long-­‐term  streams  of  revenue  could  be  secured  by  ASANA using donated   properties  through  PSA  payments,  lease,  or  sale  of  small  parcels  that are  not  so  important  from   a  biodiversity  conservation  perspective.

Based  on  previous  work  that  ASANA  has  done,  we  will:

Identify  a  series  of  “anchor  lots”  that  will  serve  as  the  backbone  of  connectivity from   one  end  of  the  corridor  to another. This  work  requires  a  desk  review  as well  as   extensive  time  in  the  field  visually  inspecting and ground-­‐truthing prospective anchor lots.

Redesign  and  establish  a  program  of  Payments  for  Environmental  Services  (PSA) with  FONAFIFO. ASANA  has  begun  negotiations  with FONAFIFO  to  revisit  the concept  of  a   quota  of  land  area  to  be  managed  by  ASANA.  By   participating  in this  program,  landowners  would  be  guaranteed  PSA payment  from   FONAFIFO.   In addition,  landowners  who  have  a  PSA  on   their  property  are  automatically exempt from  paying  municipal  taxes  on  that  land.

Develop  a  program  of  environment  easements  in  the  Corridor. This  is  an  instrument   poorly  understood  in  the  Path  of  the  Tapir. Easements confer  many advantages  to  landowners  that  have  no  intention  of  developing  their  land  in  the  first  place.  For   example,  owners  who  have an  environment  easement  on  their property  are  considered   first  by  FONAFIFO  to  be  included  in  the  PSA  program.  In  addition,  we  are starting  to  see   an  increase  in  the  relative  market value of  easement  properties  over  non-­‐easement   properties.    We  believe  this  is occurring  because  many  people  attracted  to  buy  in  the   Corridor  do  so  because  of its  natural  beauty.  A  conservation  easement  virtually guarantees  that  the  parcel  will  be  conserved  into  the  future  and  not  further  developed.

Develop  a  program  of  certification  for  key  properties. We  have  written  a  document   entitled  “Principles  of  Sustainable  Development  in  the Path  of  the  Tapir Biological  Corridor.” These  principles  are  designed  to  help  developers  develop  their  land  in  the   most  sustainable  way possible.   But  in  addition  to  some enlightened  developers,  there  are  individuals  and  corporations  that  are  truly  trying  to  conserve  and restore  habitat.   These  include  the  many  private  wildlife refuges  found  in  the  Corridor.    We  propose   developing  a  certification  program that  will  confer  the  “Good  Housekeeping  seal  of   approval”  equivalent  –  the ASANA  logo  –  on  those  properties  that  truly  contribute  to conservation  in  the  area.  We  hope  that  the  value  of  this  certification  to  landowners  is   the public  perception  that  their  properties  are “green”  in  the  eyes  of  ASANA  and  that   buyers  would  pay  a  premium  for  this  certification.

Establish  and  manage  a  land  trust.

As  mentioned  above,  individuals  have  approached   ASANA  to  see  if  our  organization  would  accept  a parcel  of  land  to be  managed  for   conservation.    For  a  variety  of  reason,  having  ASANA  receive  land  is  currently  not   feasible.   However, we  are  in  the  process  of  founding a sister  organization  that  will  be   able  to  securely  receive  and  manage  private  lands  for  conservation. This  organization,   FunDanta,  will  become  a  land  trust that  collaborates  with  (and  possibly  contracts)   ASANA  on  PSAs,  easements,  and certification.  It  will  allow  ASANA  to  maintain  its   independence,  and  it  will provide  a  mechanism  to  legally  protect  private  lands  into  the future.    We  hope  to  attract  enlightened  foreign  investors  to  purchase  currently   discounted parcels  of  lands  and  place  them  with FunDanta. We  are  also  exploring  a  variety  of  instruments  that  will  permit  us  to  generate  income  from  this  program  in support  of  ASANA’s ongoing  work,  including  leasing  property  for  conservation  purposes.   Finally,  we  hope  to  be  able  to  attract  an  individual  who  has extensive experience  in   establishing  land  trusts  to  set  one  up  in  the  Corridor.