Chiquita pledges additional 10 years of protection to nature reserve

Chiquita says it has committed to an additional 10 years of protection to the Nogal Reserve in Costa Rica, as part of its mission to honor the communities and land from which its bananas grow.

The Nogal Reserve, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, was established as a private wildlife refuge as the result of a joint effort between Chiquita and a portion of its clients, according to a news release. To honor the reserve’s longevity and accomplishments, Chiquita said it plans to continue long-term conservation of the area, promote environmental education for local communities, improve the local communities’ quality of life and continue to be a model in the banana industry for biodiversity conservation.

Chiquita has been working for nearly two decades on forest connectivity, biodiversity conservation and scientific research, according to the release. Created in 2004 to be an alliance of biodiversity, the Nogal Reserve is located between the Sucio River and a banana plantation in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, and is comprised of three fragments of forest connected by the Nogal-La Selva Local Biological Corridor. This connectivity is essentially the “highway” between the forest and private protection areas which promotes long-term conservation and biodiversity, the release said.

“Pledging an additional 10 years of protection to the Nogal Reserve is yet another way that shows that Chiquita is truly committed to protecting biodiversity,” Peter Stedman, Chiquita’s director of sustainability, said in the release. “This decree allows Chiquita to continue making strides towards positively impacting the environment that cultivates our bananas, while simultaneously aiming to be a model of cooperation in the banana industry for biodiversity conservation.”

With support from the German Society for International Cooperation, the Costa Rican government, the Rainforest Alliance and some of its clients, Chiquita said it has implemented a variety of sustainability initiatives to support environmental conservation and education, resulting in the protection of more than 720 plant and 330 animal species within the reserve’s 257 acres.

Chiquita said this decree is the latest of many ways that it has committed to upholding its commitment to sustainability. For nearly three decades, Chiquita has put in place sustainability practices through its “Behind the Blue Sticker” approach to business, according to the release.

To learn more about Chiquita’s environmental efforts, check out the brand’s Sustainability Report, which spotlights both its initiatives that support sustainability from farm to table, including its “30BY30” carbon reduction program, according to the release.