In the Bocas Del Toro province of Panama, Chiquita’s community partnership is helping conserve mangrove forests, lagoons and beaches of the protected San San Pond Sak Wetland reserve. The reserve is located close to banana farms on the Caribbean coast, near beaches where a sea turtle protection initiative has safely released more than 30,000 leatherback turtle hatchlings to the sea.
The Association of Costa Rican Banana Farmers (Corbana), a German retailer Rewe and the Development Corporation of the German Government (GIZ) are working together to help raise environmental awareness and responsibility among the local communities through conservation and education programs. The project has purchased and donated 150 hectares of pastureland to be returned to natural habitat and reforested former cattle pastures with native tree species adapted to the wetland conditions in collaboration with the local community organization Aamvecona (Asociación de Amigos y Vecinos de la Costa y la Naturaleza).
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- This article was amended 31 October. A previous version stated that 20,000 leatherback turtle hatchlings were released, and 120 hectares of pastureland were returned to natural habitat. In fact, 30,000 leatherback turtle hatchlings were released, and 150 hectares of pastureland were returned to natural habitat.
