CASE STUDY #27

Rancho Humo: Wetland Restoration Model in Costa Rica

Rancho Humo is a private reserve of 1068 hectares located in the lower basin of Tempisque River, one of the most important water systems in Costa Rica. It is surrounded by 30 000 hectares of protected areas, including Palo Verde National Park and Bar- ra Honda National Park and Wildlife Refuges Corral de Piedra, Mata Redonda and Cipancí. These wetlands were declared of International Importance under the Ramsar International Con- vention on the Palo Verde site.

The protection and restoration of wetlands in Rancho Humo is of vital importance to the area to function as a biological corridor between protected areas to be the interface between mangrove forests and the last holdouts of Mesoamerican tropical dry for- est located in the highlands and limestone hills of the Nicoya Peninsula. Rancho Humo is an important feeding site for birds, including jabiru mycteria and falco peregrinus, endangered spe- cies under CITES. Additionally, it adjoins Isla Pájaros, Central

America´s most important nesting colony of aquatic birds. The vast majority of fish species that feed the Gulf of Nicoya repro- duce in these wetlands, contributing to sustain the health of the highest fish production site in the country, which guarantees the preservation of employment in the region and food source for the entire country.

Since 2006 Rancho Humo is undergoing a restoration process of 800 hectares of wetlands; diminished decades ago by ex- tensive cattle ranching and subsistence agriculture held by the population of the area. This project has been conceived from its origins as a model sustainable development, involving commu- nities in the process of environmental education and the prin- ciples of sustainable tourism; contributing to one of the most important pillars of Costa Rica´s economy.

Source: M. Briceño, Rancho Humo, Personal communication, 2010.

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