Ecosystem-Based Adaptation in the Reventazón River Basin, Costa Rica

Description

Hosted by the NBI Global Resource Centre, the World Resources Institute, the Government of Costa Rica, the EbA Fund, Initiative 20×20 and Cities4Forest this webinar unpacked the findings of a new report, which assessed the investment case for ecosystem-based adaptation measures in the Reventazón river basin in Costa Rica.

Climate change and land degradation are posing risks to Costa Rica’s hydropower supply. The Reventazón River Basin, to the east of the country’s Central Valley, is a critical nexus of water, food, and energy in Costa Rica. Home to 500,000 inhabitants, the basin supplies the region’s eight hydropower dams (generating 38% of national energy), and the capital city, San Jose, with 25% of its drinking water.

The Reventazón region is also a productive agricultural area, supplying 85% of the country’s vegetable crops. Nature also thrives in the 25 protected wilderness areas around the basin, including more than 250,000 hectares of forests (almost the size of Hong Kong), which play a fundamental role in protecting water resources.

Restoring the ecosystem is crucial to stabilize hydrology and ensure a reliable water and energy supply. This study assesses the benefits and costs of a proposed pilot project to support reforestation, agroforestry, and the development of contoured croplands, which would help to regulate water flow, reduce erosion, and increase agricultural production.

Overall, we found this nature-based approach would generate a total net benefit of USD 3.17 million, with each dollar invested in NBI yielding USD 1.23 in returns for society. In this study, we also explored a more ambitious scenario, scaling the NBI in the pilot site to a basin-wide approach representing nearly twice the number of NBI activities. Here, we find USD 6.31 million net benefit for society over 30 years.

In this webinar, we discussed the findings of the report, taking you through our approach to cover: