Cloudbridge,
situated in a beautiful and remote cloud forest on one of the
highest mountains in Central America, is a private nature reserve in
Costa Rica. It was created to preserve and reforest
an
important gap in the cloud forest adjoining the Chirripó
Pacifico river on the slopes of Mt. Chirripó. The pictures above
show mountainous parts of Cloudbridge adjoining the primary forest of
Chirripó National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The
reserve has three purposes:
- To preserve
a precious part of the tropical world, forever.
Cloudbridge
includes an important piece of existing natural cloud forest with an
enormous diversity of tropical trees, birds, insects and other flora
and fauna. The property includes a significant portion of riparian and
high-altitude mountainside forest. Cloud
forest foliage and epiphytes have a unique capacity to capture moisture
in the air. Thus
through their impact on the air, water and soil quality, flood control,
climate
patterns, and numerous known and unknown plant and animal species,
cloud forests profoundly affect life surrounding them and life
around the planet
- To
help rebuild a deforested part
of the tropical cloud forest, thus
bridging a gap between two mountainside forests. As
well as protecting the existing forest and allowing natural regrowth,
we are planting a mix of native trees, thousands of them, to
turn pasture back into forest.
Restoring and
preserving the native forest protects the biodiversity for
which
the neotropical forests, and those in Costa Rica in particular,
are so famous. Deforestation is causing the loss of about 100 species
every day -- 4 species per hour. Preserving forest and planting trees
also helps offset air pollution. As they grow, trees absorb
carbon dioxide from the air. This project is but a tiny
step to counteract global climate change, but every tree matters. A small part of the reserve is
dedicated
to "sustainable forestation," which means creating a permanent forest
that will
generate economic value for the future of the Reserve.
- Research and Education -- to understand the cloud forest
ecology, and to observe the variety of flora and fauna.
From its beginnings
as a reforestation project, Cloudbridge has evolved into an ongoing
series of studies of the cloud forest. Some work is repeated year after
year, to gauge the progress of the forest's recovery -- examples
include the biomonitoring, plantation and moss recovery studies. Others
focus on a particular aspect of the flora or fauna -- one study, for
example, sought to measure the diversity of bromeliad species in the
primary forest and in open areas.
A further
objective is to allow people to visit
-- to see the progress of the plantation and to hike the Reserve's
steep slopes and enjoy the views of the valleys and waterfalls. Hiking
trails have been laid out and, with volunteers and villagers’
assistance, are gradually being improved.
Only by
experiencing
it, can people truly gain an understanding how precious are our
diminishing
tropical forests. We offer opportunities for volunteers and scientific researchers where they
can
contribute to the well-being of the planet by helping to plant trees
and conduct research studies. The type of research needed is on the
ecology of the area, rehabilitation of pasture land, water quality, the
different species of plant, animal and bird life, from the lowly slime
molds to the resplendent quetzal, the
most glorious of birds to grace the forests of Central America.
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©2009 Ian Giddy. All rights reserved.
Last updated 12 March 2009
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