MEP César Luena Visits the Five Great Forests of Mesoamerica
On 20 July 2025, MEP César Luena, a member of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, visited Costa Rica and observed work being undertaken through the EU-funded 5 Great Forests of Mesoamerica Initiative.
The 5 Great Forests of Mesoamerica initiative is a regional partnership working to protect the five last remaining intact forests from Mexico to Colombia. These forests are vital to the region’s people, biodiversity, culture, livelihoods, and for climate resilience. However, they are being lost at an alarming rate: in the last 22 years, three have been reduced by almost a quarter of their size. Illegal cattle ranching is responsible for more than 90% of recent deforestation. Poverty, drug trafficking, organized crime and the impacts of climate change compound the threats to Mesoamerica's 5 Great Forests and communities.
Through EU funding, WCS collaborates with the Central American Commission for Environment and Development (CCAD), Re:wild, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, Mesoamerican Alliance of Peoples and Forests (AMPB), governments, civil society, researchers, and Indigenous Peoples to reverse deforestation and transform food and land-use systems in ways that address climate change, conserve biodiversity, and improve local livelihoods. Read more
To achieve the resilience of the 5 Great Forests, the following objectives have been set:
- Address the main causes of deforestation by formulating policies that discourage them.
- Reforest and restore areas degraded by cattle ranching to maintain large contiguous tracts of forest.
- Align policies and improve governance to strengthen law enforcement and eliminate illegal livestock from key areas.
- Strengthen sustainable livelihood alternatives in conjunction with communities, where gender-sensitive activities are involved in economic development models.
Left: César Luena, Laura Valverde (SINAC), and Jimmy Barrantes (CRWF), during a visit to Los Quetzales National Park. Right Forest landscape in Los Quetzales National Park.
In Costa Rica, the initiative is implemented by the Costa Rica Wildlife Foundation (CRWF). The project supports community-based organizations in the Cerro de la Muerte area and Indigenous communities in the La Amistad region (Cordillera de Talamanca), aiming to strengthen local governance, environmental stewardship, and community well-being.
Key results include:
- Improved participation and coordination among Pro-Quetzal Kabek project members through the establishment of a defined organizational structure.
- Strengthened environmental monitoring system.
- Expanded implementation of SMART tools in Indigenous territories and communities within the La Amistad region, supporting adaptive and effective management.
- Establishment of procedures for monitoring and evaluating key wildlife species at the community level.
- Implementation of an environmental education program and exchange of community development strategies.
Left: Resplendent Quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) in the Cerro de la Muerte forest. Right: Trail at Los Quetzales National Park.
