How Chiquita Is Advancing Its Conservation Efforts

In an effort to honor the communities and land from which its bananas grow, global produce company Chiquita is extending its commitment to protect the Nogal Reserve, a private wildlife refuge that was established as part of a joint effort between Chiquita and some of its clients. 

The Nogal Reserve is located between the Sucio River and a banana plantation in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiqui, Costa Rica, and comprises three fragments of forest. The area is representative of Chiquita’s 20 years of work toward promoting forest connectivity, which the company says is essentially the “highway” between the forest and private protection areas which promotes long-term conservation and biodiversity.

Chiquita plans to continue its conservation efforts in the area for an additional 10 years, and will also promote environmental education for local communities, improve quality of life in those communities, and continue to be a model for biodiversity conservation in the banana industry.

“Pledging an additional 10 years of protection to the Nogal Reserve is yet another way that shows that Chiquita is truly committed to protecting biodiversity,” said Peter Stedman, Chiquita’s director of sustainability. “This decree allows Chiquita to continue making strides towards positively impacting the environment that cultivates our bananas, while simultaneously aiming to be a model of cooperation in the banana industry for biodiversity conservation.”

Chiquita’s sustainability initiatives, in partnership with  the German Society for International Cooperation, Costa Rican government Rainforest Alliance and certain clients, have resulted in the protection of more than 720 plant and 330 animal species within the Nogal Reserve’s 257 acres of land.