AstraZeneca and CATIE sign letter of agreement to develop AZ Forest initiative

• Az Forest is an initiative of global biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca that seeks to collaborate with local governments and non-profit organizations to support global reforestation.

August 8, 2022. A team from AstraZeneca, headed by Reinhold Gröbner, leader of the Financial Services Center for the Americas, visited CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) campus in Turrialba to sign a letter of intent to collaborate in the AZ Forest project, which will aim to manage and plant trees on the Center's commercial farm to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. AZ Forest, la cual tendrá por objetivo la administración y plantación de árboles en la finca comercial del Centro para mitigar los impactos negativos del cambio climático.

Pablo Imbach, coordinator of CATIE's Climate Action Unit, explained that this alliance will allow CATIE to continue with the restoration of forest ecosystems on the farm by planting native trees-starting on one hectare of CATIE's property-, an action that will contribute to the generation of knowledge for different target audiences of the institution, such as farmers, governments, students, among others.

Through a planting arrangement on degraded land it is possible to recover the ecosystem and provide ecosystem services such as soil recovery, water infiltration, improve conditions for pollinators and, at the same time, it will function as a connectivity area in the biological corridor to provide scenic beauty to the landscape.

The alliance with AstraZeneca contributes to the fulfillment of institutional objectives and generates a valuable experience of rapprochement with a private company that is aware of its role in the fight against climate change and that seeks to make visible the concept of one health on the planet.

The signing of the charter took place last July and was conducted by Pablo Imbach and Reinhold Gröbner, who concluded the event with a symbolic planting of trees on the selected site.