Forest officials from India visited CATIE

• The delegation visited the international coffee collection, the agroforestry systems trial in coffee, the goat module, and the seed bank.

On September 21, 2023. Delegation of 16 forest officials, specialists in natural resource management from various regions of India, visited CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) with an interest in learning about Costa Rica and the region's success and lessons learned in the areas of payment for environmental services and eco-restoration systems.

Carlos Reiche Caal, the coordinator and organizer of the institution's visit, mentioned that this group represented the USAID - INDIA (United States Agency for International Development) and the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change of India.

"We had planned this visit for the year 2020, and the main objective is to understand how water, soil, forest, and agroforestry basin restoration is carried out, how civil society and communities participate, what contributions policies and finances make to support these government initiatives, and what the legal framework entails, among many other factors," Reiche explained.

Carlos Araya, Director of the Office of Green Business Development and Strategic Alliances, extended a warm welcome to the campus, expressing gratitude for the time they took to visit and their interest in understanding the institution's work in the region.

Following this, Leida Mercado, Director of the Research Division, provided an extensive presentation on the impact, scope, and future outlook of CATIE. Subsequently, a field tour was conducted, led by Rolando Cerda, Coordinator of the Agroforestry and Coffee and Cocoa Genetic Improvement Unit.

The delegation visited the international coffee collection, the agroforestry systems trial for coffee, the goat module, and the seed bank, concluding the afternoon with several meetings in the Henry Wallace building's former directors' hall. There, they received another presentation by Roger Madrigal, leader of the Environmental Economics and Sustainable Agribusiness Unit.

"The visit by the Indian forest officials also aimed to closely connect them with institutions such as the National Forestry Financing Fund (FONAFIFO) and the Foundation for the Development of the Central Volcanic Cordillera (FUNDECOR), and we selected CATIE because it has been a key factor in the preparation, analysis of agroforestry systems, and professional development," said Carlos Reiche.

"They are very happy to come to Costa Rica and to CATIE. They are impressed by what they have seen and the work accomplished so far and how it has all been built," concluded the visit coordinator.

"CATIE, as a regional institution, opens its doors to organizations and governments from other regions of the world to share our experiences and methodologies. Strengthening the capacities of relevant actors for sustainable development anywhere in the world is part of our DNA," noted Carlos Araya.

The visit concluded with a discussion panel involving members of CATIE's technical team who elaborated on concepts related to Environmental Services Payment, Ecosystem Restoration, Climate Change, Agroforestry Systems, among other topics.