MLR conservation areas studied by the Humboldt Center

Conservation areas are so important to MLR that now a consultancy with the Humboldt Center seeks to analyze and improve them. The study will last for four months and began in November with the establishment of 16 permanent monitoring plots.

Each permanent monitoring plot was established on an area of one square kilometer and are being monitored to see what condition they are in. “Every year the development of that area will be evaluated. This will be done thanks to the fact that each tree in these plots is labeled with an aluminum plate and has a unique numbering so that it is not lost and can be easily identified to assess its development”, explained Abiecer Soza, head of Biodiversity Management of MLR.

MLR in accordance with conservation strategies applied worldwide

Marcos Castillo, Natural Resources officer of the Humboldt Center is in charge of directing the consultancy. He explains that, due to the impact of hurricanes Eta and Iota that occurred in November 2020, some of the protection areas functioned as a buffer and are a bit battered. “Therefore, based on the results of the studies, recommendations will be made for management, to enhance natural regeneration, efficient development, and so on,” he added.

Castillo pointed out that MLR’s work “is in line with what is done worldwide, with the conservation strategy, landscape restoration, sustainable and environmentally friendly companies that maintain biodiversity and promote connectivity between landscapes and their improvement ”.

The visit of Víctor Campos, director of the Humboldt Center, last February and his tour of the protection areas together with the company authorities generated the idea of the consultancy that is now carried out in 14 of the 16 farms of MLR Forestal . Currently the protected areas cover 1,453.63 hectares, representing 28 percent of the total hectares of MLR.