Costa Rica is known among other things as a great producer of bananas, it has been for many years one of the main economic activities of this country and one of the most important export products.

During 2017 Costa Rica was able to generate over U.S. $1 billion through the export of bananas, increasing from U.S. $800 million in 2016. This industry also sustains over 100 thousand families.

As it happens with most practices related to the agricultural industry, the production of bananas in large scale has an environmental impact that cannot be ignored. The World Banana Forum (WBF) has created a practical guide to measure and reduce the carbon and water footprints in banana plantations and to contribute to a better understanding of the main issues related to sustainable banana production and to develop a road map towards improving sustainability in banana production.

“The banana sector is currently facing interconnected challenges that are deteriorating the resilience of ecosystems in banana plantations worldwide. In this sense, carbon and water reduction strategies are becoming fundamental for the banana industry to prevent and mitigate environmental impacts and to adapt to climate change and adverse conditions, constituting key sustainability indicators to assess environmental management and improvements from cradle-to-grave. The banana producing and exporting regions are becoming more vulnerable to increased climate variability, posing a threat to banana farmers in terms of yields, stability and incomes, raising the need to develop sound strategies to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions and water consumption in the banana value chain”, explaines the WBF website.

Since Costa Rica already has some of the first banana plantations certified as carbon neutral, it has become an example for other banana producing countries to follow:

“The methodological guide to reduce carbon and water footprints also includes experiences and demonstrations of Costa Rica, leading country in GHG emission reduction in the banana industry, aiming to replicate the lessons learned worldwide. The guide has been officially endorsed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) and the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) through its Climate Change Unit, and it is funded by the German development agency GIZ, through the Acción Clima II program in Costa Rica”, continues the WBF site.

The goal set right now is for the majority of the productive sector to be carbon neutral by 2021 reducing considerably the negative environmental impact.