Rainforest of the Austrians facts for kids
Rainforest of the Austrians is a special project that helps protect nature. It was started by Michael Schnitzler, an Austrian musician who plays the violin. His goal was to create a non-profit organization to save parts of the rainforest.
The project works to raise money to buy land in the Esquinas Rainforest. This rainforest is very large, about 146.7 square kilometers, and it's located in the southern part of Costa Rica. When the project buys land, it becomes part of the Piedras Blancas National Park. This helps keep the forest safe forever. Before this, local farmers owned much of this land.
Why Protect the Rainforest?
In 1991, the government of Costa Rica decided to make this area a National Park. This was to protect the forest from being cut down. However, the government didn't have enough money to buy all the land. They needed help from other countries to make their plan work. That's where the "Rainforest of the Austrians" project stepped in.
How the Project Grew
By the end of 2005, the project had successfully bought 33.7 square kilometers of land. This area was given the special name 'Rainforest of the Austrians'. Thanks to more efforts to protect the forest, a total of 90.3 square kilometers of the Esquinas Rainforest is now part of the National Park. This is about 65% of the entire Esquinas Rainforest! There are still 55.8 square kilometers that are privately owned, but there are plans to add them to the National Park too.
Awards and Recognition
The "Rainforest of the Austrians" organization has received important awards for its work. In the year 2000, they won the 'Binding Environmental Prize' in Liechtenstein. This is a big honor for groups that help the environment. The Naturhistorisches Museum (Natural History Museum) even had a special exhibit about the project. Also, the ORF, a TV channel, showed a documentary about the project on their popular television program called 'Universum'.
See also
In Spanish: Bosque de los Austríacos para niños
