If you own a farm or you are thinking of acquiring one, there are a lot of ways in which you can transform it into a viable project. Depending on its characteristics, it could be from a farming area to a conservation zone.

Once you have verified its legal status and background, if it meets the requirements, you can start thinking of which activity you want to develop.

¿Which is the farms aptitude?

A farm can have a lot of value depending on its location – for example, if it es close to coasts, for being flat or not having the ideal characteristics for future development. According to the circumstances, its purpose will change and at the same time, it could change with the owners interests.

If you are looking forward to develop a project from a farm, you should look for the way to add value. A way to do it is by being sure that your farm has the potential to be a conservation zone.

¿What is a conservation farm?

There is no oficial or legal definition for this term, but there is a practical description for those owners who are looking forward to preserve land for reforestation or some kind of ecosystem.

They are farms dedicated to conservation or restoration of specific ecosystems or species, through the protection of natural elements found in each land. 

Fernanda Jimenez, environmental law specialist attorney in Colbs legal studio.

Protection schemes

Conservation farms can work in different ways and it will depend on the protection scheme the owner choose to work with.

• Voluntary scheme

The owner looks forward for a reforestation space or simply to let the woods grow. There is no specific extension, but the bigger the land the greater the environmental impact it will have.

• Certification

In this kind of scheme, you should meet international requirements that allows your farm to have a seal of approval – for example, in carbon neutral credits and watershed zones.

• Environmental services payment program

It is made directly with the National Forest Financing Fund (FONAFIFO), which if your property meets the requirements, you can receive a payment in exchange of environmental services maintenance. The land should be from one or two hectares up to three hundred hectares.

According to regulations, there are four environmental services which the FONAFIFO recognizes: carbon emission capture, watersheds, biodiversity and scenic beauty protection.

• National wildlife refuge

This is achieved by signing legally in the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC). They take care of administration and supervision even though it is a private property. Any activity or land use, must be asked to SINAC.

• No governmental voluntary conservation

It is registered in a more informal way. In Costa Rica there is an association called the Costa Rican Network of Nature Reserves (RCRN), formed by a group of private conservation farmland owners that came together to establish certain standards, shares experiences and promote projects.

Limitations

Once a farm is stablished by a certain conservation regimen it can be taken out of the scheme after a minimum of ten years, or if it is completely voluntary, you can start today and quit tomorrow.

It is very important to emphasize that all of the above can be develop if there are no woods in the property. Before transforming your farm into a project, take into consideration the legal implications of the presence of woods.

Projects

Before analyzing your farm and its characteristics, you can decide what kind of compatible and viable project you want to develop. If it is a conservation farm, ecotourism projects are allowed, it is known as low impact tourism such as trailing, horse back riding and natural pools.

You can also go for agricultural development, the FONAFIFO allows it if there is a land percentage destined to conservation mixed with trees. This is called and an agroforestry system and you can receive a payment for environmental services as well.

Another compatible option for conservation farms is to give access to scientific research and even for cinematographic films. One very interesting aspect, is that companies acquired them as part of their corporate social responsibility, to compensate the environmental impact of their production activities.

Before adventuring into a project in your property, remember to analyze the viability of it according to your farms characteristics. Make sure you choose the right scheme that suits better your necessities and stay acquainted of the requirements.