Creating Climate Resilience in the

Most Biodiverse Regions on Earth

STRATEGY & IMPACT

We are taking action

to implement scalable solutions and build climate resilience for people and nature.

There is no more significant, enduring impact for the planet than to build resilience for nature. Climate corridors will significantly mitigate the impacts of the two most urgent challenges we face: climate change and biodiversity loss. These corridors facilitate biodiversity movement across previously unpassable landscapes. By taking action now to restore habitat connectivity through corridors, we are creating a better world.

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Jump to Climate Corridor Pillars

We build climate corridors by:

-> Planting rare, native, and endemic tree species at scale to reconnect fragmented habitats,
 -> Maintaining existing forest cover and improving site-based best management practices,
 -> Rewilding landscapes to foster the return of ecosystem engineers, pollinators, and seed dispersers,
 -> Monitoring wildlife movement and ecological indicators in real-time,
 -> Developing and implementing cutting-edge technology tools for tropical conservation
 -> Catalyzing shifts in the social fabric of human-wildlife interaction and empowering the next generation of conservation leaders.

A pan-tropical solution, the Climate Corridors initiative is an international model of climate adaptation to save biodiversity and build resilience for both people and nature in the face of climate change.

Our working landscape spans 26.5 million acres across the most biodiverse habitats on Earth.

Our Flagship Landscapes

AmistOsa Climate Corridor

Costa Rica

  • AmistOsa is among the most biodiversity rich regions in the world with an incredible amount of rare species that can be found here and nowhere else on Earth.

    Despite 52% of its territory being protected, predictive models show greatly increased loss of connectivity in the next 30 years if we continue “business as usual” practices in this region.

    Here, we work with over 341 local landowners to restore degraded watersheds, implement wildlife-friendly farming practices, and rewild species that have been locally extirpated.

  • We collaborate with site-based parters Osa Conservation to drive change in the AmistOsa corridor. Our landscape of influence includes over 1.3 million acres spanning an altitudinal gradient of 0 to 3,500 meters above sea level. Throughout the region, we work with more than 341 local landowners to restore degraded watersheds, implement wildlife-friendly farming practices, and rewild species that have been locally extirpated. You can learn more about the Osa Conservation field site here.

  • Click here to donate directly to the team leading the AmistOsa Climate Corridor in Costa Rica

Purus - Manu Climate Corridor

Peru

  • The Purus - Manu Climate Corridor spans the steepest elevational gradient in the Andes Amazon system, climbing nearly four kilometers from lowland rainforest, through cloud forest into the alpine paramo grasslands of the Andes.

    This landscape forms the largest preserved section of the Peruvian Amazon and is the source of the region's four major freshwater rivers. In particular, the steep elevational gradient across Purus - Manu positions this landscape as an incredible opportunity to safeguard biodiversity en masse.

  • We collaborate with site-based parters Conservación Amazónica - ACCA to drive change in the Purus - Manu corridor. Our work is based out of a network of three biological field stations that span the Andes Amazon landscape. The first of its kind in the region, this network allows us to explore and discover the outstanding biological and cultural diversity of this region. Spanning an altitudinal gradient from 820 to 11,500 feet along the eastern border of Manu National Park, our stations are active centers of learning and discovery, attracting researchers, university courses, volunteers, and visitors from around the world. You can learn more about the ACCA field sties here.

  • Click here to donate directly to the team leading the Purus-Manu Climate Corridor in Peru

AMISTOSA CORRIDOR IN ACTION:

The Climate Corridor Blueprint

Due to decades of success leading biodiversity-centric schemes in Central and South America, we have scientific proof and novel insight to drive this model to scale. We implemented the climate corridor blueprint in two of the most biodiverse landscapes: Purus - Manu valley in Peru and AmistOsa rainforest in Costa Rica (left).

Here, proof of landscape-level change is evident, resulting in environmental and economic benefits to vulnerable communities and inspiring international stakeholders.

Climate Corridors' Pillars

  • PILLAR 1: RESTORE ECOSYSTEMS FOR PEOPLE AND NATURE

  • We have planted over 1.3 million native trees across our working landscapes.

  • We don’t just plant trees, we monitor and maintain our restoration efforts to bring back healthy forests.

  • We prioritize reconnecting fragmented habitat and restoring watersheds to build long-term resilience for people and nature.

  • We plant a biodiverse array of native, rare and endemic species. Last year, we planted over 417 native tree species.

  • PILLAR 2: DRIVE GENOMIC-BASED DISCOVERY

  • Using biodiversity genomics, we are monitoring key species in some of the most remote regions in the tropics.

  • This front-line work allows us to monitor and model upward or downward shifts in species ranges in response to land use and temperature change.

  • This genomic-based research focuses on keystone species with a special interest in rare and endemic species that are critically understudied.

  • Our work will allow us to pinpoint the priority regions across elevations that are at the most immediate risk of climate change. Our goal is to intervene as quickly as possible to mitigate long-term impacts.

  • PILLAR 3: DISCOVER NOVEL HUMAN-ANIMAL-ENVIRONMENT INTERCONNECTIVITY

  • We are at the frontline of technology implementation for conservation, deploying novel tools to monitor wildlife unlike ever before.

  • Our research unveils new information on species movement patterns, providing novel information on wildlife interactions and informing predictions on climate change responses.

  • From apex predators to scavengers, we are documenting animal interactions that have never been studied in scientific history. This novel work provides insight to optimize climate strategies at scale.

  • Our research sites range from pristine rainforests to heavily degraded landscapes, both of which are key to the health of humans and wildlife.

  • Central to this work is our cutting-edge research on mercury contamination and its effects on animal health. We are tracking how mercury moves through landscapes and the food chain.

  • This guides strategies to facilitate survival in the face of habitat fragmentation, heavy metal contamination, and climate change.

  • PILLAR 4: DETECT AND PROTECT WILDLIFE

  • From thermal drone imaging to acoustic monitoring and remote underwater videos, our eyes and ears are on Earth’s most biodiverse landscapes 24/7.

  • We are generating soundscape baselines and describing shifts along elevation gradients for key species to better understand vulnerability to climate change.

  • Already, we have deployed over half a million wildlife monitoring devices and executed the largest camera trap survey in Central America.

  • We established a coalition of local community Rainforest Protectors, equipped with the latest technology to detect and protect wildlife.

  • PILLAR 5: PROTECT AND MANAGE CRITICAL WATERSHEDS

  • From mangroves to mountaintops, we collaborate with local communities to restore riparian zones and safeguard watershed health.

  • We work across the private lands that buffer protected areas to drive nature-based solutions, increase sustainable access to safe water, and mitigate the climate challenges facing the most vulnerable communities.

  • We improve water quality by protecting water sources, restoring riparian zones, implementing best management practices for farmers and ranchers, diversifying incomes, and establishing more resilient agricultural systems. 

  • Our goal is to improve management across 9 million hectares and replenish water access for the most vulnerable local community members in our climate corridor landscapes.

  • PILLAR 6: EMPOWER RESILIENT COMMUNITIES

  • We have established a network of 8,500 local community scientists who are shifting mindsets, taking action, and cultivating the next generation of conservation leaders.

  • Our network spans government officials, private land owners, and rural community members, including the most vulnerable and impoverished people. Together, we are building resilience for people in the face of climate change.

  • Through our Youth Nature Club, we have engaged over 4,000 local children in hands-on conservation action.

  • By empowering people to become Earth’s stewards, we elevate the voices of local conservation heroes, build capacity for and knowledge of conservation, and provide immersive nature-based learning experiences to connect people and wildlife.

Climate Corridors of Central America

Our research identified the 10 Climate Corridors of Central America with the most potential to maximize biodiversity survival long-term.

To stem biodiversity loss, conservation investments should prioritize the Climate Corridor strategy by restoring and rebuilding ecological connectivity along elevational gradients in biodiverse landscapes.

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Solutions Meant to Scale

Climate Corridors is a working model designed to be scaled throughout the world’s biodiverse landscapes. Our goal is to carry the maximum amount of biodiversity through climate change. If you are interested in collaborating, please reach out.

Pitch a Climate Corridor