---
title: Las Catalinas at PreCOP25
description: Las Catalinas has been entrusted as one of the country's leaders in combatting climate change, and participated among world leaders on the subject at PreCop25
image: https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/hubfs/Las%20Catalinas%20at%20PreCOP25-1.jpeg
---

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# Las Catalinas at PreCOP25

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### December 13, 2019

Costa Rica hosted PreCOP25, a preparation meeting before the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change. This year, a global meeting of stakeholders seeking to combat climate change will take place in Santiago, Chile, and PreCOP25 served as a gathering to workshop ideas, meet, and prepare before the convention in December.

Representatives from Las Catalinas were invited to attend this meeting due the town’s work as an example of [sustainable development](https://blog.santarenahotel.com/las-catalinas-a-town-in-harmony-with-nature) as well as the town’s continuing commitment to combating climate change.

This meeting was arranged for the international delegations (700 people representing 86 countries) to have working and negotiation tables to discuss issues in-depth, and for Las Catalinas to be invited to this workshop shows the value of the work being done around town and [throughout the surrounding natural landscape](https://blog.santarenahotel.com/las-catalinas-a-town-in-harmony-with-nature-0). This was also an opportunity for town to learn from frontline experts from the United Nations and countries around the world who are working towards the same goals.

 

### The National Plan for Carbon Neutrality

Town representatives were personally invited by the [Ministry of Environment](https://www.minae.go.cr/acerca-de/acerca-del-minae/historia-minae), as part of the country’s movement towards carbon neutrality.

The Plan Nacional de Carbono Neutralidad 2.0 or PNCN 2.0, is a nationwide initiative to recognize the proper management of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by public and private organizations. Participating entities would be accountable for their emissions, and join together to share information, resources, and infrastructure to help other communities and companies offset their emissions.

 

![](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/hubfs/Las%20Catalinas%20at%20PreCOP25-3.jpeg)

 Nearly 950 acres of natural landscape in Guanacaste’s tropical dry forest zone can support not only Las Catalinas, but also other towns and organizations in their efforts toward carbon neutrality. 

Through Las Catalinas’ offset approach, which includes nearly 950 acres of natural landscape in Guanacaste’s tropical dry forest zone, the town has made significant progress toward its carbon neutrality goals and continues working toward a net-negative carbon impact. By removing more carbon from the atmosphere than it contributes, Las Catalinas could even provide a chance for other towns, organizations, and companies to offset their carbon footprint by investing town’s ecosystem services.

 

### Carbon Neutrality and Sustainability in Las Catalinas

One of the main contributions to sustainability in Las Catalinas is [the town’s master plan](https://www.lascatalinascr.com/master-plan-maps), which states that only 20% of the property is going to be developed intensively in a compact pedestrian beach and hill town. This leaves 80% of the land for passive restoration of the tropical dry forest, which is the most threatened habitat in Costa Rica.

Restoration of this forest provides ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, water conservation and production, biodiversity and landscape conservation. These are all potential values that Las Catalinas adds to the country, and to members in the National Plan for Carbon Neutrality. Towns and organizations that want to offset their carbon footprint and do not have the physical possibility to do so in their current locations can invest in the forests and conservation efforts at Las Catalinas, providing a net negative carbon footprint across Costa Rica.

One significant milestone for towns is the Essential Costa Rica accreditation, a program that promotes sustainable investment in Costa Rica, by CINDE, the NGO endorsed by the Costa Rican government on this regard.

 

### Achieving the Essential Costa Rica Accreditation

The first part of a potential ECR accreditation is to track the actual effect of town’s forests. Researchers are planning to set 4 plots of 1 hectare each  within Las Catalinas’ tropical dry forest, which will be tracked over time by carbon sensors to gather data on the forest’s current capacity of carbon sequestration.

 

![](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/hubfs/Las%20Catalinas%20at%20PreCOP25-2.jpeg)

Researchers will select a representative sample within Las Catalinas’ tropical dry forest.

 

There will also be an arboreal survey, in which researchers will identify all the tree species with DBH (Diameter at Breast Height) equal to or greater than 10 cm in each plot. This will help determine the total volume, height, and georeferenced position of each tree, which will then be used as a baseline to extrapolate across Las Catalinas’ tropical dry forest. In all, this will help build a digital model of the area, which will support the data from the carbon sensors.

 

At the same time, researchers will be in town performing a GHG (greenhouse gas) inventory, to understand the emissions being produced by various sources. Thanks to [Costa Rica’s 98% sustainable grid](https://ticotimes.net/2019/09/24/costa-rica-will-run-on-more-than-98-renewable-energy-for-fifth-consecutive-year-government-says), much of the energy used in Las Catalinas comes from sustainable sources, and being a primarily car-free town [reduces transport emissions drastically](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-september-19th-2019/), so town is positioned well for this inventory.

With all of this information, researchers can calculate town’s total carbon footprint, as well as prevented emissions and reductions, leading to a potential accreditation inspection for the certification.

 

### Continuing Efforts in Town for Sustainability

One of the major efforts town that is ongoing in town is the prevention and management of wildfires. The forest sequesters a great deal of atmospheric carbon, which makes the 10 year forest fire prevention and management effort more valuable to the environment every year.

At the operational level, efforts to manage solid wastes efficiently are being recognized around the region, including an official recognition as the canton’s best waste manager last year by the Municipality of Santa Cruz.

 

![](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/hubfs/Las%20Catalinas%20at%20PreCOP25.png)

 

There is also town’s state-of-the art water treatment plant, which process both black and gray waters at a rate of up to 480 cubic meters per day. This treated water is then used, among other purposes, to attend to forest fires.

 

![](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/hubfs/Las%20Catalinas%20at%20PreCOP25.jpeg)

Town's homes are efficiently built on their footprint, and constructed to be energy efficient

Climatization of buildings is a factor that many towns and companies struggle with when considering sustainability, but town’s [tropical traditional architecture](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-october-18th-2019/) is very specifically designed to this environment, including [foam-coring construction](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-september-14th-2019/), [open air living](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/beth-webb-creating-casa-brewer), and [rain-cooling](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/homes-rainy-season-in-costa-rica), makes it significantly easier to keep homes climatized.

 

### What You Can Do

Simply embracing the walkable lifestyle in Las Catalinas is already a big contribution to carbon neutrality in the country. Every day spent on two feet and two wheels is one that doesn’t need to be spent in a car. For trips out of town, [taking the Toyota Mirai](https://news.lascatalinascr.com/hydrogencars) is a sustainable option.

[Spending time in the outdoors](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/sports-lifestyle-in-las-catalinas) or letting the natural ventilation of town’s homes lighten the load on A/C and provide another daily way to contribute, along with classic practices like conserving water and turning off the lights.

The [Guanacaste Community Fund](https://thedaily.lascatalinascr.com/daily-august-19th-2019/) is another way to contribute. Their partners include organizations like [Restoring Our Watershed](http://ourwatershed.org/), who are working around the area to restore the tropical forest and water around the country.

The movement towards a more sustainable way of living is one going on all across the globe right now, and especially in Costa Rica. Building a lifestyle that’s more sustainable is an important responsibility, and one that is part of the core values of Las Catalinas.

 

[![Experience it Yourself](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/4917861/364f620e-02fb-4192-a964-40b50911f5f2.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/4917861/364f620e-02fb-4192-a964-40b50911f5f2)

## See related posts

<https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/spring-break-car-free-in-las-catalinas-0>

## [A New Perspective on Sustainable Travel: The Car-Free Movement](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/spring-break-car-free-in-las-catalinas-0)

[ Costa Rica is one of the hubs for sustainable travel in the world, the birthplace of ecotourism and of some of the first ecolodges in Tropical America, a world leader in conservation, and a country on the leading edge of sustainable energy, decarbonization, and combating climate change. ](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/spring-break-car-free-in-las-catalinas-0)

[Read more](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/spring-break-car-free-in-las-catalinas-0)

<https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/staying-for-the-las-catalinas-triathlon-0>

## [Best Homes in Las Catalinas to Train and Recover](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/staying-for-the-las-catalinas-triathlon-0)

<https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/staying-for-the-las-catalinas-triathlon-0>

[Read more](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/staying-for-the-las-catalinas-triathlon-0)

<https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/4-costa-rican-animals-to-spot-during-dry-season1>

## [4 Costa Rican Animals to Spot During Dry Season Around Las Catalinas](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/4-costa-rican-animals-to-spot-during-dry-season1)

[ Dry season brings quite a few changes to the behavior of animals in the tropical dry forest of Guanacaste, who must respond to the differences in availability of foliage and water. ](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/4-costa-rican-animals-to-spot-during-dry-season1)

[Read more](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/4-costa-rican-animals-to-spot-during-dry-season1)

<https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/preserving-paradise-las-catalinas-journey-in-conservation>

## [Preserving Paradise: Las Catalinas' Journey in Conservation](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/preserving-paradise-las-catalinas-journey-in-conservation)

[ At the heart of Las Catalinas lies a deep-seated commitment to living in harmony with nature. From its inception, all facets of Las Catalinas' planning and construction have been designed with respect for the natural world. ](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/preserving-paradise-las-catalinas-journey-in-conservation)

[Read more](https://theblog.lascatalinascr.com/preserving-paradise-las-catalinas-journey-in-conservation)

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