B
NARRATIVE VALUE
Certainty
●●○ medium
ABCDEFG
There is no confirmed −; independently verified + decide the position (B). No unreachable strike-through.= non-additive meter
As of: 2026-Q4Status: ActiveCeiling reason: No confirmed −
History2026-Q4BHistory grows each quarter
FUNDECOR: Running the machinery that pays people to keep the forest. The letter is B; certainty is medium. Unconfirmed concerns are placed under “Watching.” (As of 2026-Q4; estimate based on public information.)
Main narrative
Until the 1980s Costa Rica was losing forest as fast as anywhere in Central America. In 1997 the country began paying landowners who keep their forest, funded by a tax on fossil fuels - the Payment for Environmental Services (PSA) scheme. The scheme existed, but it is hard for an owner in the hills to write the application, survey the land and draw up a plan alone. FUNDECOR stands in that gap.
It connects forest owners in the Central Volcanic range to PSA, prepares forest management plans, runs an FSC group certification, and handles the paperwork of conservation contracts. It has measured permanent reforestation plots annually for more than fifteen years. It also works on restoration in the Nogal-La Selva biological corridor and on production reforestation. Nationally, PSA has covered more than 1.47 million hectares since 1997, is supported by roughly $26.5 million a year in fuel tax revenue, and forest cover has recovered to more than half the national territory. An owner is better off keeping the forest - this foundation does the administrative work that makes that arithmetic hold.
One person’s story (N1)
+ A single story
The benefit appears in the natural world. It is hard for a forest owner in the hills to write the application, survey the land and draw up a plan alone. FUNDECOR prepares forest management plans, runs an FSC group certification and handles conservation contract paperwork, connecting owners to the national Payment for Environmental Services scheme. It has measured permanent reforestation plots annually for more than fifteen years. Nationally the scheme has covered more than 1.47 million hectares since 1997, and forest cover has recovered to more than half the national territory. Nature of sources: programme-official plus independent (IUCN and Mongabay).
Source nature: FUNDECOR / IUCN / Mongabay / T2 programme-official and industry media. Positive effects are not used to offset negatives.
Positive / negative effects
+ effects
- The positive side of this assessment rests on the single story (N1) above and its source. A per-item ledger of positive effects has not yet been compiled for this organization.T2 programme-official and industry media
Watching (unconfirmed; not counted in the assessment)- Separating its contribution from the national scheme
- lack of recent independent figures of its own
Looking ahead (not included in the assessment)- Continuing forest management, certification and corridor restoration.
A second look
The recovery of forest cover is the result of a national scheme and many actors and cannot be counted as one organization's achievement. No recent independent figures could be found for FUNDECOR's own contracted area or beneficiaries (the concrete published figure is 3,970 hectares in Sarapiquí and Pococí, from 2022). Part of the reforestation is for production, which is different in character from the recovery of natural forest.
Sources
+N1FUNDECOR / IUCN / Mongabay｜2026｜🔗
How to read this assessment
A Independently verified +, with no confirmed −
B Leans +, with independent backing
C Mixed. A confirmed − sets the ceiling, or much is unverified
D A serious confirmed − sets the ceiling
E A serious − reaches the core of the organization
F Serious and systemic, with little redeeming +
G Only extreme cases
Out of scope An entity whose core purpose is illegal
On hold Independent evidence is scarce on both + and −
- Reachable upper bound (ceiling): a confirmed − sets the ceiling, and independently verified + decide the position within it. + do not cancel out −.
- The weight of evidence is not symmetric: only confirmed − are counted; the volume of disputes or allegations goes under “Watching.” + are counted from independent evidence, while an organization’s own PR is treated as “reference.”
- Size is not value: scale is not used in the assessment. Matters that stay within money or competition—investors, shareholders, sanctions, trade secrets—are also excluded.
- The letter (assessment) and certainty (how reliable the information is) are separate axes.
This is a translation; the Japanese version is authoritative. The assessments here are generated automatically by AI based on published criteria. The operator does not alter individual results. Because they are AI-generated they may contain errors, and they are opinion and commentary, not statements of fact. Where evidence is insufficient, the entry is marked “On hold.” Requests for correction are accepted via the form.
Terms: Narrative Value = an assessment (A–G) of the distance between the narrative an organization tells and its reality / Ceiling meter = a visualization of the reachable upper bound / Watching = unconfirmed matters not counted / Protected stakeholders = people, animals, nature, and future generations. | Generated by: AI | As of: 2026-Q4 | Back to top