Finca Los Cedros

Area: 70.7 ha

Location: San Miguel at the foot of the Fila Cal, 400 m to 450 m above sea level.

Vegetation at the time of purchase: 54 ha of pasture, 16 ha of primary forest;

Date of purchase: 5 March 2026
Funding: University of Vienna

Planned projects:
Reforestation of approx. 25% across 500 plots (15 m × 15 m); a total of 12,500 trees, with the remainder left to natural succession; monitoring by the University of Vienna and BOKU Vienna.

As part of the University of Vienna’s Rainforest Project, the plan is to purchase areas currently without forest, which will then be subject to ecologically sound reforestation. The aim of the project is to establish structurally and species-rich forest ecosystems that will both enable long-term, high-quality carbon sequestration and contribute to the conservation of biodiversity in the region.

Finca Los Cedros is situated on the San Miguel plateau at the foot of the Fila Cal (altitude approx. 400 m – 450 m), in the immediate vicinity of the La Gamba Tropical Research Station. The finca occupies a key position in the landscape’s ecology, linking the southern foothills with the main ridge of the Fila Cal (1,700 m above sea level). It lies in a transition zone between lowland rainforest and mountain rainforest.

Owing to its location, the area makes a significant contribution to closing an existing habitat gap within the regional forest and corridor system (La Gamba COBIGA and AMISTOSA biological corridor).