This morning, I woke up very early in order to visit the cloud forest reserve. My group spent about 3 hours there exploring the forest and learning about different plant and animals. Another notable thing we discussed was the importance of that reserve within Monteverde as well as within the world. We furthered discussed this topic with Don Guillermo from the organization “Life Monteverde”.

These two experiences that I had today made me think about the competing interest of productivity, conservation, and sustainability. Conservation and sustainability are not very productive; they take a very long time, and a lot of energy. To add to that, sustainable goal have often failed to consider the human side of conservation. This involves how decisions affect people’s lives, and how human culture, values, and equity affect conservation outcomes. The competing interests of the 3 principles is especially complicated when dealing with climate change. Most people don’t want to make changes that will reduce climate change because they are inefficient and more difficult in the short term.

This issue is present in many places. In Monteverde, for example, they have problems with their water supply. However, while there are many solutions that could solve this issue productively, they would not be sustainable or conservative; these solutions may harm plants, animals, and habitats in Monteverde. Another issue that is found in Costa Rica as well as many other part of the world, is littering. In our lecture, we saw that many beaches in Costa Rica are often covered in trash. This is because it is easier to dispose of the trash this way. Thus, productivity is being considered more important than conservationa nd sustainability.

Upon reviewing what I have learned today, I have come to the belief that conservation should be weighted more important than productivity and sustainability. This is because conservation protects wildlife and promotes biodiversity. Protecting wildlife and preserving it for future generations also means that the animals and habitats we love do not become a distant memory. Thus, maintaining a culture of conservation will help us to keep healthy and functional ecosystems.