Between the 1940s and 1987, Costa Rica’s forested area dropped from 75% to 40% to clear land for agriculture. In the 1990s, Costa Rican political leaders realized continuing development in this direction was unsustainable, and enacted policies to reverse that. In 1996, the government passed Forestry Law 7575, which made it illegal to harvest trees without government approval and established the Fondo Nacional de Financiamento Forestal (National Fund for Forest Financing, FONAFIFO). In 1997, the Costa Rican government established the Pagos por Servicios Ambientales (Payment for Ecosystem Services, PSA) program to consolidate funds for environmental projects. PSA was established with the goals of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions, expanding hydrological services, biodiversity protection, and provisions for scenic beauty.
PSA receives funding from fuel taxes, water tariffs, payments from owners of land receiving services from PSA, as well as loans from the World Bank, and a grant from the Global Environmental Facility. One of the earliest projects paid for by PSA was a national reforestation effort, attempting to reverse the ecological damage caused by logging and agricultural expansion. Between 1986 and 2005, forested area increased from 40% to 48% of the country’s total land area. PSA also funded efforts to expand renewable energy and establish national parks. These efforts paid off, as Costa Rica reduced its CO2 output by 11 million tons between 1999 and 2005.
On top of all this past progress, Costa Rica continues its commitment to a greener future. In 2021, Costa Rica cofounded the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance with Denmark to create an international effort to phase out oil and gas production. SInce then, 8 other countries have joined, including France, Ireland, Portugal, and Sweden. In 2022, the Costa Rican Government launched its first National Adaptation Plan to improve climate change resilience over the next 5 years. The Plan includes provisions to strengthen climate resilience through land and marine planning, deliver ecosystem/land management that favors local communities, invest in more eco-friendly production, and more.
Costa Rica’s sustainability initiatives made me see the country in a more positive light as I find green development to be a good thing. I admire their success in reversing deforestation by limiting agricultural expansion even though there must have been heavy pressure not to do so. I am even more impressed by their continued efforts to improve sustainability through national plans to adapt infrastructure to renewable energy and move away from fossil fuels.