The thought of sustainability “clouded” the day. Get it, cloud forest? Our adventure began at the cloud forest learning about the wildlife and the ever rising clouds in the forest. Our group was greeted by a tarantula just a few meters into the hike, although it was cool, it was probably the last thing I wanted to see. Instead of continuing on the same trail, our tour guide got news of monkeys swinging on the trees down the other trail. After a quick walk I got to see one of the two animals I was hoping to see, the other being a sloth. It was an excellent start to the day.

The discussion continued when we went to an institution in Monteverde and we had a great presentation about circular economy. The presentation was super informing and engaging and I learned a lot of information from Selena, the presenter. We learned about problems pertaining to Costa Rica and more specifically Monteverde. One of the biggest issues is the reliance of tourism for the economy. In Costa Rica as a whole it is the biggest contributor to the economy, and Monteverde’s economy is 90% tourism. This can be a big problem when a situation like Covid occurs stopping travel.

I think the most important of the three factors, sustainability, conservation, and productivity is sustainability. It incorporates aspects of both of the other factors and is most important for Monteverde. Sustainability will help ensure resources with be available for future use, slightly over lapping conservation. Sustainability will help preserve the forests in Monteverde and ensure they are put to good use for the environment.