When visiting the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, we were able to see plenty of animals while also learning a lot about sustainability in Monteverde. Not only through the hike but through our lectures did we learn about how important sustainability is in Monteverde. Monteverde is deep in the mountains of Costa Rica, especially the preserve and the hotel. While Costa Ricans in general practice sustainability, what we learned applies a lot to Monteverde.
Monteverde attempts to put nothing to waste when it comes to compost, trash, and other potentially environmentally dangerous things. Many things in Monteverde are produced locally and the community is very dependent on each other. The economy grows by people making purchases with others that also live in the community and having to get very little things from outside of Monteverde. Additionally, the things produced in Monteverde are very cheap and resource-efficient. This allows Ticos in Monteverde to not have to spend as much money and therefore boosts their economy.
While sustainability is incredibly important in Monteverde, I would prioritize conservation overall. Specifically in the cloud forest, we were able to see just how important it is to maintain the natural environment of Monteverde. Endangered species and native animals depend on these areas to live so conserving their natural state is a necessity. Those animals play a valuable role in the ecosystem for farmers and other Monteverde residents so without them the balance would be thrown off. However, climate change is making it difficult. With continuous changes in temperatures, it is becoming harder to preserve the state of the forests. Hopefully, either the animals and forest will adapt to the new climate, or climate change will slow down so that the ecosystem is not permanently damaged.