While conservation can mean different things for different people, it is quite straight-forward and taken very seriously here in Costa Rica. With the most biodiverse parks and rainforests, Costa Rica has learned to value conservation and protect their wildlife. Today, we hiked the Cloud Forest in Monteverde to kick off day 5 of our trip! I had never seen such unique animals in my life, and being able to spot them in their natural habitats was out of this world! Our tour guides were amazing and seemed to have super-sonic vision to spot these animals in action! We were able to see many birds including the Quetzal, a Toucan, and a Three-Wattled Bellbird, which makes a really loud screeching sound. We also learned about many insects and spotted a Coatimundis walking around.
However, although Costa Rica is highly known for its conservation efforts and sustainability, the country wasn’t always set up that way. According to our guest speaker of the day, Anibal, Monteverde wasn’t always as conservatively efficient. Just a couple of generations ago, they struggled keeping up with their wildlife and taking advantage of all of the resources the province had to offer. Now, of course, Costa Rica has progressed and is one of the most sustainable and biodiverse countries in the world!
However, despite their strong efforts towards maintaining a protective environment for their wildlife and land, Costa Rica faces many issues that impede it from being 100% sustainable. One of the biggest issues they face is gray water. They are working on improving waste water systems to reduce the impacts of this issue, but it is still a common problem today.
They also struggle with climate change. Recently, the Cloud Forest lost around 40% of their amphibians because of the decrease in rainy and cloudy days during the year. Usually in Monteverde, it should be rainy and cloudy every day with an exception of 30 days per year. This past year, unfortunately, with the warmer climates, they had 130 days that weren’t rainy or cloudy.
In the 1950s, the Quakers arrived in Monteverde and that alone allowed Costa Rica to move towards innovation as the Quaker helped Costa Ricans move into the farming industry. Conservation was never thought of as something that would create money, it was just thought of as something to protect their ecosystem. However, over time, tourism became something that took over Monteverde. Although tourism keeps Monteverde going, there are some implications that arise from it as well. Some of the economic implications of tourism in Monteverde include an increase in costs of land and programs for local Costa Rican people because of the shift from agricultural activity to a tourism-based economy. Other ecological issues that Monteverde faces revolves around garbage, water supply, gray water pollution, noise & light pollution, and damage to roads.
All in all, there are many issues revolving around sustainability, conservation, and climate change that are occurring in Costa Rica. However, they are working on making significant changes and working together as a community to create solutions and reverse these setbacks!
