Before taking a deep dive into Costa Rica’s sustainability efforts, I thought it was mostly a vacation place with beaches, very nice weather and beautiful rainforests. After looking into it I was surprised by how importantly Costa Rica takes environmental sustainability. Costa Rica generates a lot of its electricity from sustainable energy sources such as hydroelectric, wind, and geothermal power, and it also has put a lot of money into preserving rainforests and wildlife. An effort that was able to stick out to me was Costa Rica’s goal of becoming carbon neutral, which tells me that they are putting effort to balance economic development with environmental sustainability. Another huge effort is ecotourism, in which they market tourism in a way that helps nature instead of harming it.

In my opinion Costa Rica’s focus on sustainability shows off as forward thinking and impactful instead of inefficient or exclusive. Many countries say how to help the environment, but Costa Rica seems to “back up the talk”. It also came up to my attention that agriculture, specifically  coffee and bananas, has a big impact on the country’s economy. Environmentally friendly farming practices are important there because these industries rely on sustainable land and ecosystems. It was cool to see how sustainability links not only to preserving nature, but also to supporting jobs and tourism.

I’m super hyped to go to Costa Rica since it seems like somewhere nature and day to day life are interlinked. Costa Rica seems special since it combines environmental responsibility with tourism and agriculture, and I believe it will be intriguing to see that firsthand.