Final -- COSTA RICA - AN ANALYSIS OF THE NATIONAL PARKS
This discussion topic submitted by Roopa Kamesh (
roopakamesh@hotmail.com) at 1:11 am on 5/18/01. Additions were last made on Saturday, May 4, 2002.
COSTA RICA - AN ANALYSIS OF THE NATIONAL PARKS
Costa Rica is geologically one of the best areas allowing the creation and existence of diverse flora and fauna. It is a three million year old bridge, a pathway actually between the two American continental masses. This small tropical country has around 500,000 species of flora and fauna (i.e. approximately five percent of all species known to exist on earth) living together in a country of only 51,000 sq. kms. Costa Rica ahs a wide range of natural habitats that allow various species to thrive. This includes rare tropical dry forests, cloud forests, swamps, mangrove, rainforests, coral reefs, rivers, beaches, grasslands, hilillo forests and marshlands. The well-known Holdridge Life Zone system, which categorizes environments based on variation in temperature and rainfall, divides Costa Rica into at least twelve major life zones
Costa Rica is calculated to have around 850 species of birds including humming birds, macaws, toucans, hawks and the quetzal; over 35,000 species of insects; 220 species of reptiles including sea turtles, iguanas, crocodiles, lizards and snakes; 208 species of mammals including jaguars, cougars, ocelots, tapir monkeys and bats; 2,000 orchids and other plants, flowers and trees. Many species that have been threatened or extinct in other countries continue to thrive here due to the complex relatively lesser-damaged ecosystems present in Costa Rica.
The economic development of this third world country has most certainly led to the destruction of wilderness areas. Urban sprawl, livestock and agricultural practices, dumping of toxic wastes has led to the use of areas that are "wilderness" sensitive and caused profound threats to the watershed. In fact use of agricultural chemicals has resulted in elimination of large species such as armadillos and crocodiles along the Tempisque River.
Costa Rica has identified these threats to its biological diversity and natural areas. Since 1950 national and international efforts have emphasized the need to take action against exploitation and destruction of Costa Rica's natural resources and habitats. Conservation, environmental awareness and eco tourism are keywords in these efforts to protect the natural areas. For conservation, environmental awareness needs to be generated, so that people realize the importance of conserving their natural areas. One of the key ways of generating and promoting this awareness is through eco tourism. When people observe and appreciate their surroundings, they will also become aware of the threats surrounding their natural areas, leading them to try and protect it.
The story of the creation of Costa Rica's parks and reserves has been one of sacrifice and drama. One of the earliest international environment protectors was a Swede named Nils Olaf Wessberr, who came to Costa Rica in 1955 and bought a farm in the village of Montezuma. The observation of destruction of the virgin forest at Cabo Blanco filled Wessberg, an ardent nature lover with utter dismay. He immediately started working on raising money to purchase large pieces pf land so that it could be protected. After a period of three years, he managed to purchase 2,930 acres ($30,000). This area is today called the " Cabo Blanco Strict Nature Reserve". Wessberg was ultimately killed while trying to establish another park in the Osa Peninsula.
In 1969 the Forestry Law announced the creation of Santa Rosa, the country's first National Park. This was largely due to the efforts of an exceptional person, Maria Bozo, a student in the Costa Rican forestry. Maria Bozo around the same time also established the National Parks Department. These efforts were ultimately thwarted due to lack of funds and personnel to manage the area.
Despite such dampening factors, Costa Rica over the years has managed to protect its natural areas through the creation of national parks and reserves. This started in 1970 with the establishment of the National Park System (NPS). Costa Rica has managed to put 27% of the country under legal protection. 12% of the country is protected as national parks and a further 16% as Indian reserves, biological reserves, wildlife refugees and corridors. National Parks are protected from the violent intrusion of humans. They instead encourage environmental research, educational activities and small-scale recreational tourism.
The NPS has managed to cover most of the diverse ecosystems in Costa Rica. They also have relatively easy access to tourists and eco tourism is an important factor in generating the funds needed to continue this protection of the wilderness. Some of the famous National Parks in Costa Rica include:
Corcovado National Park
The Corcovado National Park is located on the Osa Peninsula on the southern Pacific coast and fringed to the west by endless, wide, flat sandy beaches. It is approximately 54,500 hectares and its habitats include wet, mainly impenetrable rain forest to dripping, steamy cloud forest, oak forest seashore and swamp. Majority of the species it houses is found in the Corcovaado Lagoon. The park has around 140 species of mammals and over 400 species of birds. Though relatively hard to reach, this park offers some of the best sights of natural areas known to mankind.
Manuel Antonio National Park
The Manuel Antonio National Park, which is around 683 hectares, is one the most famous parks found in Costa Rica. It mainly houses monkeys and raccoons. It is one of the few remaining areas where we can find the squirrel monkey. The limitation here is that there is no bridge across the river that has to be crossed to reach the park entrance and visitors arriving at high tide will have to wade through chest high water.
Braulio Carrillo National Park
The Braulio Carrillo National Park is around 45,889 hectares and is a heavily forested and mountainous area. This park was mainly created due to the threats that could arise from loggers and developers, due to the construction of a road through the area in 1978. Illegal logging is a major problem here, along with poaching. This park houses not only birds and a wide variety of plant life; it is also the home of ocelots and jaguars.
Poas Volcano National Park
The Poas Volcano National Park is approximately 5,600 hectares and enjoys immense popularity. What makes it famous is the presence of two craters that can be reached very easily. It is like a drive-in. One of them is filled with geysers. A hot sulfurous lake sits, bubbling at the bottom, 300 meters below. The second is filled with deep blue water and surrounded by damp cloud forest vegetation.
The protection of natural areas in Costa Rica through the formation of parks and reserves has as mentioned earlier, witnessed favorable growth. Preservation and eco tourism have achieved great success in restoration of natural areas. At the same time these very methods of protecting the natural areas have led to numerous limitations. A price is being paid due to eco tourism and the efforts of the NPS to buy land and protect it from use. These problems can be witnessed especially in the parks.
One of the more serious problems is that of "ecological debt". Over twenty five percent of the country is under protection but only fifty six percent of these lands belong to the state. The rest belong to farmers and other individuals who used to work on the land. An estimated $592 million is still owed to the property owners. Under funding is one of the major causes leading to the inability to repay the debt, despite eco tourism managing to bring in large sums of money. At the Arenal Volcano National Park, one of the principal tourist attractions in Costa Rica, the government still owes $6 million to the actual property owners. It is doubtful if the country will ever be able to completely repay its "ecological debt".
Another serious concern facing the parks is that of urban sprawl around the national parks that arise to support the thousands of tourists who are visit them each year. This problem is extremely threatening especially in the case of the Manuel Antonio Park. Theya re facing overwhelming mass tourism, which is not sustainable in the least, compared to the level of development around the park. Buildings currently surround this park and no buffer zones remain. Also the presence of humans will affect the existing state of the parks. Habitat alterations are a definite outcome of areas that are prone to human visitations.
The National Parks in Costa Rica have managed to put up a relatively strong battle against the country's growing economic development. At the same time corruption and illegal activities within these very parks still endanger the lives of the species surviving in them. Lack of an efficient infrastructure and inadequate funding has also not helped in the maintenance of effective national parks and reserves. The private sector is now being targeted as a source of funding for future efforts in preservation. A great deal of change has to be brought about in the making of policies within the government to bring about not just the establishment of the parks or reserves, but also to effectively manage them over the years.
Resources
www.bosque-u.com
www.centralamerica.com/parks/index.htm
www.incostarica.net/docs/nature/index.htm
www.centralamerica.com
www.costarica.tourism.co.cr/mapindex.htm
www.crica.com
www.ticotimes.net
www.incostarica.net/docs/nationalparks/history.html
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