Ecotourism in Costa Rica

Every year nearly seventeen million hectares of rain forest area become vulnerable to the threats of deforestation, and, along with it, a major population of wild life, since half of the specific diversity that tread the earth surface are to be found in the rain forests. Ecotourism in Costa Rica, as in other places, such as Kenya, Ecuador, Madagascar, Antarctica, started as a combative stance to this onslaught of deforestation that was to announce its devastating consequences otherwise.

Ecotourism, meaning ecological tourism, is a form of tourism which appeals to the socially and ecologically aware. It focuses on local culture, wilderness adventures, includes volunteering, personal growth, and getting to know about newer ways how to successfully inhabit this planet. It  involves travelling to destinations where flora & fauna, cultural heritage, etc. are the primary attractions. Ecotourism also focusses on minimizing the negative aspects of conventional tourism on the ecology, and to have enhanced cultural integrity of local people. Therefore, in addition to evaluating environmental and cultural factors, an integral part of ecotourism is to promote recycling, energy management, water management, and to create economic scopes for the locals people.

Ecotourism in Costa Rica began as a phenomenon in the 1980s as a response to the major deforestation programs and to channelize rain forest recourses towards economically viable and commercially sustainable ends, which is crucial prerequisite for a developing country like Costa Rica. This further encourages the local communinities to participate in the process of standing for the forest land which is an advantage to their economy. Ecotourism in Costa Rica, can be called that purposive travel that has helped it become the second largest foreign-exchange earner after bananas.

Inspite of its relatively small size, Costa Rica constitutes a wide variety of wildlife, topography and climatic conditions. Political stability of Costa Rica, its comparative economic prosperity, its vibrant ecology (constituting over 200 species of animal and 2000 species of plant) add to its viability.

Apart from Costa Rica’s sole promises of protecting the emnvironment, it is also a signatory in the miltinational 5-year project of the Paseo Pantera, along with anaother six Central American countries.

Another of the main attractions of the Costa Rican coasts is its turtle habitation. Gandoca beach, situated in the Costa Rican coast, is one of the primary nesting sites for four species of marine turtles. Prior 1980 local communities used to harvest on turtle eggs which was at a controlled rate and did not pose as a threat to the turtle population. But with the increasing impact of the banana companies, modern transport configurations and human poaching, a serious threat towards the population of these turtles could be identified to the extent of these species being endangered. Various volunteering organizations, with the government’s support are now thriving to help preserve these endangered species by preparing hatching grounds, clearing beaches off unwanted encroachment and conducting night beach-patrols. Volunteers are highly involved with the nesting and hatching of these sea turtles. They walk the beaches at night, seek nesting female turtles, find them, tag and measure them, collect the eggs and finally transfer them to the safety of the hatcheries. Then, during certain times in the year, hundreds of tiny turtle hatchlings are released into the sea. Their work also includes conducting programs on environmental education for the local inhabiting communities.

Costa Rica’s other natural conservation processes are also remarkable. The ecotourism as deliberated by Costa Rica is a highly effective alternative to the environment-damaging industries. It is also emphatic upon encouraging individual efforts towards conservation and small scale infrastructural construction, and ultimately relieving a developing country such as Costa Rica of its economic constraints, proving that conservation and economic expansion can go hand in hand.