... Overview: National Parks ...
by Infocostarica Staff

Costa Rica is truly blessed by having 25% of its territory under the protection of a system of national reserves and parks. Not many countries are as lucky in this respect. Most of these protected areas, which total seventy five, have been established as such in the last thirty years. These seventy five areas contain approximately four percent of the world’s flora, fauna and ecosystems, such as the rainforest, swamps, mangroves, dry forests, and several others.

Not all protected areas are considered parks, since there are also biological reserves, national wildlife refuges and privately owned reserves. A park is defined as a large expanse of land (usually 1000 hectares or more), which intends the conservation of an ecosystem or an area of scenic value. Parks are the most visited conservation areas, and they include volcanoes (Volcan Poas, Volcan Irazu), many beaches or coastal areas (Tortuguero, Cahuita), rainforests (Braulio Carrillo), and even some islands, like the Isla del Coco.

Unlike parks, a biological reserve is more interested in protecting an ecosystem and its organisms, than a scenic or historical area. A National wildlife refuge or Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre o Refugio Nacional de Fauna Silvestre, is practically the same as a biological reserve, but it’s usually less demarcated and there are very few services or rangers. Some examples of these are in Ostional- a beach important as a nesting site for turtles-, Curu- site for one of the country’s succesful artificial reefs- and Barra del Colorado- area that protects mammals, marine life and over 400 species of birds.

Apart from parks and biological reserves, there are several privately owned reserves, which are very well managed. One of the most famous of these reserves is the Monteverde cloudforest reserve, which was founded by the foreign Quaker community that settled it. Even though the entrance fee that is charged in the reserves doesn’t go to the government (as in the other protected areas), the funds are properly reinvested in the projects.

The impressive amount of terrain that’s set apart as a protected area is due largely to the contribution of two individuals: Olof Wessberg and Karen Morgenson. These two foreigners began a letter-writing and fund-raising activity in 1963 which intended the foundation of a reserve near their residence in the Nicoya Peninsula, later called Reserva Natural Absoluta Cabo Blanco. Their efforts, however, didn’t only influence the establishment of one reserve, but of the whole system of National Parks. A decade after they began rallying for support, local consciousness had increased tremendously and the National Parks service had been born. Wessberg was murdered in 1975 while conducting a survey for the establishment of another park (in the Corcovado area), and although the motive for the crime was never discovered, the most logical explanation points to the strong economic interests that would’ve suffered from the initiation of more restricted areas.

In recent years, governmental leaders and their parties have passed important legislation for the conservation of parks. The Arias government designed a national strategy for the preservation of these areas. In 1994, Figueres declared that his government was going to reinforce legislation that had been passed previously, but that had not been fully applied. This reinforcement was funded mostly through taxation, which didn’t please the middle and upper class very much. Most of the governmental efforts for the conservation of land are due to the initial campaign of the sixties and to the growing universal consciousness that is demanding greater attention for the environment. Economic reasons are also behind these decisions, since eco-tourism has become one of the most important industries of Costa Rica.

Whether the conservation initiatives are fueled by exigent foreigners, by worried locals or by powerful economic interests, this isn’t really the issue. The motive isn’t as significant as the positive result that it’s created. In an age when changes are coming about too rapidly, and when population is expanding, Costa Rica is blessed by having a large part of its territory that will continue being protected for a long time to come.