Costa Rica’s Numerous Plant and Animal Species Attract Millions of  EcoTourists.

Costa Rica has gained the reputation of being a country that cares for the environment over the years, and for being a country that is actively involved in conserving its natural heritage. Indeed, it is considered to be a pioneer in this field, with certain activities that are related to conservation, and one of these is called Ecotourism.

Costa Rica is like a dream world for travelers who are in love with nature and natural beauty, with its combination of lush and undisturbed primary forest mixed with a community and government that are far more stable than the some of the neighboring countries. Throw in cultural history with isolated groups of indigenous tribes, and you’ve got quite the tourism package.

In total, the amount of Costa Rica Land that is protected as national parks or reserves stretches over 1 million hectares. Ecotourists reach paradise when they land here, finding more than 500 species of trees and 200 fern species, an astonishing 300 types of orchids, 400 types of birds, 600 of butterflies, and 100  mammal species and 120 species of reptiles and amphibians! All this grouped on a relatively small area and easy to reach. There is no other country like it on earth.

Ecotourism is a funny word; indeed it may be said that there is nothing ecological about tourism, whichever way you look at it. It has been defined as being ” responsible travel to natural areas that conserve the environmental and sustain the well-being of local people.” Does Costa Rica really live up to its name, and definition? Is it really responsible and caring towards the environment, and does it really help the travelers to understand and respect mother earth, does it indeed promote conservation? And does it benefit the locals the way it claims to do? Can Costa Rica Tourism in any form really be of low impact?

How can a herd of visitors wandering in the primary cloud forest not disturb its fragile balance, and do all those who come here really understand all this? What about these eco lodges and eco hotels, built on the edges of these protected area, how could they not provoke some kind of repercussion?

While tourism exploits nature, ecotourism tries to cultivate a relationship between nature, culture and the travelers. Ecotourism wants to show and teach. To be successful however, eco tourism needs to be able to survive economically speaking, it needs to be accepted by the native indigenous people, and it needs to be ecologically protective.

Some communities take on the wrong turn and become greedy when confronted with the outside world, especially with foreigners. Envy is too often the result of the arrival of foreigners due to a sudden turn of events and rapid changes in the way of looking at life. The very people who loved and cared for nature become those who are careless and obsessed with material gain, something that was, up to now, alien to their way of life. Even those who genuinely care for the environment have too little knowledge to fully realize what can and cannot be.

For example, seasonal packs of tourists invading a primary forest has a very strong impact on the feeding and breeding habits of the fauna. Ecotourism in Costa Rica evolves around some ecosystems that have maintained the same routine for thousands of years, and the sudden appearance of a bunch of tourists does leave a mark.

More research and efforts have to be done. Ecotourism doesn’t stop in the jungle either; Hotels in San Jose have to become even more eco-friendly, using solar power for example, and learning to recycle and offering information to travelers regarding how to travel and get to know this beautiful country without disturbing its fragile beauty. The government also needs to get in on the act and take harsher measures and severely penalize businesses that do not meet an ecologically sound agenda, especially those that advertise as being eco-friendly. The local communities play a big part in ecotourism, but they must be educated first, and ecotourism should be presented to them as something from which we can all benefit, rather than just something that is imposed upon them.

Of course ecotourism is still a business and many will and need to profit from it, before they have extra to pump into the ecology. Yet, is this money really fairly generated? Aren’t those who truly care often found at the bottom of the ladder? Ecotourism can attribute its popularity to the way it proposes to make money while at the same time it attempts to maintain the ecological integrity of this country. Those who truly care can do it and have done it because there is a way, it just takes a little care, and love; it is more difficult to organize at first than regular tourism, however it is only something to get used to, on a worldwide basis.

It seems that at this point, us humans have no choice, if we want tourism to exist at all within a couple of decades. Ecotourism can indeed be a sustainable tool, if handled properly, honestly and with intelligence. We can learn from our mistakes, and we do, but we are now in a situation where we need to learn fast. We know what can happen if we do not progress, and once the beautiful ecology that attracts people to Costa Rica is damaged, in most cases, it cannot be recovered.

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Filed under: Travel on August 25th, 2008