Monkey Populations have declined in Costa Rica over the past decade.

The Christian Science Monitor has revealed Costa Rica’s scandals to the U.S. readers, including the closure of the Allegro Papagayo Hotel and the contamination of the beach of Tamarindo, as well as the removal of the Ecological Blue Flag in a handful of the country’s other beaches. Further more it questionably states that in 2006 most of the country’s sewage went into the ocean untreated! Unfortunately, the Tamarindo story has hit the country hard and the following inspections of other beaches tell a sad story!

David Sherwood, who has in the past done some pieces for the Tico Times, wrote the article. It tells of “tourism’s environmental dark side”and gives a sad and negative outlook for the country. It mentions Lonely Planet comments such as this one: “If anyone reading this thinks that Costa Rica is a virtual eco-paradise where environmental conservation always takes precedence over capitalist gains … educate yourself,” while this following comment leaves a bitter taste in the mouth: “Monkey populations, symbols of the rain forest and a charismatic tourist attraction, declined an estimated 50 percent in little more than a decade, according to a recent report by a team of wildlife scientists”.

While the tone of the article is grim, we all know that the overall trend is all true. Who has not heard of the latest scandals in Tamarindo, and of the removal of Blue Flags due to an unsatisfactory level of pollution on the beaches. With such an emphasis on sustainable tourism and development, at this point in the country’s progression they should be added, not removed!

With the pending $25 million Spanish project in the Peninsula de Osa, the future does seem depressing indeed. Osa is one of the last regions of the country that had managed to escape tourism and development over the past decade. Now, precisely because of that, it is beginning to suffer heavy promotion and in the course of the year, trees will be cut and the construction will begin. They call it a mega super eco-touristy project, with a development of 51 villas, a restaurant and a spa. The developers are planning to build the condos vertically to provide a better ecological effect! How can any type of building or construction in Osa can have an ecological effect is puzzling and remains to be a mystery.

One would have thought that leaving it alone would provoke a better ecological effect, but apparently, ecological ideas vary and everyone has their own particular understanding of it. So it seems that one of the last paradises of Costa Rica is on its way out. Money, as it usually shows us, is too strong an adversary for the ecological groups working in the country, and there seems to be no stopping it now. However, one must never loose hope. Protesters have had some good results in the past and it is important to keep up the good work. Lets hope this insanity stops before there are no monkeys left in Costa Rica!

The light at the end of the tunnel here is that many of the damages are not yet reversible. The negative press will certainly force the country to work harder to sustain the natural resources that have earned it such international esteem and plenty of tourist dollars. The residents of Tamarindo, who have seen major negative financial impact after becoming the paradigm of a poorly planned coastal developments, are all working hard to reverse the negative image by starting over and doing things the right way. Lifeguards have been reinstalled, sewage treatment plants are being repaired and members of the community that cut corners in the past to save money have realized the faults of their ways. Lets hope a little negative press will continue to bring change and a better tomorrow to Costa Rica.

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Filed under: Travel on April 25th, 2008