Ecotourism in Costa Rica Is Putting Wildlife at Risk

[Judi Lynn]

Ecotourism has been a positive force in some ways, but native species like the jaguar, sloth, and howler monkey are losing ground to development.

Tracey Lindeman
Apr 6 2018, 10:00am

Just over a year ago, a surf competition on the southern tip of Costa Rica’s Caribbean coast—home of the famous Salsa Brava reef break, which produces some of the country’s strongest waves—brought hundreds, if not thousands, of surfers to the region’s otherwise wild beaches.

They flooded Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, a tiny town an hour’s drive away from the nearest airport, local animal biologist and conservationist Encar Garcia told me. It used to be a village in a jungle clearing mostly composed of Afro-Caribbean people and members of the Indigenous Bribri tribe. Until the tourists discovered it.

Now increasingly large droves of wannabe yogis and surfers are arriving in sarongs and flip-flops, ready to soak up the jungle vibes. Unbeknownst to many of them, their quest for the “pura vida” lifestyle is damaging the very environment they’re looking to savour.

“After the last surf championship, I was very depressed,” Garcia said, gesturing toward the nearby wild beaches of Playa Cocles and Playa Chiquita. “All my staff and volunteers were cleaning the beaches. It was full of garbage at the end of the competition.”

More:
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/59jywz/ecotourism-in-costa-rica-is-putting-wildlife-at-risk

Environment and energy:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1127116482

[EX500rider]

1. Not sure what they can do about it...

..their economy relies on it:
Tourism in Costa Rica is one of the fastest growing economic sectors of the country[2] and by 1995 became the largest foreign exchange earner.[3][4] Since 1999, tourism earns more foreign exchange than bananas, pineapples and coffee exports combined.[5] The tourism boom began in 1987,[3] with the number of visitors up from 329,000 in 1988, through 1.03 million in 1999, over 2 million in 2008, to a historical record of 2.66 million foreign visitors in 2015.[6][7] In 2012 tourism contributed with 12.5% of the country's GDP and it was responsible for 11.7% of direct and indirect employment.[8] In 2009 tourism attracted 17% of foreign direct investment inflows, and 13% in average between 2000 and 2009.[9] In 2010 the tourism industry was responsible for 21.2% of foreign exchange generated by all exports.[10] According to a 2007 report by ECLAC, tourism contributed to a reduction in poverty of 3% in the country.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourism_in_Costa_Rica

It's gotten too touristy for me, I go to Colombia for vacation now instead.

Costa Rica pop: 4.8 million -number of tourists per year 2.6 million -country size: 20,000 sq miles
Colombia pop: 48 million -number of tourists per year 3 million - country size: 440,000 sq miles
(and most the US tourists to Colombia are on cruise ships in Cartagena)

[GatoGordo]

2. Agreed. Costa Rica is awesome, but now it is inundated with eco tourists

and people looking for "Pura Vida". The cost of living is escalating, as more and more American and European expats are buying up property.

Tourism and electronics are the numbers one and two drivers of the economy. CR is a hotbed for IT and manufacturing/testing of electronics, to most peoples surprise. A benefit of having a highly educated and literate population. Compared to the rest of Latin America, CR is a superstar with a poverty level of approx. 20% and low unemployment, though it is creeping back up with the current mess going on in Venezuela. Lots of refugees.

[EX500rider]

3. It was a great place to live back in the '70's..

My family moved there when I was 9 in 1971 and I went to public school there till 1976, the port town on the pacific we lived in only had a handful of gringos back then and everything was dirt cheap. Was a much poorer country back then, lots of people living in homemade shacks.

[GatoGordo]

4. I can't help but think how awesome it would be

if the rest of Latin America could pull off what Costa Rica has in the past 50 years. So much natural beauty, yet such despair.