Ecotourism in Costa Rica Is Putting Wildlife at Risk
Ecotourism in Costa Rica Is Putting Wildlife at Risk
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
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