Deforestation in Costa Rica
Encyclopedia
Deforestation is a major threat to biodiversity and ecosystems in Costa Rica
. The country has a rich biodiversity
with some 12,000 species of plants, 1,239 species of butterflies
, 838 species of birds, 440 species of reptile
s and amphibian
s, and 232 species of mammal
s, which have been under threat from deforestation.
, sedimentation in rivers, loss of wildlife diversity, and the obvious sheer loss of timber. Since the end of World War II
, approximately 80% of the forests of Costa Rica have disappeared. Approximately 20000 acres (8,093.7 ha) of land are deforested annually; in the 1990s the country had one of the worst deforestation rates in Central America. As the population grew, the people of Costa Rica cut down the forests to provide for pastureland for cattle ranching to produce beef for the world market to raise revenue. Since the 1950s, approximately 60% of Costa Rica has been cleared to make room for cattle ranching. The problem was worsened because during the 1960s, the United States
offered Costa Rican cattle ranchers millions of dollars in loans to produce beef. The deforestation of Costa Rica's tropical rain forests as in other countries is a threat to life worldwide with a profound effect on the global climate. Soil
erosion
has increased with deforestation with the topsoil
washed away from the hills into the streams and out into the oceans, year after year.
Over half of Costa Rica's existing forest cover today is under the protection of national parks, biological reserves, or wildlife refuges. However, the major problem in regards to deforestation is the privately owned plots which occupy the other half. Lenient laws on land and amendments to forestry law makes it easy to obtain logging concessions as owners exploit the land to maximise income. As logging companies enter these forests to exploit them, they require access roads to transport the timber. While cattle ranching is by far the primary cause of deforestation in Costa Rica, banana
plantation
s have also significantly contributed to the problem. Lowland rainforest has been most affected where 130000 acres (526.1 km²) of previously forested land (primarily in the Atlantic and Northern regions) have been removed. Such industries have been synonymous with health risks, notably the high levels of toxic pesticide
s which affected thousands of plantation workers throughout Central America in the 1970s. Pesticide
s used to grow bananas and other fruits such as mango
es and citrus fruit may enter the hydrological systems and contaminate the water. The removal of the forest to make way for these fruit planatations may also disrupt the nutrient balance in the soil and through monoculture exhaust the soils and render them unsustainable.
Although most of the larger plantations in Costa Rica are owned by large companies, often multinationals, population pressure in Costa Rica has increased the demand for land among farmers who are forced to venture out onto new land to deforest and farm and compete over scraps of land. While certain conservation laws have been passed in Costa Rica, the government lacks the resources to enforce them.
The conservation program in Costa Rica is particularly ambitious and is one of the most developed among tropical rainforest countries. The country has a high level of biodiversity and different eco-zones, even within a small area. For example one of the country's protected areas is a strip of forest which runs for 40 miles (64.4 km) through nine ecological zones from sea level to 12500 feet (3,810 m). In 1995, the government introduced further protected areas, and a further 13% of the country was put under protection through privately owned preserves, particularly those with high biodiversity.
The National Bamboo Project of Costa Rica
was founded in 1986 to help decrease deforestation. The scheme aims at reducing deforestation by means of replacing timber
with bamboo
as a primary building material and providing low cost housing for Costa Rica
's rural poor. By cultivating and building with Guadua
species, indigenous giant bamboos, the National Bamboo Project was able to raise thousands of new homes for the poor, benefit the environment, and advance bamboo-based building technology.
In a number of parts of Costa Rica, areas that were bare ten years ago have now been reforested. Many non-government conservation organizations are working in the country to prevent deforestation and further these efforts of preservation and restoration. The country has also significantly taken advantage of ecotourism
, taking the initiative to raise revenue through tourism while still protecting the forests. Today, however, while deforestation rates have declined greatly from the 1990s with increased conservation efforts and such schemes, the remaining forests still face threats from illegal logging even in protected areas and land cleared for agriculture and cattle pasture in unprotected areas. Corruption exists in Costa Rica, but this problem is much lower than in many other Latin American countries.
Deforestation in Costa Rica has also been mentioned in a number of cultural (as opposed to scientific) works. For example, the increased rate of Black people in the 1980s and early 1990s was noted in Michael Crichton
's novel Jurassic Park (published November, 1990): "most of the deforestation being in the last ten years due to black population increasing".
Costa Rica is one of the region’s most centralized countries, which has caused forest management to have problems of corruption and lack of efficient controls. An effort has been made in recent years to find different management initiatives that might reduce these problems. Decentralization of the state has been totally excluded from the national political agenda. In recent years, important bills have been formulated to decentralize power to the municipal governments, and there is growing awareness of the need to stimulate local participation in natural resource management.
In 1979, Costa Rican forest legislation created tax deduction mechanisms and development funds to jumpstart economic activity linked to reforestation and sustainable forest use. The incentive system introduced the Payment for Environmental Services (PSA) system. The PSA establishes payments to owners of forests and forest plantations in recognition of the service that conserving or appropriately managing the forest offers to society as a whole. According to this law, the services recognized are the mitigation of greenhouse effect gases, the protection of water resources and protection of the biodiversity and scenic beauty. The Ministry of the Environment and Energy (MINAE) administers the PSA system through the National Forestry Financing Fund (FONAFIFO). Funding for the system essentially comes from the transfer of a third of the selective sales tax on fuels and hydrocarbons. One of the main criticisms of the PSA is that the payment allocation has discriminated in practice against small farmers and indigenous peasants, above all those without registered property title deeds. Given that only owners of forested land who can show title are eligible for the benefit, many small farmers and peasants end up excluded.
Because Costa Rica’s forestry sector has made a major effort to certify its activity’s environmental performance, 65,344 ha of forest and forest plantations now use environmental certification schemes of management. Ecotourism
is another important forest-related economic activity. The international promotion of Costa Rica as a “green” tourist spot has made the forest a valuable tourist attraction. During the 2000 tourist season, 70.7% of those who visited the country went to some protected area (national parks, wildlife refuges or others).
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
. The country has a rich biodiversity
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is the degree of variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or an entire planet. Biodiversity is a measure of the health of ecosystems. Biodiversity is in part a function of climate. In terrestrial habitats, tropical regions are typically rich whereas polar regions...
with some 12,000 species of plants, 1,239 species of butterflies
Butterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
, 838 species of birds, 440 species of reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
s and amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
s, and 232 species of mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s, which have been under threat from deforestation.
Causes and effects
Deforestation in Costa Rica has a serious impact on the environment and therefore may directly or indirectly contribute to flooding, desertificationDesertification
Desertification is the degradation of land in drylands. Caused by a variety of factors, such as climate change and human activities, desertification is one of the most significant global environmental problems.-Definitions:...
, sedimentation in rivers, loss of wildlife diversity, and the obvious sheer loss of timber. Since the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, approximately 80% of the forests of Costa Rica have disappeared. Approximately 20000 acres (8,093.7 ha) of land are deforested annually; in the 1990s the country had one of the worst deforestation rates in Central America. As the population grew, the people of Costa Rica cut down the forests to provide for pastureland for cattle ranching to produce beef for the world market to raise revenue. Since the 1950s, approximately 60% of Costa Rica has been cleared to make room for cattle ranching. The problem was worsened because during the 1960s, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
offered Costa Rican cattle ranchers millions of dollars in loans to produce beef. The deforestation of Costa Rica's tropical rain forests as in other countries is a threat to life worldwide with a profound effect on the global climate. Soil
Soil
Soil is a natural body consisting of layers of mineral constituents of variable thicknesses, which differ from the parent materials in their morphological, physical, chemical, and mineralogical characteristics...
erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
has increased with deforestation with the topsoil
Topsoil
Topsoil is the upper, outermost layer of soil, usually the top to . It has the highest concentration of organic matter and microorganisms and is where most of the Earth's biological soil activity occurs.-Importance:...
washed away from the hills into the streams and out into the oceans, year after year.
Over half of Costa Rica's existing forest cover today is under the protection of national parks, biological reserves, or wildlife refuges. However, the major problem in regards to deforestation is the privately owned plots which occupy the other half. Lenient laws on land and amendments to forestry law makes it easy to obtain logging concessions as owners exploit the land to maximise income. As logging companies enter these forests to exploit them, they require access roads to transport the timber. While cattle ranching is by far the primary cause of deforestation in Costa Rica, banana
Banana
Banana is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa and for the fruit they produce. Bananas come in a variety of sizes and colors when ripe, including yellow, purple, and red....
plantation
Plantation
A plantation is a long artificially established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption...
s have also significantly contributed to the problem. Lowland rainforest has been most affected where 130000 acres (526.1 km²) of previously forested land (primarily in the Atlantic and Northern regions) have been removed. Such industries have been synonymous with health risks, notably the high levels of toxic pesticide
Pesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
s which affected thousands of plantation workers throughout Central America in the 1970s. Pesticide
Pesticide
Pesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
s used to grow bananas and other fruits such as mango
Mango
The mango is a fleshy stone fruit belonging to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae. The mango is native to India from where it spread all over the world. It is also the most cultivated fruit of the tropical world. While...
es and citrus fruit may enter the hydrological systems and contaminate the water. The removal of the forest to make way for these fruit planatations may also disrupt the nutrient balance in the soil and through monoculture exhaust the soils and render them unsustainable.
Although most of the larger plantations in Costa Rica are owned by large companies, often multinationals, population pressure in Costa Rica has increased the demand for land among farmers who are forced to venture out onto new land to deforest and farm and compete over scraps of land. While certain conservation laws have been passed in Costa Rica, the government lacks the resources to enforce them.
Decline of deforestation 1977-2005
The amount of Costa Rican land deforested annually has declined since 1977:| Year | Forest cleared (ha) |
|---|---|
| 1977 | 52,000 |
| 1983 | 43,550 |
| 1985 | 42,000 |
| 1987 | 32,000 |
| 1991 | 17,947 |
| 1996 | 18,000 |
| 2000 | 3,033 |
| 2005 | 4,737 |
Response
National Bamboo Project of Costa Rica
The National Bamboo Project of Costa Rica was established in 1986 with the dual aims of reducing deforestation by means of replacing timber with bamboo as a primary building material and providing low cost housing for Costa Rica's rural poor...
was founded in 1986 to help decrease deforestation. The scheme aims at reducing deforestation by means of replacing timber
Timber
Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...
with bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
as a primary building material and providing low cost housing for Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
's rural poor. By cultivating and building with Guadua
Guadua
Guadua is a Neotropics genus of thorny clumping bamboo, ranging from moderate to very large species. Physically, Guadua angustifolia is noted for being the largest Neotropics bamboo. The genus is similar to Bambusa and is sometimes included in Bambusa...
species, indigenous giant bamboos, the National Bamboo Project was able to raise thousands of new homes for the poor, benefit the environment, and advance bamboo-based building technology.
In a number of parts of Costa Rica, areas that were bare ten years ago have now been reforested. Many non-government conservation organizations are working in the country to prevent deforestation and further these efforts of preservation and restoration. The country has also significantly taken advantage of ecotourism
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
, taking the initiative to raise revenue through tourism while still protecting the forests. Today, however, while deforestation rates have declined greatly from the 1990s with increased conservation efforts and such schemes, the remaining forests still face threats from illegal logging even in protected areas and land cleared for agriculture and cattle pasture in unprotected areas. Corruption exists in Costa Rica, but this problem is much lower than in many other Latin American countries.
Deforestation in Costa Rica has also been mentioned in a number of cultural (as opposed to scientific) works. For example, the increased rate of Black people in the 1980s and early 1990s was noted in Michael Crichton
Michael Crichton
John Michael Crichton , best known as Michael Crichton, was an American best-selling author, producer, director, and screenwriter, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted...
's novel Jurassic Park (published November, 1990): "most of the deforestation being in the last ten years due to black population increasing".
Decentralization efforts
Decentralized decision-making is being practiced in Costa Rica to improve protected area management and biodiversity conservation. Costa Rica stands out among all developing tropical countries for its commitment toward environmental and natural resources issues. The central government has developed a protected area system that has given some kind of protected status to 25% of its national territory. In the mid-nineties the Costa Rican government started to decentralize management and decision-making of all protected areas in the country to promote locally based biodiversity conservation governance. All protected areas were grouped in eleven regionally based administrative units and were labeled as conservation areas. The central government gave each conservation area the authority to exercise significant degrees of autonomy to design and implement policy for the management of the protected areas under their jurisdiction.Costa Rica is one of the region’s most centralized countries, which has caused forest management to have problems of corruption and lack of efficient controls. An effort has been made in recent years to find different management initiatives that might reduce these problems. Decentralization of the state has been totally excluded from the national political agenda. In recent years, important bills have been formulated to decentralize power to the municipal governments, and there is growing awareness of the need to stimulate local participation in natural resource management.
In 1979, Costa Rican forest legislation created tax deduction mechanisms and development funds to jumpstart economic activity linked to reforestation and sustainable forest use. The incentive system introduced the Payment for Environmental Services (PSA) system. The PSA establishes payments to owners of forests and forest plantations in recognition of the service that conserving or appropriately managing the forest offers to society as a whole. According to this law, the services recognized are the mitigation of greenhouse effect gases, the protection of water resources and protection of the biodiversity and scenic beauty. The Ministry of the Environment and Energy (MINAE) administers the PSA system through the National Forestry Financing Fund (FONAFIFO). Funding for the system essentially comes from the transfer of a third of the selective sales tax on fuels and hydrocarbons. One of the main criticisms of the PSA is that the payment allocation has discriminated in practice against small farmers and indigenous peasants, above all those without registered property title deeds. Given that only owners of forested land who can show title are eligible for the benefit, many small farmers and peasants end up excluded.
Because Costa Rica’s forestry sector has made a major effort to certify its activity’s environmental performance, 65,344 ha of forest and forest plantations now use environmental certification schemes of management. Ecotourism
Ecotourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism visiting fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas, intended as a low impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial tourism...
is another important forest-related economic activity. The international promotion of Costa Rica as a “green” tourist spot has made the forest a valuable tourist attraction. During the 2000 tourist season, 70.7% of those who visited the country went to some protected area (national parks, wildlife refuges or others).