Nature Blog is pleased to welcome Stephen Brooks. Stephen is living proof that one person can make a difference. We asked him to write a bit of his story and how he became so involved in environmental and ecological issues in Costa Rica. He has chosen an entrepreneurial path for his work and has developed a series of interrelated enterprises that promote the betterment of Costa Rica, with lessons for all of us, regardless of our own location. He is also a contributing correspondent to Planet Green G Word. 

“I grew up in the suburbs of Miami, Florida and from a very young age became passionate about the ocean and frequently traveled to the island of Bimini, the closest island in the Bahamas. My family was super into fishing and diving and I watched as the big trawl netting and long line fishing began and nearly wiped out the fish off Miami and in Bimini as well. It felt so wrong and certainly helped me realize how much we were a part of this incredible web of life on Earth.

In 1995, I went to visit a girlfriend in Costa Rica and it was this trip that jolted me from my deep slumber and completely altered my path drastically even to this very day. I loved the touristy parts of Costa Rica that we visited, but it wasn’t until I arrived on the southern Caribbean coast that I really started to feel some powerful force calling me there. It’s an unusual area and if you didn’t know you were in Costa Rica you would certainly think you were in Jamaica. Afro-Caribbean, Indigenous Bribri and Cabecar, Costa Ricans of Spanish decent, Nicaraguans inhabit the small Caribbean towns, and a great mix of eclectic foreigners and then in the younger generation a beautiful mix of all of the above. The lush rainforest extends right to the edge of beautiful white and black sand beaches with coral reefs, and the towns have gourmet restaurants, cute bed and breakfasts and a raging nightlife.

I was hooked! I absolutely fell in love with the area, especially the town of Puerto Viejo and the small towns south along the coast. After several days of exploration, we decided to visit the town of Bribri, the administrative center of the Indigenous people. On my way there I was totally floored by the gorgeous landscape and beautiful thatch huts that dotted the hillsides. Read on…

One of the greatest flaws in programs developed by large conservation minded organizations in dealing with resource rich emerging nations like Costa Rica is their exclusive focus on the land, often at the expense of the local citizens. There is no more important resource to protect than the well being of the people, and without them, the best-laid plans will fail.

We are extremely pleased to share the story of the Nectandra Institute and their brilliantly designed Eco-Loan Fund. Interest free loans are provided to qualifying community water management associations to purchase land in the San Carlos River watershed, located in northern Costa Rica. In exchange for these interest free loans, each recipient community agrees to pay back the capital, to conserve, reforest, restore and maintain their watershed  environment according to a mutually acceptable management plan. A great deal of the work accomplished has the mark of Alvaro Ugalde, a favorite of Nature Blog  and one of the most respected conservationists in Costa Rica. He has always championed the rights of the people in any strategies addressing conservation of the country’s natural resources.

Knowing that a picture is worth at least a thousand words, you must view Nectandra’s  phenomenal video(s) posted on YouTube. It is entitled, “Agua Mas Que Un Tubo”. Part I and Part II tell the story.

Read on…

Tortuguero National Park is the entrance way to one of the most ecological diverse displays of flora and fauna in Costa Rica boasting a waterway of famed beauty. It is also the most important area in the western Caribbean for turtle preservation, as it is here where the Green Turtle and others come to lay their eggs. Protecting marine turtles’ environment was a principal reason for the creation of the park, for its black-sand beaches are also nesting grounds for the gigantic Leatherback Turtle, the attractive Hawksbill Turtle and the brown-colored Loggerhead Turtle.

Located in Costa Rica’s northern Caribbean region, just 80 kilometers north of the city of Limon, this protected wildlife area was created in 1975. The park is comprised of a network of natural and navigable canals and lagoons of grand beauty that cross the park in a Southeast to Northeast direction. They are home to species such as Manatees and Crocodiles; fish oddities like the Tropical Gar, which is considered a living fossil; and amazing birds like the Great Blue Heron, the largest of its kind found in the country, and the Northern Jacana, famous in the animal kingdom for it is the female that defends her family’s territory while the male takes care of their hatchling
Read on…