Nature Air

The creation of Costa Rica’s national park system is an extraordinary story, rich in character, politics and opportunity. I strongly recommend reading “The Quetzal And The Macaw”   by David Rains Wallace. This idea of protecting and preserving Costa Rica’s natural environment began hundreds of years ago, and the fact that it was pivotal in creating the ecotourism phenomenon is just one of those fortuitous accidents. 

The Forestry Law was passed by the Legislative Assembly in 1969, which included a provision for establishing a national park system. Along with the efforts of many others, today’s park system would simply never have happened without two incredible individuals, Mario Boza and Alvaro Ugalde, and the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in Tennessee. Both Mario and Alvaro visited the park in 1968 and were inspired by  the possibilities.

In May 1969, Mario Boza wrote an editorial in La Republica, stating, “Although parks might seem an unnecessary investment, they could become one of the major sources of revenue for the nation.” The first two parks were at Poas and Santa Rosa. The first two employees of the new national park system, were Mario Boza at the former, followed by Alvaro Ugalde at the latter.

There is a great article written by Alvaro Ugalde, entitled Parks Can Change A Nation, and you can find it online in the July issue of National Parks, National Legacy. According to Alvaro, “The history of Costa Rica could be divided between before the parks and after the parks. We changed the course of our Nation and changed the economy of the country as we built parks and preserves.” 

In the forty years since the idea of a national park system came to life, no one could have imagined that two million people a year would be visiting Costa Rica to experience its protected natural environment, and calling the experience ecotourism. It is also safe to assume that forty years ago, absolutely no one envisioned the human threat to the environment and the myriad issues we now find ourselves wrestling with.

“We didn’t know way back that the planet was in trouble. In Costa Rica we have done much to set aside protected areas, but they are still just islands surrounded by bigger environmental problems”, a concerned shared by Alvaro Ugalde in his recent article.

The brilliant idea of saving pieces of our unspoiled natural beauty has created a mosaic of indefinable purity throughout the world that grows increasingly valuable. The original idea behind the park system was about our responsibility to protect the natural environment. Today, the only thing that has changed is our responsibilities have increased and now the preservation of our planet is at stake. The stage may have gotten larger, but it is still people like Mario Boza and Alvaro Ugalde who stand apart from the chorus and make their voices heard.