Nature Air

In a country known for sustainable tourism, the sport fishing industry has also established norms to contribute to the well-being and sustainability of the marine habitat and local communities. According to a 2009 study conducted by the University of Costa Rica, 22 percent of high season tourists come to Costa Rica for sport fishing. The [...]

Water is the source of life and its nurturer. It has the power to ferociously destroy life and then gently recreate it. This liquid elixir gathers in the high country, often collecting in lakes, and sometimes flowing to the sea through an intricate series of streams and rivers. There is no more important resource on [...]

A recent Op-Ed piece by Nicholas Kristof in the NY Times, and a letter written to us by a loyal ecotourist to Costa Rica, highlight the crux of the conflict relating to Las Baulas Marine National Park. It is not simply about the passage of Expediente No. 17.383 to downgrade the park to a wildlife [...]

The most compelling case to be made on behalf of retaining Las Baulas de Guanacaste Marine National Park in its present status comes from a report initiated by the same government now choosing to ignore its findings. In 2008, at the request of the Arias government, a group of experts was brought together as the [...]

It would appear that the major accomplishment of the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 held in Copenhagen is consensus that global warming is indeed a serious challenge and we must do something about it. While this observation is somewhat sarcastic, it is likely closer to the mark than measuring how far it actually went [...]

Environmental eyes are all on Copenhagen over the next several weeks. If you are reading this, you likely know that is the location for COP 15, the United Nations Climate Change Conference. In spite of recent scandals attempting to debunk the science of global warming, there is a growing international will to finally do something [...]

The debate over Proyecto de Ley 17.383,which proposes to downgrade Las Baulas National Park to a wildlife refuge, revolves around three areas: legal precedent, expropriation, and science. The legal debate is actually quite one sided. First, Las Baulas was declared a national park by executive decree 20518 in 1991, followed by law number 7524 authorizing [...]