From October to December 2017, Michael Ott, Chairman of the Board of our association, and Dr. Stefan Rother, founding member of the association and freelance photographer, spent two months in Costa Rica. The aim was to visit the current projects and our local partners. You can find excellent pictures and impressions on Dr. Stefan Rother’s travel blog.
In an interview, the two reported on interesting findings and the current status of our projects in Costa Rica:
What significance does nature conservation actually have for the indigenous population and how does Tropica Verde involve them in its projects? Only around 90,000 indigenous people, belonging to 11 ethnic groups, still live in Costa Rica. They live mainly in the species-rich areas along the southern Cordillera. Nature conservation is of fundamental importance to the indigenous people, as they treat the forest and its resources with care and thus preserve the forest and its biodiversity per se. However, the pressure on the forest areas, e.g. from planned dam projects, agricultural projects or logging, is high and every nature conservation project – especially in the buffer zones around the indigenous regions – helps to support the individual groups. The Bribri Indians, for example, are direct neighbors of our Finca Curré forest reserve. Tropica Verde has been working with three schools in Bribri since 2014 to promote environmental education and raise children’s awareness of forest conservation and water management.
We attach great importance to accompanying environmental education measures in order to sensitize people – and especially the younger generation – to the importance of treating nature responsibly. We do this by funding educational units at local schools, for example, but also by directly supporting local cultural and social initiatives such as Ecodesi. As far as possible, our activities are always linked to the financing of a job for course leaders or rangers on our land.
The educational units focus on the topics of conscious water use and waste avoidance, but also in particular on the problems of poaching and illegal logging. Through the educational units in the school classes, we primarily reach the children and young people, but also their parents in a second step – and that is very important to us. From the project reports, we often see that parents then also participate in the activities and reconsider their behavior. The issue of poaching in particular is a burning one, as private hunting has been banned throughout Costa Rica for several years – but this is inadequately monitored due to a lack of staff and money.
How do the successes in the projects become visible? On the one hand, it is already a great success if areas with rare primary forest and high species richness – such as on the Finca Curré – can be preserved in the long term, especially if such areas also represent biological corridors that promote biodiversity. This applies both to the Finca Curré and to the forest in the Lapa Verde project, where rainforest conservation offers refuge to highly endangered species such as the large soldier macaw. The successes are also visible in reforestation projects, especially when the local population recognizes a clear benefit in the conservation measures. This is the case in the Monte Alto area near Hojancha, where a basin has been partially reforested over the last 20 years, which has had such a positive effect on the microclimate that clean drinking water is available all year round. This motivates the local population to continue and preserve the secondary forests in the long term.
Successes can only be seen in individual species, as it is not possible to map all species comprehensively. In the last 20 years, the population of the great black macaw has risen from 80 to over 400 individuals, which is partly due to the targeted protection of the giant mountain almond trees, the macaw’s feeding and nesting trees. In the long term, however, environmental education in schools must be promoted and prosecution of illegal poaching must be implemented consistently. Only then will rare species have a long-term chance of survival.
How is ‘ecotourism’ implemented in Costa Rica? In principle, ecotourism is defined as responsible travel that contributes to the protection of the environment and the well-being of the local population. This means that every tourist has the responsibility to check for themselves whether this trip is appropriately organized. In Costa Rica, almost everything is promoted as ecotourism when it comes to visits to natural regions. It is important that the organizers ensure that no masses of tourists are taken to remote areas with endangered species. It is a good solution wherever tourists are directed to buffer zones around the core regions, as is done in Monteverde by the CCT organization, for example. With the increase in tourism, especially cruises, it is essential to ensure that tourist flows are managed in a way that is compatible with nature. Ecotourism can still be practiced in Costa Rica if everyone – including us tourists – takes the guidelines seriously.
How does the exchange between Tropica Verde in Germany and the nature conservation organizations in Costa Rica work? Our trip to all Tropica Verde projects at the end of 2017 confirmed that the partners and we are pulling in the same direction and that there is a high level of trust. On the one hand, this is due to the continuous project coordination throughout the year via e-mail and the common objectives. It is often a fine balance whether an area should be treated purely as a conservation area or whether it can be better protected by increasing its presence, including through ecotourism. This is only possible through the assessment of local organizations, which can better assess the trends and initiate appropriate measures. A regular exchange on site is essential in order to continue to successfully steer the joint projects.
Which topics are integrated into environmental education in Germany? Environmental education in Germany has been an important focus of Tropica Verde’s work since it was founded in 1989. A key issue is people’s understanding of the ecology and benefits of tropical forests. It is just as important to draw attention to the current dangers and possible protective measures. We should not underestimate the power we have as consumers in our daily shopping. If we have a basic understanding of the rainforests and the products we sell, it is easier for us to make ecological purchasing decisions that benefit forest conservation. Because our purchasing behavior regulates demand.
