Costa Rica

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Contemporary Environmental Issues in Costa Rica

It is very important to keep the biodiversity of Costa Rica alive and sufficient. Biodiversity is a variety or a number of different species in a certain area. Biodiversity expands ecosystem production and the species, “no matter how small, all have an important role to play” (Shah). There are threats to the ecosystem that the government is trying to decrease, making laws that would hopefully grasp the society’s attention. That way, the country is aware of how they are affecting their environment. The biodiversity is affected by the climates in the area. Costa Rica’s climates, tropical wet and tropical wet and dry, are the perfect climates for many of the world’s species to …show more content…
A major threat to the biodiversity of the country is deforestation. It affects the wildlife and may cause serious floods. Costa Rica has one of the highest rates of deforestation in Central America and the world. Deforestation has taken place in Costa Rica unlike anywhere else in the world, causing serious effect to the plant diversity. The decrease of plant diversity (deforestation) leads to the decrease of animal diversity, which is a bit ironic because the main cause of deforestation is clearing the land for cattle grazing. Once, the entire country of Costa Rica was forested, but now, most of it has been cleared. During the 20th century was when Costa Rica lost most of its forest cover, losing 40 percent. Between 1950 and 1985, “1/3 of Costa Rica’s forest cover was lost” …show more content…
in Department of Economic and Social Affairs 194). “Costa Rica has a long history of interest in biodiversity conservation, having enacted strict wildlife trade laws about 1970, and, in 1975, being the first Central American signer of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES)” (Beletsky). FONAFIFO was adopted in 1996 to recover and maintain the forests. Because of the FONAFIFO program, Costa Rica was successful in the recovery of their forests, they found it as a great tool to reduce poverty, and they have found a way to stop deforestation (qtd. in Department of Economic and Social Affairs 196). Other successes of the FONAFIFO program were: “development of new financial mechanisms, promoted gender equality, and the producers benefited” (qtd. in Department of Economic and Social Affairs 196). Another threat to the biodiversity is agricultural practices. They are harmful because of the toxins that farmers use to keep bugs off of their crops. The toxins, not only kill insects that aren’t meant to be killed, but also lead to pollution. The problem is that it is difficult to change agricultural practices, especially in poor countries. Despite the fact that Costa Rica can’t change the agricultural practices, they have found another way to inform not only their society, but also tourists from different
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