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Costa Rica's Jungles Shrink as Economy Grows

Posted on: Saturday, 21 June 2008, 00:15 CDT

What was once home to monkey's, turtles and other rare wildlife, a beautiful stretch of coastline in northwest Costa Rica is now developing so fast that it is tarnishing the country's reputation as a destination for eco-tourists.

Every year some 1.4 million people visit Costa Rica, but they no longer come just for the national parks that cover more than a quarter of its area and are home to almost 5 percent of the world's plant and animal species. They also want sand, surf and even real estate.

An airport near Liberia began handling international flights five years ago, bringing little-known provinces like Guanacaste within three hours of travel time from Miami.

Developers saw prime spots to attract everyone from surfers and honeymooners to U.S. retirees seeking a second home, and they are taking advantage of it.

Environmentalists fear that the construction might balloon into noisy, sprawling resorts with cruise ship ports and golf courses like those in Cancun, Mexico, which guzzle water and pollute the environment.

"These cases of poorly planned tourist developments in Costa Rica could affect the well-deserved reputation as a pioneer in eco-tourism," said Ronald Sanabria, a Costa Rican who works for the Rainforest Alliance, an international advocate for sustainability. 

Cost Rica has already lost up to half of its monkey population in the last 12 years as developers expand into their jungle habitat, according to scientists at the University of Costa Rica.

Leatherback turtles of Tamarindo are experiencing more difficulties in life due to light pollution. The town's lights disorient the tiny hatchlings, sending them toward the luminescence instead of out to sea.

Fabian Pacheco of the Costa Rican Federation for the Conservation of Nature told Reuters that "These large-scale tourism projects have big consequences for the environment."

Costa Rica's top foreign exchange earner is tourism. Property developers are quick to point out the contribution the construction sector brings to the economy, accounting 5 percent of gross domestic product and growing by 16 percent last year.

"It's been good for the locals," said Denise Shante, a Canadian property broker who sells apartments priced up to $2.5 million.

The development has the government and even the tourism industry worried.

When rains overflowed septic tanks in Tamarindo, tons of raw sewage flowed into the ocean and the resort lost its "blue flag" issued by Costa Rica's water utility to indicate healthy ocean water conditions.

"Costa Rica can no longer project the pure image of an eco-tourism paradise since reality shows investors are free to develop more and more projects without clear rules," the Costa Rican Hotel and Resorts Association warned in a report in May.

President Oscar Arias has begun a crackdown at newer Pacific resorts, closing some businesses and ordering height restrictions on buildings near the beach.

"Tamarindo and Jaco got out of our hands, but our scientists are working on ways of assuring development that is compatible with nature," Arias told Reuters.

According to the Costa Rican Chamber of Construction, unregulated building is still going on, and in Tamarindo the most prominent feature is its building sites swarming with laborers.

Shawn O'Neil, a surfer from San Diego, California, says it is unfair to rope off pretty beaches for an elite who can afford expensive eco-resorts while shutting out those who prefer cheaper all-inclusive hotels.

"People say how built up Tamarindo is, but it doesn't seem like much after San Diego and Los Angeles," O'Neil said.

Source: redOrbit staff and wire reports

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