Costa Rica: Ecotourism Conflict
8/16/92
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** Topic: Costa Rica: Ecotourism Conflict **
** Written 7:25 pm Aug 16, 1992 by infotropical in
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The following article is written by the staff of the Tropical
Conservation Newsbureau, a Rainforest Alliance project. It may
be used as is or edited, with or without credit. Contacts are
listed at the end, or call editors Diane Jukofsky or Chris Wille
in Costa Rica: 506/36-3073. Fax: 506/40-2543
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U.N. 'EARTH SUMMIT' ORGANIZER INVOLVED IN CONFLICT
AS COSTA RICA STRUGGLES WITH THE MEANING OF ECOTOURISM
GANDOCA-MANZANILLO, Costa Rica, August 13, 1992 -- Flush with
success from the recent U.N. environmental conference in Rio de
Janeiro, Maurice Strong, the organizer of the event, is facing
charges of illegally building a luxury hotel in a protected
indigenous reserve in Costa Rica. Strong's Costa Rican business
partner maintains it's all a misunderstanding, but the contro-
versy underlines some of the environmental protection conflicts
Costa Rica must face as unprecedented numbers of tourists flock
to this peaceful and beautiful Central American country.
Tourism in Costa Rica generated $336 million in 1991, second
only to banana exports as an earner of foreign exchange. More
than 500,000 people are expected to visit the country in 1992.
According to a recent study, nearly 80 percent of those who
visit Costa Rica come to enjoy the country's natural attractions:
its miles of beaches and expanses of dense rainforest, misty
cloudforest, and dry tropical forest, which protect five percent
of all the plant and animal species on Earth.
The business of bringing visitors to see such wonders of
nature has been dubbed "ecotourism," and many conservationists
claim that it can actually save natural areas, as dollar-wielding
tourists give environmentalists political leverage to protect
biologically important regions. Conservationists and several
tour operators in Costa Rica worry, however, that in their rush
to take advantage of the country's natural bounty, some
developers are disregarding the spirit of ecotourism.
"These huge developments will attract a different kind of
tourist, one not interested in nature." says Carlos Coles, owner
of Jungle Trails, a local tour company. "So Costa Rica will
become just an average destination, nothing special. The big
developers will also push local companies out of the market. I
want to see tourism where everybody participates, not just big
companies from abroad."
Strong, a Canadian, is building his $35 million condo
complex on Costa Rica's sleepy southern Caribbean coast, within
the borders of Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge, and, apparently
on land set aside for Bribri and Cabecar indigenous people. Other
hotels are also being constructed within the refuge, according to
Ana Cristina Rossi, a former advisor to the natural resources
ministry. An Italian company plans to build a 130-room hotel, 60
separate villas, a discotheque, tennis courts, swimming pool, and
shopping mall. "This is not anyone's idea of ecotourism," she
says.
"It's not even tourism -- just land speculation that threatens the
refuge."
Four species of sea turtles lay their eggs along the beaches
of the wildlife refuge, whose estuaries are also nurseries for
lobster and the prized sportfish called tarpon. Ronald Umana, a
marine biologist with the conservation group ANAI, says that many
local people welcome tourism development, since it will provide
jobs to supplement what they make from fishing. But he adds that
the community wants controlled development, not big tourist
complexes, since "this is a culture of fishermen, not bellboys."
Across the country, a Spanish company is building an even
larger hotel: 400 rooms on the Pacific's Tambor Beach. The
conservation group ASCONA sued the developers, claiming they
violated various environmental laws, such as filling in eight
acres of rare mangrove swamp. Like Gandoca-Manzanillo, Tambor is
biologically rich and fragile, home to hundreds of tropical bird
and animal species, including six in danger of extinction.
In an attempt to control tourism development, the Costa Rica
Audubon Society has developed a set of environmental guidelines.
The conservation group will recommend to visitors only those
hotels or tour companies that comply with the regulations.
"We hope that eventually, every visitor to Costa Rica will
check with us before arranging their trip here," says Richard
Holland, director of the Audubon chapter. "The pressures of the
market can encourage tourism development with a conservation
conscience." The Tambor and Gandoca-Manzanillo complexes, he
adds, "will not be on our list of recommended hotels."
Here is the Costa Rica Audubon Society's Code of
Environmental Ethics for Ecotourism:
* Wildlife and habitats should not be needlessly disturbed.
* Waste should be disposed of properly.
* Tourism should be a positive influence on local communities.
* Tourism should be managed and sustainable.
* Tourism should be culturally sensitive.
* Wildlife, wildlife products, and plants should not be bought.
* Tourism should strengthen conservation efforts and enhance
the natural integrity of places visited.
Contacts: Costa Rican Inst. of Tourism, 506/23-1722; Carlos Coles