Earth Day 2019

April 2019

HOWLER

Costa Rica Lifestyle, Travel & Adventure

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since 1996

Leading the Green Way

Earth Day

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COVER STORY

by Sandy Sandoval & Tatiana Vandruff

Now It’s Time to Protect Our Species

Earth Day 2019

Costa Rica’s conservation efforts to protect its biodiversity have been a model for the world.

Earth Day is observed on April 22 each year in many countries. The purpose is to bring people together to understand the importance of protecting our natural resources and the catastrophic consequences of not doing so. It dates back to 1970, after California Senator Gaylord Nelson witnessed the ravages of a massive oil spill in Santa Barbara. Moved by this devastating event, Nelson managed to place the environmental protection topic onto the political agenda through a national educational discussion, first held on April 22, 1970.

This inaugural Earth Day galvanized 20 million Americans to take a stand on environmental issues. Groups that had been fighting separate battles against oil spills, polluting factories, power plants, raw sewage, toxic dumps, pesticides, freeways, the loss of wilderness, and the extinction of wildlife found a common ground. Early success from the milestone event led to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts. Through these ground-breaking initiatives, Earth Day is now celebrated in over 180 countries worldwide.

Protect our species

The theme of Earth Day 2019 is “Protect Our Species.” It aims to raise awareness about the millions of species around the world that are in distress. The great culprit is reckless human activity with negative effects posing impending danger to all living things: habitat loss, poaching and illegal trafficking of animals, deforestation and pollution just to name a few.

According to data from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the number of animals on land has decreased by 40 percent since 1970. Marine life has also fallen by 40 percent and insect populations have declined by 75 percent in some parts of the world — a wake-up call for everyone. Undoubtedly, advocacy to protect our planet’s species must be at the forefront of each country’s efforts.

Costa Rica’s species

Costa Rica is home to four percent of the world’s species. With 615 animal species per 10,000 square miles, that’s a big deal, isn’t it?

This year’s Earth Day theme focuses on six species and you will find four of them in Costa Rica: bees, coral reefs, insects and whales. Fortunately, Costa Rica’s conservation efforts to protect its

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Humpback whale breaching in Marino Ballena National Park

Coral in Costa Rica is diminishing, but thanks to organizations like Raising Coral Costa Rica, the coral is being regenerated. Photo courtesy of Raising Coral Costa Rica

Stunning vista in the valley of Orosi at sunrise, a pinpoint of biodiversity worth saving.

by biodiversity Rachel Cherry have White been a model for the world. In fact, this goes back to 1828, when government agencies here were assigned the task of fighting for the conservation and reforestation of mountains and plantations.

In 1945, the country began to establish protected areas, subdivided to protect different habitats such as green rainforests, mangroves, cloud forests, beaches, volcanoes, waterfalls and coral reefs.

Currently, 25 percent of Costa Rica’s land mass is in protected areas and national parks. The country has around 58 wildlife refuges, 32 protected zones, 27 national parks, 15 wetlands, 11 forest reserves and eight biological reserves.

Costa Rica, for decades, has made impressive environmental advances, including 95 percent carbonfree emission on its electricity

production. Progress in recent decades has seen very little deforestation, with total forest coverage exceeding 52 percent of the nation’s terrain.

Today, Costa Rica again is at the forefront of making a change. With the bicentennial government in place, President Carlos Alvarado Quesada and First Lady Claudia Dobles have made this a priority by signing a Decrete (Oficialización del Plan Nacional de Descarbonización). This formalizes plans to abolish the use of fossil fuels and generate a green economy for the world to see and the people of Costa Rica to enjoy. On February 24, 2019, President Alvarado presented the National Plan to Decarbonize 2018-2050 (photo page 14). More than 300 national and international leaders witnessed this watershed event, shining the world spotlight on a

Costa Rican large purple giant red-winged grasshopper.

Euglossine bee in Costa Rica. Photo: Laura Russo

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Feb. 24, 2019: Costa Rica President, Alvarado Quesada, presenting the national decarbonization plan.

Photo courtesy of Reserva Conchal

national initiative that will push forward a modern economy. Besides generating employment, it will increase economic growth based on the so-called 3D model: decarbonizing, digitalizing, and decentralizing electric production. With Costa Rica’s commitment to reduce gas emissions and avoid the greenhouse effect comes participation in worldwide efforts to prevent global temperatures from increasing relative to preindustrial climate conditions.

The following are pivotal to Costa Rica’s decarbonization initiative: transportation and sustainable mobility; energy, sustainable industry and construction; integral waste management; sustainable agriculture, change and land use; and nature-based solutions.

An example to follow

Every living thing on earth plays a remarkable ecological role, from delicate bees to the largest animals — whales. From microscopic insects to coral reefs, all species form an intricately woven system of collaboration in the complex web of life. All are worthy of our protection in ways that make a difference.

Over the past 50 years, nations with ever-more compelling evidence of urgency to act have commemorated Earth Day. It’s an occasion for educating young and old citizens alike on the impact they can have. Short- and long-term investments of time and effort, however small as individuals, will make the world a better place.

Left: Costa Rica's first lady Claudia Dobles.

Below: Costa Rica's President Carlos Alvarado Quesada.

All photos courtesy of Casa Presidencial Photographer: Julieth Mendez Ramirez

What Good Can I Do?

Each one of us can make a significant change to protect the earth, even acting alone. All it takes is to be mindful that WE as individuals are part of these greater efforts to save our species. We can add a grain of sand by being involved in our own smaller world.

Volunteer locally.

Plant native wildflowers and trees inviting bees, hummingbirds and butterflies.

Conserve water. Take shorter showers and turn water off while brushing your teeth.

Wash your clothes with cold water.

Cut back on plastic consumption. Recycle, reuse and reduce. Do not use single-use plastics such as plastic bags, straws or Styrofoam containers.

Bring reusable bags to shop.

Pick up garbage whenever possible, at the beach and during your walks everywhere.

Buy local.

Use environmentally friendly, non-toxic cleaning products.

Carpool whenever possible, use public transportation, ride a bike or walk.

Change your car’s air filter regularly.

Replace inefficient incandescent light bulbs with efficient LED or CFL light bulbs.

Use energy-efficient appliances, and use your dishwasher only when it’s full.

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IN OUR OWN BACKYARD

Many organizations in Costa Rica are working tirelessly to save our species and make that difference. Let’s meet some of them.

Api-Agricultura

Located in Puerto Viejo in Limón province, Api- Agricultura has a mission to protect and preserve bees (Apis mellifera) while teaching children and youth about their importance. The organization’s founders, Carlos Cortes and Liz Paniagua, believe that protecting bees is to protect life itself.

“For me, bees are a resource for life,” said Paniagua. “They are the greatest pollinators in the ecosystem. They have the responsibility of global pollination on their shoulders. Pollination produces seeds, and this means bees play a key role in the food chain. Their contribution to biodiversity is beneficial to all living things.”

Api-Agricultura

Insectopia Insect Museum

Insectopia Insect Museum is dedicated to insect research, preservation and education. Based in Puerto Jiménez, Puntarenas province, it seeks to create a new natural heritage of long-term data for future generations in Costa Rica’s south Pacific area.

“Our organization understands that life in our world, including our species, depends on the important ecological role that insects play in the ecosystems,” emphasized Jim Cordoba, founder and director. “Yet, insects are a relatively unknown animal group and only a fraction of tropical insects have been described by science — less than 20 percent.”

Insectopia’s museum collection is the first step in creating an inventory of the region’s biodiversity, he notes. “This is an information bank that allows us to know about the current state of insects. By doing this we will able to retain them for future generations and researchers.”

Fundación Keto

The members of Fundación Keto are passionate about science and coastal marine ecosystems. The monitoring of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) has been one of the group’s main projects.

Southern hemisphere humpback whales travel from Antarctica to Costa Rica from late July through early November. Northern hemisphere whales head to Central America from Alaska from December to March.

Fundación Keto developed a remarkable program to train tour guides and boat captains in the marine tourism industry. Working in the areas of Ballena Marine Park, Isla del Caño and Corcovado National Park, they are equipped to record and identify the areas with high concentration of humpback whales. The resulting knowledge about ideal migration paths makes it possible to modify tourist excursion routes to protect the whales’ habitat. The project has succeeded in strengthening the harmonious coexistence between people and marine life.

More information: www.fundacionketo.org

Insectopiamuseum

Raising Coral Costa Rica

Coral reefs are known as the rainforests of the sea because of their extraordinary beauty and vital ecological role. Unfortunately, coral reefs have been dramatically reduced around the world.

In response, Raising Coral Costa Rica is a conservation project seeking to restore Costa Rica’s coral reefs. To date, Golfo Dulce on the south Pacific coast has been the focus of its coral reef research and reforestation efforts. The organization has created an underwater nursery, where the major coral reef species have been grown and later transplanted onto nearby reefs.

“So far, our propagation technique is fragmentation,” explained Joanie Kleypas, project leader. “Here you take a small sample from a coral colony and cut it into many small pieces. This process speeds up one the natural ways that corals propagate.”

More information: www.raisingcoral.org

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