How does your book cover nature travel/ecotourism?
Beatrice Blake: The
New Key to Costa Rica (Ulysses Press, new sixteenth edition out
by Sept 30) covers nature travel and ecotourism by trying to acquaint
readers with both the beauties of Costa Rica and the environmental
problems in each area. We mention nature lodges, community-based ecotourism
projects, volunteer opportunities and natural destinations that will
give people great vacations while making sure that their money goes
to protect the nature they came to see. For the last ten years we
have included a Sustainable Tourism Rating, which highlights the lodges
we think are doing the best job.
Anne Becher: Our book (The
New Key to Costa Rica) covers everything we think would be of
interest to tourists in CR, most of that being nature travel/ecotourism.
So all destinations of this type are included, along with descriptions
of how to best enjoy them (tour guides or do-it-yourself visits).
Maribeth Mellin: Traveler's
Costa Rica Companion (Globe Pequot) is mainstream, but it allows
some room for exploring subjects such as ecotourism. I am on another
book deadline (due tomorrow!) so I must be brief. I will be in Costa
Rica in a week or so, but just for a few days. If anyone is going
to the Latin America TravelMart do let me know. My guidebook covers
ecotourism in essays on nature, natural parks and such in the front
of the book and by including as many ecotourism projects as I can
find when I'm traveling. Since it's now in the 2nd edition I do
get letters from people regarding projects that are harmful and
helpful. In fact, I've been pleased and surprised by the activism
among people, particularly on the Atlantic Coast.
Bruce and June Conord: Because Costa Rica is a natural
destination, a fair majority of visitors go to enjoy its diverse
ecology as part of their vacation experience. Our Adventure
Guide to Costa Rica (Hunter) encourages that. We provide info
and contacts for serious ecotourists as well as the first time travelers
who only want to get their feet wet in a rainforest. Many visitors
come to Costa Rica, not defining themselves as ecotourists but wanting
to see and do things that are natural. In that way, Costa Rica creates
its own brand of tourism, converting former cruise couch potatoes
into ecotourists. The good thing about the country is that there
is enough opportunities to please all types -- and those in-between.
Peter Hutchison:
Costa Rica Handbook (Footprint) a first edition buildling on
the regional Central America and Mexico Handbook, younger sibling
of the South America Handbook. The books aims to promote and encourage
environmentally considerate tourism from the perspective of the
service provider and the service buyer. It tries to promote the
notion that nature travel is often about taking the time to enjoy
a place rather than trying to see everything.
What does ecotourism mean in Costa Rica?
Bruce and June Conord: The debate over the definition of "ecotourism"
and its value is no less intense in the country that may have invented
it. Zipping between treetops on so-called canopy tours is a whole
lot of fun, but doesn't really qualify as real ecotourism. Since we
highlight adventures in our book, we try to distinguish the difference
between white water rafting the Pacuare, which helps save thousands
of acres of watershed, and canopy tours, which save only a few. Marketers
easily co-op the label of ecotourism, and like the label "organic,"
it's buyer beware. Maribeth Mellin: It's a convenient
term for anything with a few monkeys and birds about, but from what
I see Costa Rica is miles ahead of other countries. It's often used
as an example in other countries. When I talk with eco-tour operators
in Mexico, for
example, they quote Costa Rica as their model.
Peter Hutchison: Ecotourism in Costa Rica means different
things to different people. In the best case scenario it means minimising
in every possible way the impact of visitors, and ensuring the sustainability
of visits. In worst case scenarios it means simply pushing through
as many people at the highest possible price through an area of
great natural interest. There are examples of both in Costa Rica
with many stops between.
Beatrice Blake: Ecotourism in Costa Rica in its finest
sense saves pristine natural areas by inviting tourists to experience
them in a principled, ordered way, and using the proceeds from their
visits to protect and maintain the same areas. In order for this
to be successful, the people that live and work in theses areas
have to feel benefited by the situation, either from owning their
own tourism-related businesses or being employed in a way that meets
their needs and gives them chances for advancement.
Any other comments?
Maribeth Mellin: I'd like to hear what other have to say about
safety in ecotourism, or things that are billed as such. I'm very
concerned about canopy tours--many seem very unsafe. There was talk
about some sort of regulation in the past. Do you think that's possible
and would help? Peter Hutchison: Current and appropriate
research on the Costa Rica experience is difficult to come by. I
recall reading in Costa Rican Natural History (Janzen) that deforestation
in Costa Rica was carried out at a greater rate than in the Amazon
in the 1970s, but what is it now? Less presumable and that is good,
but how much less would be better. There are some that would say
Costa Rica's appeal to the ecotourist is as much based on smart
advertising and marketing as it is on approach. I would be interested
to know what other authors think. For the record, I think the quality
of the product is often overlooked.
Beatrice Blake: For fear of presenting too rosy a picture
of ecotourism in Costa Rica, I should mention that most first-time
tourists still want to plod the beaten track from Arenal to Monteverde
to Manuel Antonio or Tamarindo. They won't necessarily be disappointed,
but we as travel writers should devote more space to publicizing
community-based tourism. But communities are volatile. Some projects
start out well, and then run afoul of the problems all of us experience
in learning how to work together. I find that I have to keep on
top of community-based projects more than others, because they can
go downhill pretty fast if they lose their leadership, or become
controlled by unscrupulous leaders.
Bruce and June Conord: As guidebook writers, we are aware
of the dual role have in ecotourism. On one hand, we are hoping
to lure readers to enjoy the best of Costa Rica and visit those
delightful little out-of-the-way places we love so much. On the
other hand we recognize that by publicizing an attraction, it runs
the risk of no longer being out-of-the-way but smack dap in the
middle of a steady stream of tourists. Change happens -- no matter
what -- so we endeavor to influence changes in a positive and sustainable
way.
Day Two
What do you think are the best attractions for the ecotourist?
Maribeth Mellin: Tortuguero, Cerro de la Muerte, Talamanca
area, Osa Peninsula and Corcovado. Sarapiqui is becoming a major
example. I disagree about Arenal. I did see the projects by locals
and they're great. The ones I liked best were far enough away from
the volcano, around Fortuna. But I was at Arenal for the last big
explosion, when a guide friend and child were killed by the gases
without being anywhere near the crater. It was very dramatic and
sad. Watching everyone being evacuated from the hotels closest to
the volcano was a sobering experience. I've always felt a bit shaky
about the hotels in the volcano's path, and am now very adamant
about how tourists should behave there.
Peter Hutchison: A genuinely tough question - one man's
muck is another man's brass. Arenal Volcano is incredible and Monteverde
is almost spiritual if you take the time to walk round slowly. Santa
Rosa National Park and Chirripo National Park are excellent for
hiking if you go prepared, giving you the chance to get those first
few hours around sunrise. Where would I go if I had more time and
money, the newly formed Tapanti National Park and the southern sections
of La Amistad. Personally I don't think the best attractions for
the ecotourist have been worked out yet. There has to be a way of
adding an educational aspect to tourism without provoking the big
yawn. For the ecotourist it would be great to see some examples
of best practice and poor practice side by side for contrast to
develop an understanding of the inter-relationship between ecosystems,
impact and so on. I recall there is some good educational information
at Poas but beyond that much of what is available for the non-academic
ecotourist in Costa Rica is lots of look, and not so much learn.
Anne Becher: For the more hard-core travelers, the Osa
Peninsula or cross-mountain hikes in the Southern Zone. For the
less hard-core people, anywhere from Carara to Poas to Monteverde.
Bruce Conord Our favorites include hiking around the Arenal
& Rincon de la Vieja volcanoes, white water rafting any number of
CR rivers, seeing the turtles on Tortuguero and Playa Grande, surfing,
birdwatching, or staying in one of the rainforest lodges -- the
list goes on and on. In fact, we put a Top Twenty list in the front
of book for both the general as well as ecological tourist.
Beatrice Blake: The best attractions for the ecotourist:
Great ecotourism opportunities exist in all parts of Costa Rica.
In Guanancaste there is bird-watching at Los Inocentes, hiking at
the national parks, or experiencing local communities that have
made tourism their own, like the pottery-makers of Guaitil, or the
Montealto Reserve, created by the town of Hojancha to preserve its
watershed. Beachwise, the communities of Nosara and Montezuma have
done the most to preserve habitat.
In the Central Pacific, several new projects involve communities
heretofore untouched by tourism -- Quebrada Arroyo, inland from
Manuel Antonio, has a bridge suspended across a gorge and a beautiful
waterfall; volunteers can plant trees with Arbofilia in El Sur de
Turrubares, inland from Jaco; tourists can hike and learn about
sustainable agriculture in the Mastatal Reserve near Costa Rica's
newest park, La Cangreja, in the mountains between Puriscal and
the coast.
In the Southern Zone, tourists can see quetzals at El Toucanet,
Mirador de Quetzales or Hotel de Montana Savegre on the slopes of
Cerro de la Muerte. From there they can hike on the Tapir Trail
through local farms, ending with a rafting trip on the Savegre river
near Manuel Antonio. The Tapir Trail (Paso de la Danta) seeks to
unite the forests of the Osa Peninsula with forests of the Talamanca
Range. Of course there are the lovely ecolodges of the Osa--El Remanso,
Bosque del Cabo, Lapa Rios, Luna Lodge, Corcovado Tent Camp, and
the great lodges in Drake Bay, among them the locally-owned Jademar
and Poor Man's Paradise.
On the Atlantic Coast, ANAI was just awarded the Equator Prize
at the World Summit in Johannesburg for its decades of work with
the communities of Talamanca, resulting in the Talamanca Community
Ecotourism Network. They now have five ecotourism lodges which work
for conservation, sustainable community development and protection
of cultural traditions. In addition, the Gandoca community provides
homestays and hotels for ecotourists and volunteers in the ANAI
Sea Turtle Conservation Program, and the Manzanillo Guides Association
provides botanical, wildlife and fishing guides. Six other community-based
ventures are beginning to provide services as well.
In the Northern Zone, tourists flock to see Arenal Volcano. In
the mid-eighties, local residents started building cabins in their
back yards for tourists. Then Arenal went wild, becoming very active
with lots of pyrotechnics, and now the small community of La Fortuna
handles about 800,000 tourists a year. Local businesses have grown
with the growth of tourism, so La Fortuna, although a bit hectic,
is a good example of a community that owns a large part of its tourism-related
businesses. To the east, in Sarapiqui, are Costa Rica's first real
ecotourism projects--La Selva and Rara Avis, now complemented by
the Centro Neotropico Sarapiquis with its tombs and its Tirimbina
Rainforest Reserve.
Even in the Central Valley, families in the community of Acosta,
in the mountains south of San
José, are organized for homestays and tours of the area.
How well does Costa Rica protect its national parks?
Maribeth Mellin: From what I know, it does a very good
job, except when roads and dams are being built. I think the effort
by private individuals to purchase land around parks and increase
the protected area is brilliant and very helpful in keeping the
parks intact and the government honest about protecting them.
Peter Hutchison: Quite well until there is a reason for
not doing so. It's too easy to see National Parks as sacrosanct
but when the prospect of oil reserves or hydro-electric potential
the Costa Rican government, private landholders and others are explicably
drawn to make a judgement on how best to use resources. The picture
is patchy. When strong protection is in place there is a sense you
are watching the last iceberg melt as in Manuel Antonio. But the
growing strength of Santa Rosa/Guancaste shows that active private/public
partnership builds a healthy momentum.
Beatrice Blake: The funds collected from CR's famous park
system go into the government's general fund and are not always
used to protect the parks themselves. Parks are often understaffed
and lacking basic materials like gas for cars or engines for boats.
Some communities, like Cahuita on the Caribbean, and Bahia, near
Parque Marino Ballena on the Pacific, have chosen to administer
the parks by themselves instead of relying on the government. In
addition, MINAE, the ministry responsible for the parks, has a very
active citizen arm, called COVIRENAS (Comite de Vigilancia de los
Recursos Naturales). In this lively, grassroots movement, neighbors
in natural areas are given the power to conduct citizen arrests
if they witness environmental crimes. The same committees organize
to do organic gardening, recycling and environmental education in
the schools. So, although the Parks system has problems, programs
like COVIRENAS are working in many areas, and MINAE deserves kudos
for coming up with such a good idea. Of course, Costa Rica's democratic
traditions help this to happen.
Anne Becher: I think when poverty of neighbors makes them
feel like exploiting the park's resources is their only option,
it's very hard to protect the parks. In Costa Rica and any other
country w/lots of poor people. I love how neighbors are incorporated
into tourism in Chirripo', for example, how the men are arrieros
hauling tourists' backpack up the mountains, and so many families
have opened restaurants.
Bruce Conord: Costa Rica has to get mixed reviews here.
Parks such as Manuel Antonio have plenty of rangers, well marked
trails, and clean beaches. If they're careful not to overload the
attendance, this well-visited site will survive nicely. Outside
the park, however, unrestricted development could doom MA to be
a pocket park. In addition, other less visited parks do not receive
the same proactive protection, hence environmental violations occur.
On the whole however, Costa Rica can be very proud of its park system
and the success it has had over the last 40 years. Besides, people
from a country that is about to log trees in their national parks
to save them from fires, we have little business criticizing.
Day Three
Beatrice Blake: I have to respond to Peter's comments: "There
are some that would say Costa Rica's appeal to the ecotourist is as
much based on smart advertising and marketing as it is on approach.
I would be interested to know what other authors think. For the record,
I think the quality of the product is often overlooked." I have
been traveling in or living in Costa Rica for over 30 years and
I have witnessed the beginnings of many things. I felt the energy
around the first meetings of the Monteverde Conservation League,
laying the spiritual groundwork for worldwide movement which created
the Bosque Eterno de los Ninos. I saw the many years of intense
struggle that went into the projects of ANAI, ATEC and the current
Talamanca Community Ecotourism network. I talked to Amos Bien when
Rara Avis was just a twinkle in his eye. I was in on the conferences
in the early nineties when Costa Rican tourism professionals started
discussing how to regulate ecotourism, resulting in the New Key
survey and the Certification of Sustainable Tourism of the ICT.
I have observed the different incarnations of the Ministry of Natural
Resources and Energy as it went from preserving parks to seeing
whole regions as habitats, to dividing the country up in to conservation
areas which follow natural boundaries rather than provincial ones.
I was there during the years when Oscar Arias was standing up
to the U.S. plan to make war on Costa Rican soil (may the statesmen
of the world find inspiration in him). I have heard stories of how
Costa Ricans fought to preserve their electorial process (wake up,
U.S. citizens!) in 1948 and I have seen the pride of Costa Ricans
in the abolishment of their army. I can assure you that smart advertising
and marketing are not all that have gone into making Costa Rica
a world model for ecotourism. Innovative ideas, courageous stands,
hard, tedious work and deep love have forged Costa Rica's reputation
as a leader in ecotourism.
I am not saying that the government is great, nor that it has
been particularly instrumental in what has happened. But the efforts
of individuals and groups who were willing to fight for their ideals,
often against the government, have created the spirit that is recognized
now. And Costa Rica's commitment to democracy allowed that to happen.
The smart advertisers and marketers try to capitalize on this reputation,
and that is why we started the New Key Green rating. Costa Rica
is certainly not perfect, but I have seen an amazing growth in consciousness
over the last decades and I believe the country is entering a new
level of understanding of what conservation and ecotourism can mean
in their lives.
I'm sure there are places where the "quality of the product is
overlooked", and it is the job of travel writers to steer people
away from those projects and toward the many excellent ones. If
you'd like to discuss specifics, I'd be interested.
I also disagree that there are not educational opportunities in
Costa Rica. You have to pay for a guide, usually, in order to get
educated, but if you do, you will. Rara Avis is based on learning
about the rainforest. The guides at La Paloma and Poor Man's Paradise
in Drake Bay are a wealth of information, and Proyecto Campanario
is also set up to teach about the rainforest, Delfin Amor Ecolodge
teaches you about cetaceans all the above have guides included in
the package. Going up Chirripo with Noel Urena of Chirripo Treks
is an education. And Centro Neotropico Sarapiquis is devoted to
education. If you go with the ATEC guides in Puerto Viejo and Manzanillo,
you can learn about native herbs and wildlife. The Rainmaker tour,
the excellent guides of AGUILA in Manuel Antonio, I could go on
and on.
Regarding oil reserves and hydroelectric potential influencing
the government to abandon the national parks -- different administrations
have different policies.
The present administration, under the courageous leadership of
Dr. Abel Pacheco, has made it clear that there will be no oil exploration
on Costa Rican soil or in its territorial waters. And the previous
administration's suggestion that national parks and reserves be
used for hydroelectric projects were part of the reason behind massive
protests that virtually shut the country down for three weeks in
April 2000. The Rodriguez administration had to back down and never
quite regained the ground it lost during the protests.
Peter Hutchison: I don't think I could disagree with a
single one of Beatrice's comments - Costa Rica's reputation is deserved.
Your examples, the comment of Maribeth regarding the impressive
commitment of individuals and experiences that we have all had are
evidence that some individuals have an incredible dedication to
their cause. Your personal experience over the last three decades
and the successful outcomes of the examples you mention are all
inspirational. These cases and others are the kind of places that
when we visit it seems possible to hit that magic goal of living
in harmony with nature.
Above and below these elements of paradise are the small and large
scale disappointments. The alleged poor treatment of horses doing
the Fortuna/Monteverde run, the mega resorts of the northern Nicoya
penisula, the rash of swimming pools in the Tortuguero area. My
comment that the quality of the product is overlooked is based on
a frustration that I feel. I have a feeling that many people leaving
Costa Rica on the plane say something like "that was nice." I think
they should be saying that was incredible. As the ICT understandably
works to increase the tourism numbers and revenues they have the
challenge of balancing the history with the current appetite for
zip-wires. That brings the need for some regulation, and yes, why
not adopt a bold rating system (if they can manage the difficult
problem of collecting a tax from each hotel and giving them a poor
rating).
I agree that "the country is entering a new level of understanding
of what conservation and ecotourism can mean in their lives." I
don't believe ecotourism can be isolated from other aspects of national
life - as with ecosystems, if one aspect is changed other factors
are impacted and changed in some way. The steady fall in coffee
and banana prices have the potential to create serious social problems
in Costa Rica. That new level of understanding of what conservation
and ecotourism can mean has to incorporate Costa Rica's position
in the wider world. And people need to know that their behaviour
back home has a direct impact on the viability of Costa Rica. The
smart advertising and marketing has to be backed up with good, accessible
education on the ground or on the plane as people land. And service
providers need to be constantly updated with examples of best practice.
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