A Sustainable Future
Some great news from Costa Rica and Ecuador. To be fair there is rarely bad news from these two countries when it comes to creating sustainable tourism and protection of the environment! Costa Rica recently announced that it would increase the protection of an area known as the Cocos Island National Park and the Bicentennial Marine Management Area.
It took 5 years to arrange but they plan to now protect 30% of its seas to preserve marine ecosystems and combat climate change.
This governmental order increases the size of the National Park by 26 times from 2,034 km² to 54,844 km². The Bicentennial Marine Management Area increases from 9,649 km² to 106,285 km². Overall this helps Costa Rica achieve its goal to protect not only 30% of Costa Rica’s forests but also its marine resources.
Multinational fishing interests of course opposed this expansion. These newly protected areas are outside the zones where most of Costa Rica’s local fishermen make their living. I particularly love this – as Costa Rica expands marine protection, the country is looking after its people and going further with its efforts to protect our oceans.
So while this may have upset the multinationals it has pleased many including the actor Leonardo DiCaprio who celebrated through his social media Twitter channel praising the Costa Rican government and President Carlos Alvarado for these actions.
Similarly in Ecuador, President Guillermo Lasso this week signed a decree creating an enormous new marine reserve north of the Galapagos Islands in the Pacific. The new reserve, named “Hermandad” (Brotherhood), expands the protected waters by 60,000 square kilometres.
This new area protects wildlife in the marine corridor connecting the Galapagos Marine Reserve to Costa Rica’s newly expanded marine reserves.
Well done to both of these wonderful countries for making these commitments
As they say in Costa Rica – Pura Vida or Pure Life
