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So many questions seem to be about real estate and especially the higher priced hotter & more humid pacific coast area that it might be a good idea to step back and look at the reality of what the over development & over tourism trend in Costa Rica is really doing to the country. Here is one non-profit organization tour that looks at parts of that effect and if that over reliance on elite developments & tourism is necessarily a good thing:
Global Exchange
Costa Rica : Ecotourism and Sustainability: The Pacific Coast Experience
December 20, 2006 – December 30, 2006“Costa Rica is a study in contrasts. Stunning scenery, abundant natural resources and diverse wildlife has made Costa Rica an immensely popular tourism destination in the past decade. With its extensive network of national parks, Costa Rica’s name is currently in the forefront of the international conservation movement and has become synonymous with “ecotourism”: socially responsible travel that theoretically conserves the environment while improving the welfare of the local people. With this reputation, it is not surprising that tourism has become Costa Rica’s most important source of revenue.
Unfortunately, the country’s heavy reliance on tourism has produced serious social and environmental problems. The extensive development of natural areas for tourism has caused the destruction of ecosystems and the displacement of local people whose livelihood depended on those natural resources. The government’s insistence in attracting foreign investors has promoted the unrestrained development of beach resorts and real estate projects. This, in turn, has produced conflicts over land and water resources with peasants and local communities. The sexual exploitation of local women and children constitutes yet another distressing repercussion of Costa Rica’s unregulated tourist industry.
Its natural wealth, ironically, has also led to other environmental destructive ventures. Oil exploration threats to destroy fragile coastal ecosystems. Multinational fruit companies and US corporate backed cattle industries are responsible for a deforestation rate in Costa Rica second to none. The government open doors policy to foreign investors has promoted bioprospecting and the spread of genetically modified crops, activities that not only place the country’s biodiversity in danger but also affect the local communities’ health.
Join Global Exchange as we explore the advantages and disadvantages of having a tourism-based economy. As we travel across this naturally rich and strikingly beautiful country, we will examine the social and environmental problems Costa Ricans are facing and meet the important players who are creating sustainable solutions. The local solutions to these challenges will inspire our action and involvement with these issues.
Program Highlights:
* Visit the active Poas Volcano and hike through its cloud forest
* Enjoy the beaches of the Manuel Antonio National Park in the Central Pacific
* Learn about local efforts to create a biological corridor linking the Manuel Antonio National Park to other parks and reserves to protect the squirrel monkey, a species in danger of extinction
* Meet with women community activists in the Manuel Antonio National Park area and learn about the alternatives they are creating to counteract the negative impact of the tourist industry
* Hike and enjoy a canopy tour through the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve
* Learn how the conservation efforts of local Costa Ricans and Quaker immigrants led to the creation of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve
* Learn what local youth activists are doing to promote community- based alternative tourism projects in the Tenorio Volcano area
* Take a boat ride around Culebra Bay and learn about the environmental and social impact of large-scale beach resorts and real estate development on the Northern Pacific Coast
* Meet with local leaders and learn about conflicts over water and land between local communities and developers and beach resorts
* Meet with grassroots organizations and locals committed to preserving their natural resources and providing solutions to regulate the tourist development
* Meet with campesinos who have organized to protect their water sources against large scale hotel resort development
* Learn about the popular resistance against the ratification of the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and examine the repercussions that this treaty will have for campesinos, workers, women, indigenous people, the environment and the very sovereignty of the country.
* Meet with activists fighting against bioprospecting ventures of transnational pharmaceutical corporations
* Examine the implications of genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) on local farmers as well as on consumer’s health
* Visit a GMO’s cotton plantation project and learn about the environmental and economic implications of GMO’s imports(snip) continued at:
http://www.globalexchange.org/tours/728.html
And more here:
http://www.globalexchange.org/countries/americas/costarica/
And here:
I think everyone is caught up in the “fever” right now, hopefully everyone or at least some will consider the environmental impact all this development will have. When I hear “Las Vegas” style condo when describing a structure in Jaco it does cause me to recoil a bit. We originally came here for the sun,clean quiet beaches and wildlife in the abundance of parks….not gambling, hookers and nightclubs!!Lol. I keep thinking of these places like Paradise island, hideous architectural monstrosities that dominate once pristine shores of the Caribbean. I know everyone has different tastes but there needs to be some restraint exersized here before all this beauty is ruined for everyone.
Don’t know if I am the only one to notice some irony here…
The article states that “… tourism has produced serious social and environmental problems” and then invites the attendees of this Global Exchange “non-profit organization tour” to “Visit the active Poas Volcano and hike through its cloud forest” and also to “Enjoy the beaches of the Manuel Antonio National Park in the Central Pacific.”
Doesn’t that sound like they are criticizing Costa Ricans for developing their tourism industry and then, practically in the same breath, invites you to be a tourist in Costa Rica? And do exactly what they say is producing “serious social and environmental problems”? Huh?
The article also states that “Multinational fruit companies and US corporate backed cattle industries are responsible for a deforestation rate in Costa Rica second to none.” But the Costa Ricans are not going to be able to do anything about that, are they?
The USA has “intervened” (in political language that means they have murdered lots of people purely to help make their corporate clients money) previously in other Central American countries (Guatemaala for example) when the livelihood of their fruit companies has been threatened.
And we mustn’t forget that it’s the same US multi-national companies that are, by far the heaviest users of the highly toxic pesticides in Costa Rica as well.
So doesn’t like it has much to do with the Costa Rican people then does it?
Scott
I have several concerns related to this topic. I agree, the reason that most people choose CR is because of its natural beauty, the people, politics, stable economy, and un-westernized yet modern “paradise-like” living. But how long will it last with all the foreign money coming in?
I would hate to see CR go the way of so many other Latin American places that gradually change from tropical paradises with a modicom of self-sufficiency (or at least independance) to an over-developed, touristed-out, corporate-US dependant nation, with its natural resources pillaged, eco-systems destroyed through over-building and under-planning, and a resentful native population that have become 2nd class citizens in their own country.
Will this happen in CR? I don’t know. I pray that the CR government is strong and independant enough to stop it from happening (by denying development permits at the expense of their forests and environment). I hope that foreigner and ex-pats care enough about the place that they are moving to, that they try to assimilate by learning the language, respecting the culture and people, do not look to be separate, and “live in their private communities.”
You know that foreign corporations won’t care about preserving the environmental or cultural damage. Their only concern is the bottom line.
Both peoples, natives and foreigners must take responsibility in protecting CR. Will that mean that fewer tourist resorts will be built in order to preserve land? Will those developments cost more? Of course. Is it worth it? I think so. Will that actually happen? Looking at all the “vegas-like” condos and gated communities that are going up…… it doesn’t look good.
All of the above is why I didn’t move to Baja California, where I still own property. The attitude there from the locals is that the gringos are a blight — they are like leaf-cutter ants, detroying everything in their path. When I hear people talking about their investment in Costa Rica and how they are in it for the money, I cringe. It will only be a matter of time before the coastline of Costa Rica looks like Baja California, and that’s primarily why I chose an area of Costa Rica that is too far away from what people perceive to be gold coast real estate. Look what happened to the Yucatan Peninsula — I lived there in the early 80’s; it’s unrecognizable now, and even back then there were abandoned projects littering the coastline. Now it’s massive development all the way to the border of Belize, and the condo I thought about buying then for $18,000 is now $300,000. If a place is considered paradise, the devlopers WILL destroy it — that’s just what they do, and to the peril of the locals, the environment, and anything else in their path.
I don’t mean to be rude but there’s a real simple, easy solution to this problem of possible over development – Don’t come to Costa Rica and don’t buy Costa Rica real estate!
There has to be some middle ground. Economics drives “progress”. What “progress” means is debatable, but Costa Ricans certainly want to get ahead in the world, and the tourism industry is their one of their tickets to the show. Sustainable tourism is a big issue there, and a vacation with an emphasis on sustainability doesn’t sound like a bad thing. As industries go, tourism is one of the cleaner ones. Since Costa Rican’s tourism is nature-based, it is providing them with real economic incentives, for the first time, to preserve their natural surroundings.
The other important advantage that Costa Rica has to offer tourists is the fact that you must get around to truly enjoy it, unlike Jamaica with it’s all inclusive resorts that you never step out of. (Never been to Jamaica – but that’s my understanding).
Most travelers to Costa Rica hop in their rental cars and go explore the country, opening up myriad opportunities for Tico ma’ & pa’ businesses catering to them. The tourism tide is raising a lot of boats, both big and small.
Do I miss the old, idealic Costa Rica of days gone by? Yes.
Can I stop time? No
Can I deny Costa Ricans the economic benefits enjoyed by the developed world? No.
Can they choose a more enlightened path towards development? There’s room for improvement, but they’re already doing much better than most.
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