Costa Rica Haven For Ecotourism

Known the world over as one of the greenest and happiest countries in the world, Costa Rica, which literally means “rich coast”, has become an outstanding ecotourism center. In 1949, the army of Costa Rica was decommissioned in order to channel more funding into health care and education- an environmentally friendly, peaceful solution which has bettered the economy as a whole. Costa Rica also houses 5% of the world’s biodiversity and the country contains roughly 500,000 different species. Costa Rica contains various individual microclimates because of its geo-locational proximity to the equator and situation between two oceans. Dry forests as well as rain forests dot the country, and it is also blessed with a number of active volcanoes. All of this contributes to Costa Rica’s biodiversity, making it a logical choice for conservation, and a natural destination for ecotourism.

26 percent of all the land in Costa Rica is conserved and the government has announced plan is to be carbon neutral by 2021. The government is politically stable, and dedicated to environmental sustainability.  Many businesses as well as governmental organizations in the country are also making changes to become environmentally responsible. For instance, the domestic airline of Costa Rica, Nature Air, is the world’s first carbon neutral airline, and many hotels in the nation are focusing on ecotourism and true sustainability. For instance, Anamaya Resort features an organic restaurant, health retreats, non-toxic construction and non-polluting operating practices. Another example of an eco-friendly hotel is  Lapa Rios Ecolodge, which overlooks the point where the Golfo Dulce meets the Pacific Ocean and is situated in a tropical nature reserve.

Promoting sustainable tourism in an effort to conserve the environment is also a big responsibility, because it means making tough decisions to raise political, cultural and environmental awareness. For example; What is the environmental benefit of ecotourism if it means polluting the earth via plane travel? It seems that as time progresses, more travelers are developing eco-conscious practices, which promote sustainable tourism within one’s own country. Costa Rica has become a center for peace, sustainable development, and green practices; hopefully other countries will soon follow suit.

Posted by Sally Easton on Aug 7 2011. Filed under Headlines, International Real Estate, Real Estate News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry