Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
have hung on there, unlike the rest of the country. The government has
established reservations. The concept of the park originated in 1974 with
the visit of a UNESCO representative. Eight years passed, however, beforeĀ it
became official.
Santa Rosa Park in the north became embroiled in international affairs
in 1983. For many years, the Somoza family, dictators of Nicaragua, had
owned a nearby ranch just over the border as a refuge during times when
politics became too hot. The last of the family lost power in 1979, forced
out by the Sandinista party. The American administration of Ronald
Reagan considered the Sandinistas to be pro-Communist, and sponsored
guerilla forces, labeled the
contras
, in opposition. They used the old ranch
in Costa Rica as an illegal staging area. The US CIA and the Pentagon
brought in troops and agents to train the Nicaraguan
contras
and tried to
subvert some Costa Rican Civil Guards. They constructed an airfield. The
new president, Oscar Arias, denounced the project and closed the airfield.
In retaliation, the Americans reduced foreign aid from $180 million to
$85 million. In Washington, the scandal became public, and Reagan's top
national security officials were forced to resign.
By the end of the 1980s, the park situation stabilized. Many parks and
reserves like Areal, Monteverde, and Corcovado had been created, and
there was less land remaining for expansion. Tour companies were bring-
ing in North Americans and Europeans in large numbers. President
Arias earned the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987 for his work to end civil
wars in Nicaragua and El Salvador, improving the country's reputation.
Paradoxically, the wars had brought Central America publicity, attracting
potential visitors. The Parks Department had wisely directed construction
of hotels outside the park boundaries, both protecting nature and giving
a boost to local enterprise rather than outside hotel chains. Local entre-
preneurs saw the potential for amusements beyond pure nature loving
like white-water rafting and zip lines. Moreover, Costa Rica had a long
tradition of privately owned nature areas.
Agriculture is the enemy of the environment. Ranchers cut down the
forest to pasture beef cattle. The country sells vast quantities of lean,
almost-starving cows to Burger King in the United States. Without the
forests, peasants who formerly lived using swidden farming, can no longer
live there and must leave. Coffee, on the other hand, is a crop that demands
intensive labor and has traditionally provided a good living for yeoman
farmers. Coffee requires 130 days of work per year for each hectare, while
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