Kenya and Costa Rica - Comparing Environmental Policies in 16 Countries - page 210

Mario Boza, who led in the 1950s and 1960, traveled abroad extensively to
learn about parks. One instance of popular support was the labor union
members who advocated establishing Manuel Antonio Park. he Ticos'
devotion to democracy did not translate into environmental activism.
International interest groups like WWF and the IUCN have been
active in Kenya. In Costa Rica two key groups are the Association for
the Conservation of Nature and the Costa Rican Ecology Association.
International groups like Friends of the Earth, the Nature Conservancy,
and WWF are active.
Kenyan parties are based on tribes and believe they have more impor-
tant business than protecting nature. Parties, unfortunately, are some-
times the mechanism for exploiting the parks and reserves via corruption.
Parties are also interested in the ownership of land for agriculture and
have made it central to the 2007 and 2013 elections. In Costa Rica the two
main parties are centrist and support protecting nature.
During the colonial period in Kenya government agencies like the
Game Department and the Forest Department established the parks and
reserves, and with various reorganizations, continue to maintain them.
Today, these natural areas would probably not be doing nearly as well
without this bureaucratic presence. heir mission has oten put them in
conlict with ordinary citizens. In Costa Rica, the Ministry of Agriculture
had an early role, but oten favored farming and timber over nature. he
small National Parks Department was frequently starved for money.
hrough the colonial powers, Kenya was a leader in international pro-
tection of animals when the British signed a treaty with Italy to prevent
smuggling ivory out through Somalia, followed in 1933 by the International
Conference on the Preservation of Wildlife (a predecessor of CITES).
Today, hosting the headquarters of the UN Environmental Program puts
it in a central role. In 1940 Costa Ricans signed the Convention on Nature
Protection and Wildlife Preservation in the Western Hemisphere. In 1972
they attended the Stockholm earth summit, and were inspired to estab-
lish the Association for Conservation of Nature. he country is active in
groups like the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.
Both Kenya and Costa Rica are indebted to others for initiating their
parks. For both, the model was the national park movement starting in
the United States, Canada, and Australia. he British colonial oicials
set up Kenya's parks and reserves. Costa Rica depended on the experts
like Nestor Altuve from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and