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[sub_header] => Community Art Takes Sustainable Tourism to a Whole New Level
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[post_content] => The rugged rainforests and sandy beaches of Costa Rica are brimming with life – from sloths and frogs to brightly colored toucans and hummingbirds. Costa Rica hosts an astounding 5 percent of Earth’s species despite covering only 0.03 percent of its area. Shaded coffee farms integrated into the rainforest constitute just one example of the sustainable conservation strategies for which the country is known.
These efforts to preserve the wild beauty of Costa Rica are recognized worldwide, but climate change and increased urban development bring new and unforeseen challenges. Conservation leaders, farmers, land managers, and policymakers must work together using regenerative strategies to build ecological resilience and minimize climate change impacts. Our research in Costa Rica contributes vital data to innovative efforts that balance conservation and development.
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[post_content] => Sustainable tourism means traveling in a way that 1) has minimal environmental impact, 2) promotes conservation, and 3) improves local livelihoods, both economically and socially. Our Directed Research project on gender and sustainable tourism took us to an excellent example of all three at Hotel Punta Islita on the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. On the environmental front, the Hotel is situated on land that was once tree-barren cattle ranches. Hotel Punta Islita has increased forest cover on its property from 2% in 1975 to 76% in 2008. They also promote conservation principles by providing land and funding to a macaw reintroduction program and organizing beach patrols on a local sea turtle marine reserve.
Our research focused on the social and economic impact of the Hotel on local communities. Students examined job segregation and wage disparity by gender. They also learned how the Hotel actively hires from surrounding communities, provides job training, and promotes local start-up businesses. The project that has had perhaps the largest impact on the community of Islita, and us as visitors, is the six local art groups. The Hotel initiated the program 10 years ago as an attraction for tourists and to improve the quality of life for women in the local community, creating a win/win situation for all involved.
As we interviewed the people of the Islita community we were surrounded by imaginative and colorful mosaics and paintings on every building. In addition to this open-air gallery there is a museum, a workshop for the local artisans, and a shop for tourists to purchase the arts and crafts made by members of the different art collectives. As we took a jewelry-making class from one of the groups, we saw just how art binds the local women together. In addition to economic empowerment, participants mentioned how being part of this program has changed the way they see themselves. They have a role outside of the home, they interact with other community members, and they have been trained in their craft by visiting artists. In the process these women have become artists themselves and are now passing their skills on to their own children, as well as to guests of the Hotel.
Art decorates the façade of the preschool buildingA mural of a Guanacaste, the national tree of Costa RicaA guided tour of the town’s open-air galleryStudents examine Hotel Punta Islita’s recycling systemStudents participating in a jewelry-making class taught by local women
[post_title] => Community Art Takes Sustainable Tourism to a Whole New Level
[post_excerpt] => Sustainable tourism means traveling in a way that 1) has minimal environmental impact, 2) promotes conservation, and 3) improves local livelihoods, both economically and socially.
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[post_content] => Santa Teresa is a booming beach town on the western coast of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula. The waves brought the first surfers in the early 90s before there was electricity in this rural farming and fishing town. The same waves that put this area on the map have continued to draw tourists from around the world. Now the population fluctuates from 5,000 to 10,000 between the low and high points of the tourism season.
With all the possible social and economic gains of tourism, increased population has a drastic and dire impact on the availability and disposal of water. The supply from local wells and the local water authority are not adequate in the dry months and businesses must pay for water brought by truck. Disposal of water is an even larger issue, as there is no sewage treatment facility. People are required to build septic tanks, but many are old or not properly designed. Sewage flows untreated into streams, which flow into the very ocean that attracts tourists.
While in Santa Teresa, we worked with the local Chamber of Tourism and Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper, a local branch of the international organization committed to protect communities, ecosystems, and water quality. They have planned a series of activities to raise community awareness about water related issues, such as a fair to demonstrate ecofriendly practices and bring sustainable technology venders to the community. Another Waterkeeper initiative is to treat the gray and black water that flows directly into stream and construct biogardens.
Our Directed Research project gathered information for an ambitious project to collect grease from local restaurants to feed a biodigester located at the local public high school. The gas produced by the biodigester will be used for cooking at the high school cafeteria. One group of students set out to collect data on sustainable practices and grease use at area restaurants. This information will be used to help effectively implement the biodigester program and learn what other initiatives may help minimize negative environmental impacts. Another group of students collected information on sustainable practices at local hotels to determine what water saving measures are in use and which hotels are receptive to implementing sustainable waste management practices.
Students also considered whether sustainable tourism certification is effective in motivating hotels to adopt sustainable practices. Costa Rica has a certification program created by the Costa Rica Board of Tourism that awards up to 5 “green leaves” for sustainable practices. Opinions of the certification process ranged from strong approval of the program to a belief that the program is a form of green washing or only larger, more expensive hotels have the resources to implement. Local hotels responded more positively to the national blue flag clean beach program, which benefits the entire community equally.
Santa Teresa is at a critical point in its development. Sustainable practices and limited, organized growth are essential to preserve limited freshwater resources. Our data collection will help local stakeholders implement the biodigester and focus on future projects supported by the community. Despite growing implementation of sustainable practices, the fact remains that there are water shortages that lead to digging more wells and trucking in water to sell at exorbitant prices. The pressing lack of a sewage system to contend with the waste created by this growing population remains.
The government has committed to creating an aqueduct to bring more water to the area by 2017, however there is still no plan for a sewage system. The growth that additional water will inevitable generate could be catastrophic to the ecosystem and people’s health if not accompanied by proper sanitation. Future research may include data collection to demonstrate the urgent need for sewage treatment when the government installs additional water pipelines.
[post_title] => Water Solutions in Santa Teresa Bring More Challenges to Light
[post_excerpt] => Santa Teresa is a booming beach town on the western coast of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula.
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[post_content] => In south central Nicaragua you will find Ometepe, a 31 km island situated in Lake Cocibolca (the largest tropical lake of the Americas). A large number of petroglyphs, statues, and daily items provide a cultural link with the Island’s first inhabitants, the Nahua Indians, who migrated from Mexico around 500 B.C. The traditional economic activities of today’s local population – small scale agriculture and fishing – are quickly being joined by tourism as the main source of income. Previously, all tourists arrived to the Island by boat. In May 2014, a small $12 million airport was completed. The airport currently only receives two flights a week from Managua, but there are plans to increase the number as tourism grows. There is speculation that the government is encouraging larger hotel companies to build on Ometepe and the construction of the airport was a prerequisite.
This additional transportation route may have significant effects on Ometepe, though no one is certain of their scale or form. At the end of 2014 work on the Nicaragua Canal began, with little to no assessment of the potential impact on the environment or on rural communities. What is certain is that the Canal route will utilize Lake Cocibolca for part of the transnational crossing. To compound serious concerns about contaminating the freshwater Lake, there are reports that Canal cruise passengers may be routed to resorts to experience the Island’s volcanoes. .
On our field excursion to Ometepe this week we will initiate a study to assess service providers’ and tourists’ willingness to participate in sustainable tourism practices. Our objective is to determine what practices hotels and restaurants are employing, what practices they are interested in implementing, and what obstacles stand in their way. We will also gather information on tourists’ awareness of and preferences for sustainable tourism options. The willingness of tourists to pay for various socially and environmentally responsible services will help determine whether supply and demand align.
Understanding changes in tourism preference for sustainable practices as the industry faces an influx of new types of tourists is the long term goal of this study. It will follow how tourists’ willingness to pay for services affects the sustainable practices adopted by hotel and restaurants and what perceived and actual economic and environmental results manifest from those changes. The study will highlight how expanding infrastructure and the arrival of different types of tourists influences the growth of the industry towards or away from sustainable practices. Our findings will be shared with the local development organization Foundation Between Volcanoes in order to help local business implement the most effective sustainable strategies during this time of change.
[post_title] => Does Sustainable Tourism Offer Viable Alternatives in Ometepe, Nicaragua?
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[post_content] => The SFS Center for Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica has collaborated with the Poás Volcano National Park (PVNP) service for a number of years to collect data from park visitors and expand students’ understanding of the tourist/nature interface on nationally protected lands. As one of the most visited national parks in Costa Rica, with nearly 300,000 visitors annually, rangers grapple with providing access to nature while perceiving the wildlife habitat.
Students from our Center conducted surveys to evaluate tourists’ perception of Park services and evaluate the environmental impacts of visitors. This semester, in addition to the time-consistent questions related to Park services, the study evaluated visitors’ willingness to recycle at home and at the Park, how well the recycling system in place is functioning, and the willingness of tourists to remove their own trash from the Park. The objectives of this study were to determine whether the current recycling and waste management program is functioning well and whether there are other feasible options for waste management.
Data was gathered using identical surveys in English and Spanish. Surveys contained roughly 30 questions on the topics of waste management at the park, participant habits and demographics. Students analyzed the data, including grouped frequency distribution to evaluate the recycling behaviors by differing demographic groups.
Photo: Quinn Bergeon
Findings show that 44% of Costa Ricans reported using recycling containers while at the Park compared to 30% of foreign visitors. While one reason given for not recycling was “nothing to recycle,” the top reasons for both nationalities were that the containers were not conveniently located or not clearly labeled as to which materials could be recycled. Unclear labeling is a significant problem because people then mix materials and it is all disposed of as trash. Recommendations include more recycling receptacles and containers clearly labeled with pictographs that people of all nationalities will understand. Another possible solution suggested in survey comments is to place a trash can next to the recycling containers so that trash is not mixed with the recyclable materials.
An alternative practice that the PVNP has been considering is eliminating recycling and trash containers altogether and asking park visitors to remove any trash they produce from the premises. This practice, known as “carry-in/carry-out,” has been effective in other protected areas. It is beneficial to the park as it nearly eliminates the cost and work of removing trash. When represented by nationality, 91% of Costa Ricans and 82% of foreigners answered yes, they would participate in such a program. While both groups responded very positively, the overall lower rate of agreement by foreigners indicates a possible reluctance to travel with their waste.
Based on these findings, providing park visitors with a bag at the entrance and requesting that all trash is removed is one option that tourists may respond to positively. There are, however, possible external costs, such as increased education so people know about the program, and the risk that some people will not be willing to participate and therefore litter, since the number of trash and recycling containers would be greatly reduced. This study highlights the current problem of mixed waste, which is disrupting the recycling program. Hopefully these findings provide useful data for implementing a more effective and less labor-intensive waste management solution.
[post_title] => Survey Finds Support for Carry-in/Carry-out System at Poás Volcano National Park
[post_excerpt] => Students conducted surveys to evaluate tourists’ perception of Park services and evaluate the environmental impacts of visitors.
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[post_date] => 2015-07-02 06:57:46
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[post_content] => Over the past 20 years many parts of Costa Rica have undergone a dramatic transformation from fishing and farming economies to popular international tourism destinations. The shift has been rapid and unplanned, resulting in strains on local infrastructure. One branch of public services most affected has been solid waste disposal. Waste management is a particularly serious issue in beach towns where trash makes its way to the sea. The most surprising aspect of this situation is that this solid waste management challenge erodes not only the environmental and human health of the area, it also discourages the surf and sand tourism that provide many local livelihoods. Creating a effective recycling system has the potential to greatly reduce the amount of trash that enters the environment and relieve the dysfunctional municipal trash system.
This past spring semester, student researchers from the SFS Center for Sustainable Development Studies, working in partnership with the local NGO Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper, surveyed residents and businesses in Santa Teresa and Malpaís about their current practices and opinions on the implementation of an improved recycling system. This site was chosen because increased tourism and foreign residency has increased the volume of waste significantly. However, the transitory nature of the population has inhibited the long-term implementation of an effective recycling program. Community members that are interested in addressing this issue often become discouraged because key players move and it is difficult to educate short-term residents on proper practices. The situation has only deteriorated since the closest recycling center has closed and the current dump site has been condemned, meaning all waste must now be transported to another town over an hour away.
For this study, 176 surveys on waste materials and willingness and motivation to recycle were gathered from various types of businesses and groups of residents. Interviews were also conducted to gather what motivates them to recycle and their opinions on the best recycling solutions. Of residents surveyed, 84% stated that recycling should be a community-led project and 41% of local businesses stated that they would help with a community recycling program. Many people would like to make legal demands forcing the municipality to address waste issues but since that will necessitate concerted pressure, the community should first organize to implement a functioning system that meets its needs, then use that organization to demand more concrete solutions from the local government.
When asked if they would be willing to participate in recycling in the future, 71% of all residents said yes. However, opinions on what method would be best was almost evenly divided between truck pick up, a localized drop off center, and neighborhood recycling collection points, suggesting that a combination of these methods could work best.
Responses of residents of Malpaís and Santa Teresa on what would be most convenient for their participation in a recycling program.
Local businesses that stated a willingness to participate in recycling efforts could install and collect materials from recycling bins on front of their business. Business owners could also demand that distributors take all packing materials back with them, so that bottles and cardboard waste never enters the local system. An effort can also be made to improve the local garbage collector’s recycling facilities so that he can process more materials and make collection more profitable.
The government’s current inability to meet its waste management obligation indicates that recycling solutions must be created by the community. Creating a recycling program has the added benefit of reducing the amount of solid waste sent to landfills. Though there are many challenges, this study demonstrates that there is widespread willingness to participate in recycling and take on leadership roles in that process. This is an opportunity for members to voice their opinions and help create the system that serves the entire population and can adapt to change. It is our hope that the data we have provided can be used to develop an effective waste management strategy that will garner high community participation.
[post_title] => Recycling in Nicoya Peninsula Communities
[post_excerpt] => Student researchers surveyed residents and businesses about their current practices and opinions on the implementation of an improved recycling system.
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[post_date] => 2015-09-24 13:35:40
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[post_content] => Notwithstanding Costa Rica’s leading status in some environmental arenas, the nation still struggles to implement basic, sound practices in other areas. Take for example recycling, an initiative that is commonplace and even required in many parts of the world. Despite Costa Rican legislation in 2010 (Law 8839) making it mandatory for municipal governments to provide recycling collection, only 3% of materials are being recycled. Five years after enacting the law, only a few large municipal areas have established recycling centers and very few offer recycling collection. Valuable materials are being sent to landfills that are at or near capacity. A battle over creating massive trash incinerators is now underway because many believe there is no other solution to the rapidly increasing amount of trash created by rising salaries and increased consumerism.
These important issues have led me to explore responses to waste management issues in high tourism areas through Directed Research projects. High tourism volume is often a response to pristine natural beauty. Increased trash and pollution are a direct threat to the main economic drivers in many tourism areas. The Monteverde cloud forest is one of the most visited areas in Costa Rica. Like elsewhere, recycling was formerly left to individuals, so often only a handful of concerned businesses found it financially feasible to hire privately contracted collectors to take their materials to a recycling collection center an hour away. Over the last 2 years, the Monteverde Community Fund has worked with the local government, health ministry, and nature reserves to coordinate a more efficient system that will enable all residents (and visitors) to recycle.
The first phase of action has involved the municipality building a recycling collection center in the town of Monteverde. Research done as part of our summer research shows that the center, which opened in 2014, is projected to receive at least twice as many materials by the end of 2015. A major impediment to recycling is that people without vehicles find it difficult to get materials to the center, reported those who participated in our survey. Also the center is only open once a month, which is inconvenient for many. In an effort to facilitate higher recycling participation, a local coalition has built 17 recycling centers in neighborhoods throughout the community. Since there is no recycling collection, the centers are currently being used for trash storage until pick up. This practice is an improvement over leaving bags of trash in the street for collection as it prevents animals from opening the trash and dispersing it into the environment. The temporary measure is a good use of the mini-centers for the time being. However, a final push must be made to hold and collect recyclables there, as intended. Trash storage has led to the negative side effect of confusion over the purpose of the mini centers among local residents.
In meetings with the vice-mayor, financing has been the major impediment to opening the central recycling center more often and offering recycling collection at the mini-centers. A recycling collection truck and a full time employee have been requested for next years’ budget. As the structural aspects of the recycling program are improved, education is important to obtain optimal participation. During our surveying we worked with the rangers from the Monteverde Reserve and local college students to distribute information on the central recycling center, use of the mini-centers, and future plans to have recycling pick-up at the mini-centers.
Student research indicated that local residents were generally enthusiastic about recycling at the mini-centers and confirmed the need for adult education about recycling. Local collection and empowering people with the knowledge to recycle will make Monteverde’s program one that other communities can look to for public/community based solutions when solving their own recycling issues.
Directed Research group and Monteverde Reserve rangers disseminating information on recycling and conducting surveys.Mini center in Monteverde, Costa Rica
[post_title] => Creative Recycling Solution Developed Through Public/Committee Partnership
[post_excerpt] => Increased trash and pollution are a direct threat to the main economic drivers in many tourism areas.
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[post_date] => 2016-04-19 12:24:55
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[post_content] => Ometepe is a beautifully unique island composed of two massive volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua. Each semester we travel here from Costa Rica to explore the abundant natural and cultural diversity. Our SFS group is not alone in taking note of the Ometepe’s unique habitat and indigenous artifacts. In just 10 years the number of tourists has jumped from 20,000 to nearly 50,000 per year. Visitors now exceed the local population and tourism revenue has surpassed that of the traditional mainstay of agriculture. This massive shift raises the crucial question, what type of tourism is present on the island and who will reap the benefits?
Fundación Entre Volcanes is a local NGO which develops community initiatives to connect rural women and youth to opportunities arising from tourism. These groups provide services, from rural home stays to tours, and produce goods used by local restaurants and hotels. One women’s community initiative provided a class on tortilla-making for our group, as maize is a key component of the local diet. We learned a culinary skill that we can hopefully replicate once we return home but, more importantly, we had a chance to connect and learn from a wonderful group of entrepreneurial women.
A home the in the village of Los Angeles with Volcán Concepción in the distance.Costa Rica SFS group learning about Fundación Entre Volcanes’ rural tourism initiatives.Dona Tina, member of the community collective and tortilla-making master.Learning how to prepare the maize.Students bringing their own personable style to the grinding process.Having fun while learning to mold the tortillas. Tortillas being grilled over a wood-fire stove.The finally product, embellished with locally made beans, sour cream and cheese.→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => Experiencing Rural Tourism on Ometepe Island
[post_excerpt] => Photos from a tortilla-making class at Fundación Entre Volcanes, a local NGO which connects rural women and youth to opportunities arising from tourism.
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[post_date] => 2016-10-24 13:06:31
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[post_content] => This op-ed article originally published in The Tico TimesSFS-CSDS student Leslie Ramos (left) collects data on waste management from a Santa Teresa resident known as "El Gato"
We all know how exceedingly fortunate we are to live in or visit such a diverse and stunning place as Costa Rica. So we go to the beach to enjoy. We drink some bottled water, a few sodas and perhaps more than a few beers.
We aren’t barbarians. We all take the bottles to a trash can or back to the hotel. But we generally leave them where we vacation, along with sunscreen bottles and whatever other waste we produce. Completely normal behavior but when multiplied by millions of tourists we have to ask, where does all that waste go?
The small towns that host us have been forced to deal with the influx of waste from tourism, often without municipal experience or proper funding. Many tourists and residents want to participate in recycling and other sustainable practices but there are no well-organized and publicized systems in place.
But doesn’t Costa Rica have waste management laws, you may be asking? Yes, the Integrated Waste Management Law, No. 8839, was passed in 2010 and requires all municipalities to formulate and enact waste management and recycling plans.
Nearly all 81 cantons now have such plans, but many face difficulties executing them. Vacation hotspots face greater challenges, as many are located in isolated areas, with more tourists than local residents, but not included in municipal waste management plans. Others have very basic strategies, such as once-a-month recycling drop-off points, which many people cannot participate in due to transportation or time constraints.
Though we should expect more, that is the reality of waste management in Costa Rica. If we want to see improvements, we will have to take it upon ourselves to facilitate change.
I have seen the problems firsthand while conducting an ongoing study of waste and water management in the beach towns of Mal País and Santa Teresa. Located on the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, they have faced growing waste management issues since tourism began to increase in the late 1990s. The very beaches that residents rely on for most of their economic activity through tourism are jeopardized by waste from littering, bags of trash that are not collected and materials that wash up on shore. To compound the issue, the nearest dump in Cóbano has been condemned and ordered to be shut down for the last two years but remains in use. As I have mapped contamination and gathered input from local stakeholders, it has become clear that a coordinated effort to facilitate waste management at the municipal level is necessary if the area is to continue attracting tourists.
Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper, a local NGO, and the local Chamber of Tourism took the lead in coordinating a public-private waste management effort. In order to provide the recycling center and collection truck needed to scale up local recycling initiatives, Waterkeeper introduced the environmentally responsible company Bionic into the solution mix. Bionic produces yarn from reclaimed plastic that is used in clothing such as board shorts. They have recently begun collecting not only post-consumer plastic waste but ocean waste from four local towns. A partnership between the municipality, the NGO and the company generated a local recycling collection and processing program to reduce landfill inputs by providing a solution that locals and visitors were looking for.
In other areas, such as Monteverde, community-led initiatives are addressing waste collection in an effort to maintain the natural beauty that attracts visitors. The Monteverde Community Fund worked with the municipality to construct waste and recycling mini collection centers in neighborhoods to increase convenience and participation while eliminating the problem of trash entering the environment.
These initiatives make it clear to me that we have to be the change we wish to see in the world, as Gandhi eloquently put it.
In the global economy, international tourists, and increasingly locals, can take their business anywhere in the world. Sound waste management is a minimum threshold to attract tourists and provide the constitutionally guaranteed right to a healthy natural environment for citizens.
If your community is not collecting recycling, as nearly none do, you can meet with the municipality or local organizations to see what the barriers are to help facilitate solutions. You can pressure legislators to enact policies that encourage everyone to use less plastic, such as the bill Costa Rica’s legislature is reviewing that would require businesses to charge customers for plastic bags.
Last week the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gases received the ratifications necessary to come into force. We are witnessing the international community finally addressing climate change head on. Isn’t now our responsibility to facilitate the same type of accountability in our communities to meet the global goal of reducing climate change?
The most effective way to manage waste is to not produce it. We can all start at home by questioning our own consumption patterns and changing old habits, then take that mentality on vacation with us. Find hotels that can tell you how they deal with your waste and water. If you do not want to conduct your own pre-trip investigation, the Costa Rican Institute for Tourism (ICT) has a Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) which awards up to five leaves for sustainable practices, including waste and water management. The website gives details on participating sustainable hotels, tours and restaurants in the region you intend to visit.
It’s a big ask to consider the impact of your waste when trying to get away from the nagging issues of everyday life. But we can be conscientious creatures, even on vacation. Our responsibility is especially important on holiday since that is precisely when we bring our consumption habits to sparsely populated, less contaminated beaches and mountains. It is up to us as consumers of goods and tourism services to care about what happens to our waste if we want this spectacular spot on the planet to remain that way.
→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => Reduce and Recycle to Remain Relevant in Global Tourism
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[post_date] => 2016-11-03 12:44:37
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[post_content] => During the summer of 2016, two groups of students conducted fieldwork concerning the potential for expending sustainable tourism prospects near Carara National Park (CNP). CNP is uniquely situated on the main highway between San Jose, where the majority of tourists arrive and depart, and Jacó Beach, a popular destination for nationals and visitors alike. CNP’s facilities are also unique in that they have a paved, universally accessible trial, among other more challenging trails. Working with the director of the park, we devised a survey method to determine the current touristic options in the region and the possibility for new options that would both generate revenue for the residents while protecting the local environment. The resulting recommendations examine possible collaboration to facilitate the Parks’ mission of assist local communities, particularly through sustainable tourism.
From June 21-26, CSDS students and the author gathered data in communities of El Sur, Bijigual and Las Delicias, which are located in the mountainous region south of the protected area and further from the Park entrance. A similar study was conducted from July 26-30 with another CSDS student group in the towns of Tarcoles and Cebrada Ganado which are to the north of the Park and located near the Bay of Nicoya. The tourism assessment process involved gathering information from members of the communities that are directly and indirectly involved in tourism to create a clearer understanding of communities’ tourism situation. A parallel assessment of the CNP visitors’ plans and tourism interests was conducted in order evaluate overlapping interests and suggest ways in which the Park can facilitate an increase in sustainable eco and rural tourism. This data provided the basis for the recommendations below.
The first research site included the small, mountainous towns by the southeastern corner of Carara National Park approximately 20 km from the main highway. All three communities view tourism expansion as primarily positive and their vision for tourism focuses on rural and nature tourism. Rural and agro-tourism initiatives already exist, including a hostile and tours of traditional food processing. This demonstrates that the local community possesses some of the skills and organization to expand tourism enterprises. Ideally these communities would like to develop the mountain biking tourism corridor from San Jose to Jacó Beach, passing through these towns. All communities agreed that improving the road to get to the area, increased English and marketing are most important to expanding ecotourism.
The other research site, Tarcoles, is a fishing community located on the Nicoya Peninsula, near the entrance of CNP. Some fishing cooperative members already combine their fishing profession with tourism by giving guided fishing tours. Many would like to expand this sustainable form of tourism to further increase tourism growth in the area in a manner that directly benefits the community. Again, although organized in a cooperative, they lack the English and marketing skills to increase and improve fishing tours. Tarcoles community members have discussed ways to attract more tourists such as a parking and picnic area near the bay and mangrove trails.
Seventy-eight percent of community members who participated in surveys have a positive view of the park, but of those 61% said that the park doesn’t benefit them and their community in any way. The park can build on existing social trust and work with communities to build a more mutually beneficial relationship. Both locals in El Sur and Tarcoles areas understand the benefits of environmentally conscious tourism. They are are actively pursuing agro-tourism in El Sur and looking to expand responsible fishing and mangrove trails in Tarcoles. Expanding such ecotourism benefits the park by attracting more environmentally responsible tourists to the area. It also provides alternative economic opportunities to potential local poachers or loggers and farmers who may invade forests expand agriculture. Some of the following park/community collaboration efforts could transform good park/community relations into tangible mutual benefits:
Support local community initiative to develop nature and rural tourism outside the park, to provide additional habitat protection, especially through support at the municipal planning level.
Find creative ways to inform Park visitors of the local, sustainable tourism option available.
Initiate a park wide initiative to permit local craft vendors who make goods from locally and sustainably sourced materials sell their goods at Parks.
Coordinate guide training at the park or nearby, so residents can learn to offer high-quality nature tours outside the park.
Add a link on the Carara National Park webpage to local activities and sustainable services.
→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => Expanding Sustainable Tourism with National Park/Community Partnerships
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[post_date] => 2017-04-10 12:37:59
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[post_content] => Part of our recent week-long exploration of Nicaragua included continuing our study of ethical tourism by examining the prevalence of participation in sustainable practices by tourists and service providers. Nicaragua has seen a 7.5% increase in tourism from 2000 to 2014, outpacing its Central American neighbors (INTUR Tourism Bulletin, 2015). Such significant increases are partially due to Nicaragua’s late entry onto this $ 7.2 billion international industry (CREST, Trends and Statistics, 2016). Increased political stability has led to more investment in tourism, coupled with a growing demand for adventure tourism to less visited destinations. We asked, “Are the potential benefits of increased tourism being fully realized?”
Local tour bus used by SFS while visiting Granada, Nicaragua
While tourism is often presented as an entirely positive economic opportunity for destination nations, there are serious environmental, economic and social consequences that should be evaluated and considered when promoting this sector. Nicaragua has faced aggravated water use and disposal issues, higher demand for drugs and mismanagement of some natural and cultural sites due to increased tourism. Ideally, thoughtful planning and an effort to attract specific types of tourists can generate place-specific and sustainable travel. We took advantage of our mid-semester field trip to Nicaragua to conduct a field exercise considering the strengths and weakness of the expanding tourism industry. Our objective was to compare sustainable practices of tourists and businesses in the less developed island of Ometepe with those of the colonial city of Granada.
Learning to make tortillas with Fundación Entre Volcanes rural tourism collective members, Ometepe, NicaraguaStudents surveying local tourism business on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua
Surveys were conducted by students at both sites during the first week of April. We questioned tourists about the sustainable services they had utilized on vacation, if those options were sufficient to meet their needs and whether they were willing to pay more for a range of sustainable services. On the service supply side, we asked business owners and service providers what level of demand for sustainable services they encountered, whether they provided any such services and what impediments kept them from doing so.
Our results show that 51% of the 153 tourists ranked themselves as very concerned with sustainable practices when traveling. Sixty-four percent reported being content with the sustainable options available in Nicaragua. Between 76% and 81% of tourists indicated that they would be willing to pay more for specific sustainable services such as hotels, restaurants and admission to cultural & nature sites.
Of the 78 businesses surveyed, 74% described sustainable services as very important to them. However, only 17% of businesses thought that tourists had high concern for sustainability. These results led us to question whether tourists are overstating their sustainable intentions or if perhaps businesses are underestimating the potential to provide sustainable services, such as organic food, locally produced crafts and solar-heated water. While both tourists and businesses may be self-reporting higher than actual interest in sustainable practices, a significant interest is clearly demonstrated. Providing more sustainable services that tourists are seeking could unlock financial, social and environmental benefits for tourism sites in Nicaragua.
Students reflected that there is a shared responsibility of businesses to provide services but also tourists to consider the consequences of travel and actively seek sustainable options. A thought we can all take with us on our next trip.
→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => The Tourism/Business Alignment on Sustainable Services in Nicaragua
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[post_content] => Our day began by hiking to the cacao plantation through hot cattle pastures scarred by erosion. The students’ relief was palpable at being embraced by the shady agroforestry system, home to poison-dart frogs, toucans, and a wild variety of insects. We got to work harvesting cacao pods and were rewarded with a break of rustic, stone ground truffles flavored with spices from the farm, appreciated as much for the energy as the incredible flavors. Farm-to-bar is the catchy phrase used to describe small batch, locally made chocolate. Harvesting, husking and hulling the cacao ourselves brought a deeper understanding of the skills, knowledge and connection to land of the people working to preserving traditional cultivation practices.
Students and professor harvesting cacao with farmer Jorge Salazar at Finca La Iguana
Food has traditional been deeply connected to place. In this globalized world, we can easily be separated from our culinary roots, that nourish us physically and culturally. We lose the memory of the local foods that grow abundantly as part of the ecosystem. We can lose sight of traditions that create delicious variety from what is locally available. Instead, it is common to become dependent on imported and processed commodities because we seek variety which we have lost track of locally.
Globalization has also made the gift of travel obtainable to many more. There are more opportunities to visit new places and landscapes to consider alternate ways of doing and being. Those experiences increasingly include the production and preparation of native foods. This semester we invited students to travel to Central America to attend our first special topic course on Chocolate and Coffee. The aim of the course is to explore the environmental and cultural legacy of these charismatic species in Costa Rica’s development. One area of focus is considering how education and agrotourism, on the rise due to globalization, can support local cultural protection while being a tool for economic growth and ecological regeneration.
Tasting traditional hot chocolate during cacao class at Tirimbina Reserve
Chocolate’s roots run deep in Latin American history as a native species that is intertwined with many Indigenous cultures’ worship and celebration. The story of chocolate also includes forced labor of Indigenous people to plant and harvest cacao and, in Costa Rica, their resistance and flight from conquest. The struggle to preserve unique genetic material, beliefs and practices related to this sacred plant continues.
As a culmination of the course, we conducted field research on cacao’s role in agrotourism. As part of the study we met with a cultural leader of the Huetares Indigenous group in central Costa Rica, working to preserve Indigenous plant knowledge, including practices related to cacao. He shared that the earth provides everything we need for life and to live well. Cacao is a prime example as it contains beneficial fats and vitamins, provides the energy boost of caffeine while stimulating endorphins to create a feeling of well-being. He is working to preserve his knowledge in a book on Indigenous uses of local plants since most Indigenous youth are interested in moving to the city for more economic opportunities instead of living locally and learning traditional practices. Tourism has become an important tool for passing on and supporting projects to preserve his group's knowledge.
Presentation on Indigenous uses of cacao by Huetares leader Gerardo Pérez
We also experienced life with a Costa Rican family that grows and processes cacao on their farm. Their roots in this area are much newer than that of Indigenous people but their contributions to ecological preservation are deep. In the 1980s, they formed part of a cacao collective but in the 1990s the fungus Monilia (Moniliophthora roreri) blighted all of the cacao orchards in the area. They abandoned their orchards and returned to cattle ranching as their main source of income until an ecolodge and education center opened in the town in 2002. They began processing small batches of chocolate from their recovering cacao orchard themselves and selling it to visitors at the ecolodge. Interest in their chocolates was so great that they developed a tour and have grown to offer lodging for educational groups like ours. They have also enhanced their agroforestry system to include many plants for use in chocolate and more abundant food options for their family and visitors.
Collecting data on Monilia fungus infection of cacao pods at Finca La Iguana
Our field studies included evaluating the effectiveness of various Monilia control practices. Another project cataloged the local edibles and how many are incorporated into the chocolates including ginger, turmeric, passion fruit, and cinnamon. The third group evaluated the unique aspects of this agrotourism-focused community from a socioeconomic perspective. Younger members of this family shared that the agricultural and intellectual challenges of growing an agrotourism business have made staying on the farm viable and attractive to them. They also highlighted the appeal and importance of knowledge transfer generated by tourism. Many of the improvements to the chocolates and other aspects of the business have come from an exchange of ideas with tourists and volunteers. This transfer of knowledge marks the difference in tourism which drains resources and imposes demands on local culture and responsible tourism that can enrich existing practices.
Products from the farm including chocolate, cacao beans, cacao butter, and turmeric
Our study highlights the ways in which agrotourism can support multiple service providers and leaders instead of competitive north/south, neighbor-against-neighbor market models of growth. These ventures create fertile soil for preserving native species like cacao while integrating concepts from visitors. Our intensive participation in sustainable Costa Rica cacao agrotourism brings to life the possibilities of cultural and ecological regenerative agrotourism. This type of connected tourism can also travel beyond the foods of a single place to inspire our support of local, responsible production wherever in the world we call home.
Summer I students and professor Mary Little→ Biodiversity and Sustainable Food Systems in Costa Rica
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[description] => Costa Rica is a resource-rich, wonderfully biodiverse country that is rapidly developing and increasingly recognized for its efforts to ensure conservation and the protection of natural resources. It is home to beautiful cloud forests, dry forests, volcanoes, lowland rainforests, and plantations. Students examine management schemes, identify the benefits of protected areas, and determine which systems offer the best option for economic development, the maintenance of cultural norms, and the preservation of biodiversity.
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[post_content] => The rugged rainforests and sandy beaches of Costa Rica are brimming with life – from sloths and frogs to brightly colored toucans and hummingbirds. Costa Rica hosts an astounding 5 percent of Earth’s species despite covering only 0.03 percent of its area. Shaded coffee farms integrated into the rainforest constitute just one example of the sustainable conservation strategies for which the country is known.
These efforts to preserve the wild beauty of Costa Rica are recognized worldwide, but climate change and increased urban development bring new and unforeseen challenges. Conservation leaders, farmers, land managers, and policymakers must work together using regenerative strategies to build ecological resilience and minimize climate change impacts. Our research in Costa Rica contributes vital data to innovative efforts that balance conservation and development.
[post_title] => Center for Sustainable Development Studies
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[post_content] => Sustainable tourism means traveling in a way that 1) has minimal environmental impact, 2) promotes conservation, and 3) improves local livelihoods, both economically and socially. Our Directed Research project on gender and sustainable tourism took us to an excellent example of all three at Hotel Punta Islita on the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. On the environmental front, the Hotel is situated on land that was once tree-barren cattle ranches. Hotel Punta Islita has increased forest cover on its property from 2% in 1975 to 76% in 2008. They also promote conservation principles by providing land and funding to a macaw reintroduction program and organizing beach patrols on a local sea turtle marine reserve.
Our research focused on the social and economic impact of the Hotel on local communities. Students examined job segregation and wage disparity by gender. They also learned how the Hotel actively hires from surrounding communities, provides job training, and promotes local start-up businesses. The project that has had perhaps the largest impact on the community of Islita, and us as visitors, is the six local art groups. The Hotel initiated the program 10 years ago as an attraction for tourists and to improve the quality of life for women in the local community, creating a win/win situation for all involved.
As we interviewed the people of the Islita community we were surrounded by imaginative and colorful mosaics and paintings on every building. In addition to this open-air gallery there is a museum, a workshop for the local artisans, and a shop for tourists to purchase the arts and crafts made by members of the different art collectives. As we took a jewelry-making class from one of the groups, we saw just how art binds the local women together. In addition to economic empowerment, participants mentioned how being part of this program has changed the way they see themselves. They have a role outside of the home, they interact with other community members, and they have been trained in their craft by visiting artists. In the process these women have become artists themselves and are now passing their skills on to their own children, as well as to guests of the Hotel.
Art decorates the façade of the preschool buildingA mural of a Guanacaste, the national tree of Costa RicaA guided tour of the town’s open-air galleryStudents examine Hotel Punta Islita’s recycling systemStudents participating in a jewelry-making class taught by local women
[post_title] => Community Art Takes Sustainable Tourism to a Whole New Level
[post_excerpt] => Sustainable tourism means traveling in a way that 1) has minimal environmental impact, 2) promotes conservation, and 3) improves local livelihoods, both economically and socially.
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[post_content] => Santa Teresa is a booming beach town on the western coast of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula. The waves brought the first surfers in the early 90s before there was electricity in this rural farming and fishing town. The same waves that put this area on the map have continued to draw tourists from around the world. Now the population fluctuates from 5,000 to 10,000 between the low and high points of the tourism season.
With all the possible social and economic gains of tourism, increased population has a drastic and dire impact on the availability and disposal of water. The supply from local wells and the local water authority are not adequate in the dry months and businesses must pay for water brought by truck. Disposal of water is an even larger issue, as there is no sewage treatment facility. People are required to build septic tanks, but many are old or not properly designed. Sewage flows untreated into streams, which flow into the very ocean that attracts tourists.
While in Santa Teresa, we worked with the local Chamber of Tourism and Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper, a local branch of the international organization committed to protect communities, ecosystems, and water quality. They have planned a series of activities to raise community awareness about water related issues, such as a fair to demonstrate ecofriendly practices and bring sustainable technology venders to the community. Another Waterkeeper initiative is to treat the gray and black water that flows directly into stream and construct biogardens.
Our Directed Research project gathered information for an ambitious project to collect grease from local restaurants to feed a biodigester located at the local public high school. The gas produced by the biodigester will be used for cooking at the high school cafeteria. One group of students set out to collect data on sustainable practices and grease use at area restaurants. This information will be used to help effectively implement the biodigester program and learn what other initiatives may help minimize negative environmental impacts. Another group of students collected information on sustainable practices at local hotels to determine what water saving measures are in use and which hotels are receptive to implementing sustainable waste management practices.
Students also considered whether sustainable tourism certification is effective in motivating hotels to adopt sustainable practices. Costa Rica has a certification program created by the Costa Rica Board of Tourism that awards up to 5 “green leaves” for sustainable practices. Opinions of the certification process ranged from strong approval of the program to a belief that the program is a form of green washing or only larger, more expensive hotels have the resources to implement. Local hotels responded more positively to the national blue flag clean beach program, which benefits the entire community equally.
Santa Teresa is at a critical point in its development. Sustainable practices and limited, organized growth are essential to preserve limited freshwater resources. Our data collection will help local stakeholders implement the biodigester and focus on future projects supported by the community. Despite growing implementation of sustainable practices, the fact remains that there are water shortages that lead to digging more wells and trucking in water to sell at exorbitant prices. The pressing lack of a sewage system to contend with the waste created by this growing population remains.
The government has committed to creating an aqueduct to bring more water to the area by 2017, however there is still no plan for a sewage system. The growth that additional water will inevitable generate could be catastrophic to the ecosystem and people’s health if not accompanied by proper sanitation. Future research may include data collection to demonstrate the urgent need for sewage treatment when the government installs additional water pipelines.
[post_title] => Water Solutions in Santa Teresa Bring More Challenges to Light
[post_excerpt] => Santa Teresa is a booming beach town on the western coast of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula.
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[post_content] => In south central Nicaragua you will find Ometepe, a 31 km island situated in Lake Cocibolca (the largest tropical lake of the Americas). A large number of petroglyphs, statues, and daily items provide a cultural link with the Island’s first inhabitants, the Nahua Indians, who migrated from Mexico around 500 B.C. The traditional economic activities of today’s local population – small scale agriculture and fishing – are quickly being joined by tourism as the main source of income. Previously, all tourists arrived to the Island by boat. In May 2014, a small $12 million airport was completed. The airport currently only receives two flights a week from Managua, but there are plans to increase the number as tourism grows. There is speculation that the government is encouraging larger hotel companies to build on Ometepe and the construction of the airport was a prerequisite.
This additional transportation route may have significant effects on Ometepe, though no one is certain of their scale or form. At the end of 2014 work on the Nicaragua Canal began, with little to no assessment of the potential impact on the environment or on rural communities. What is certain is that the Canal route will utilize Lake Cocibolca for part of the transnational crossing. To compound serious concerns about contaminating the freshwater Lake, there are reports that Canal cruise passengers may be routed to resorts to experience the Island’s volcanoes. .
On our field excursion to Ometepe this week we will initiate a study to assess service providers’ and tourists’ willingness to participate in sustainable tourism practices. Our objective is to determine what practices hotels and restaurants are employing, what practices they are interested in implementing, and what obstacles stand in their way. We will also gather information on tourists’ awareness of and preferences for sustainable tourism options. The willingness of tourists to pay for various socially and environmentally responsible services will help determine whether supply and demand align.
Understanding changes in tourism preference for sustainable practices as the industry faces an influx of new types of tourists is the long term goal of this study. It will follow how tourists’ willingness to pay for services affects the sustainable practices adopted by hotel and restaurants and what perceived and actual economic and environmental results manifest from those changes. The study will highlight how expanding infrastructure and the arrival of different types of tourists influences the growth of the industry towards or away from sustainable practices. Our findings will be shared with the local development organization Foundation Between Volcanoes in order to help local business implement the most effective sustainable strategies during this time of change.
[post_title] => Does Sustainable Tourism Offer Viable Alternatives in Ometepe, Nicaragua?
[post_excerpt] => We will initiate a study to assess service providers’ and tourists’ willingness to participate in sustainable tourism practices.
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[post_content] => The SFS Center for Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica has collaborated with the Poás Volcano National Park (PVNP) service for a number of years to collect data from park visitors and expand students’ understanding of the tourist/nature interface on nationally protected lands. As one of the most visited national parks in Costa Rica, with nearly 300,000 visitors annually, rangers grapple with providing access to nature while perceiving the wildlife habitat.
Students from our Center conducted surveys to evaluate tourists’ perception of Park services and evaluate the environmental impacts of visitors. This semester, in addition to the time-consistent questions related to Park services, the study evaluated visitors’ willingness to recycle at home and at the Park, how well the recycling system in place is functioning, and the willingness of tourists to remove their own trash from the Park. The objectives of this study were to determine whether the current recycling and waste management program is functioning well and whether there are other feasible options for waste management.
Data was gathered using identical surveys in English and Spanish. Surveys contained roughly 30 questions on the topics of waste management at the park, participant habits and demographics. Students analyzed the data, including grouped frequency distribution to evaluate the recycling behaviors by differing demographic groups.
Photo: Quinn Bergeon
Findings show that 44% of Costa Ricans reported using recycling containers while at the Park compared to 30% of foreign visitors. While one reason given for not recycling was “nothing to recycle,” the top reasons for both nationalities were that the containers were not conveniently located or not clearly labeled as to which materials could be recycled. Unclear labeling is a significant problem because people then mix materials and it is all disposed of as trash. Recommendations include more recycling receptacles and containers clearly labeled with pictographs that people of all nationalities will understand. Another possible solution suggested in survey comments is to place a trash can next to the recycling containers so that trash is not mixed with the recyclable materials.
An alternative practice that the PVNP has been considering is eliminating recycling and trash containers altogether and asking park visitors to remove any trash they produce from the premises. This practice, known as “carry-in/carry-out,” has been effective in other protected areas. It is beneficial to the park as it nearly eliminates the cost and work of removing trash. When represented by nationality, 91% of Costa Ricans and 82% of foreigners answered yes, they would participate in such a program. While both groups responded very positively, the overall lower rate of agreement by foreigners indicates a possible reluctance to travel with their waste.
Based on these findings, providing park visitors with a bag at the entrance and requesting that all trash is removed is one option that tourists may respond to positively. There are, however, possible external costs, such as increased education so people know about the program, and the risk that some people will not be willing to participate and therefore litter, since the number of trash and recycling containers would be greatly reduced. This study highlights the current problem of mixed waste, which is disrupting the recycling program. Hopefully these findings provide useful data for implementing a more effective and less labor-intensive waste management solution.
[post_title] => Survey Finds Support for Carry-in/Carry-out System at Poás Volcano National Park
[post_excerpt] => Students conducted surveys to evaluate tourists’ perception of Park services and evaluate the environmental impacts of visitors.
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[post_content] => Over the past 20 years many parts of Costa Rica have undergone a dramatic transformation from fishing and farming economies to popular international tourism destinations. The shift has been rapid and unplanned, resulting in strains on local infrastructure. One branch of public services most affected has been solid waste disposal. Waste management is a particularly serious issue in beach towns where trash makes its way to the sea. The most surprising aspect of this situation is that this solid waste management challenge erodes not only the environmental and human health of the area, it also discourages the surf and sand tourism that provide many local livelihoods. Creating a effective recycling system has the potential to greatly reduce the amount of trash that enters the environment and relieve the dysfunctional municipal trash system.
This past spring semester, student researchers from the SFS Center for Sustainable Development Studies, working in partnership with the local NGO Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper, surveyed residents and businesses in Santa Teresa and Malpaís about their current practices and opinions on the implementation of an improved recycling system. This site was chosen because increased tourism and foreign residency has increased the volume of waste significantly. However, the transitory nature of the population has inhibited the long-term implementation of an effective recycling program. Community members that are interested in addressing this issue often become discouraged because key players move and it is difficult to educate short-term residents on proper practices. The situation has only deteriorated since the closest recycling center has closed and the current dump site has been condemned, meaning all waste must now be transported to another town over an hour away.
For this study, 176 surveys on waste materials and willingness and motivation to recycle were gathered from various types of businesses and groups of residents. Interviews were also conducted to gather what motivates them to recycle and their opinions on the best recycling solutions. Of residents surveyed, 84% stated that recycling should be a community-led project and 41% of local businesses stated that they would help with a community recycling program. Many people would like to make legal demands forcing the municipality to address waste issues but since that will necessitate concerted pressure, the community should first organize to implement a functioning system that meets its needs, then use that organization to demand more concrete solutions from the local government.
When asked if they would be willing to participate in recycling in the future, 71% of all residents said yes. However, opinions on what method would be best was almost evenly divided between truck pick up, a localized drop off center, and neighborhood recycling collection points, suggesting that a combination of these methods could work best.
Responses of residents of Malpaís and Santa Teresa on what would be most convenient for their participation in a recycling program.
Local businesses that stated a willingness to participate in recycling efforts could install and collect materials from recycling bins on front of their business. Business owners could also demand that distributors take all packing materials back with them, so that bottles and cardboard waste never enters the local system. An effort can also be made to improve the local garbage collector’s recycling facilities so that he can process more materials and make collection more profitable.
The government’s current inability to meet its waste management obligation indicates that recycling solutions must be created by the community. Creating a recycling program has the added benefit of reducing the amount of solid waste sent to landfills. Though there are many challenges, this study demonstrates that there is widespread willingness to participate in recycling and take on leadership roles in that process. This is an opportunity for members to voice their opinions and help create the system that serves the entire population and can adapt to change. It is our hope that the data we have provided can be used to develop an effective waste management strategy that will garner high community participation.
[post_title] => Recycling in Nicoya Peninsula Communities
[post_excerpt] => Student researchers surveyed residents and businesses about their current practices and opinions on the implementation of an improved recycling system.
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[post_content] => Notwithstanding Costa Rica’s leading status in some environmental arenas, the nation still struggles to implement basic, sound practices in other areas. Take for example recycling, an initiative that is commonplace and even required in many parts of the world. Despite Costa Rican legislation in 2010 (Law 8839) making it mandatory for municipal governments to provide recycling collection, only 3% of materials are being recycled. Five years after enacting the law, only a few large municipal areas have established recycling centers and very few offer recycling collection. Valuable materials are being sent to landfills that are at or near capacity. A battle over creating massive trash incinerators is now underway because many believe there is no other solution to the rapidly increasing amount of trash created by rising salaries and increased consumerism.
These important issues have led me to explore responses to waste management issues in high tourism areas through Directed Research projects. High tourism volume is often a response to pristine natural beauty. Increased trash and pollution are a direct threat to the main economic drivers in many tourism areas. The Monteverde cloud forest is one of the most visited areas in Costa Rica. Like elsewhere, recycling was formerly left to individuals, so often only a handful of concerned businesses found it financially feasible to hire privately contracted collectors to take their materials to a recycling collection center an hour away. Over the last 2 years, the Monteverde Community Fund has worked with the local government, health ministry, and nature reserves to coordinate a more efficient system that will enable all residents (and visitors) to recycle.
The first phase of action has involved the municipality building a recycling collection center in the town of Monteverde. Research done as part of our summer research shows that the center, which opened in 2014, is projected to receive at least twice as many materials by the end of 2015. A major impediment to recycling is that people without vehicles find it difficult to get materials to the center, reported those who participated in our survey. Also the center is only open once a month, which is inconvenient for many. In an effort to facilitate higher recycling participation, a local coalition has built 17 recycling centers in neighborhoods throughout the community. Since there is no recycling collection, the centers are currently being used for trash storage until pick up. This practice is an improvement over leaving bags of trash in the street for collection as it prevents animals from opening the trash and dispersing it into the environment. The temporary measure is a good use of the mini-centers for the time being. However, a final push must be made to hold and collect recyclables there, as intended. Trash storage has led to the negative side effect of confusion over the purpose of the mini centers among local residents.
In meetings with the vice-mayor, financing has been the major impediment to opening the central recycling center more often and offering recycling collection at the mini-centers. A recycling collection truck and a full time employee have been requested for next years’ budget. As the structural aspects of the recycling program are improved, education is important to obtain optimal participation. During our surveying we worked with the rangers from the Monteverde Reserve and local college students to distribute information on the central recycling center, use of the mini-centers, and future plans to have recycling pick-up at the mini-centers.
Student research indicated that local residents were generally enthusiastic about recycling at the mini-centers and confirmed the need for adult education about recycling. Local collection and empowering people with the knowledge to recycle will make Monteverde’s program one that other communities can look to for public/community based solutions when solving their own recycling issues.
Directed Research group and Monteverde Reserve rangers disseminating information on recycling and conducting surveys.Mini center in Monteverde, Costa Rica
[post_title] => Creative Recycling Solution Developed Through Public/Committee Partnership
[post_excerpt] => Increased trash and pollution are a direct threat to the main economic drivers in many tourism areas.
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[post_content] => Ometepe is a beautifully unique island composed of two massive volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua. Each semester we travel here from Costa Rica to explore the abundant natural and cultural diversity. Our SFS group is not alone in taking note of the Ometepe’s unique habitat and indigenous artifacts. In just 10 years the number of tourists has jumped from 20,000 to nearly 50,000 per year. Visitors now exceed the local population and tourism revenue has surpassed that of the traditional mainstay of agriculture. This massive shift raises the crucial question, what type of tourism is present on the island and who will reap the benefits?
Fundación Entre Volcanes is a local NGO which develops community initiatives to connect rural women and youth to opportunities arising from tourism. These groups provide services, from rural home stays to tours, and produce goods used by local restaurants and hotels. One women’s community initiative provided a class on tortilla-making for our group, as maize is a key component of the local diet. We learned a culinary skill that we can hopefully replicate once we return home but, more importantly, we had a chance to connect and learn from a wonderful group of entrepreneurial women.
A home the in the village of Los Angeles with Volcán Concepción in the distance.Costa Rica SFS group learning about Fundación Entre Volcanes’ rural tourism initiatives.Dona Tina, member of the community collective and tortilla-making master.Learning how to prepare the maize.Students bringing their own personable style to the grinding process.Having fun while learning to mold the tortillas. Tortillas being grilled over a wood-fire stove.The finally product, embellished with locally made beans, sour cream and cheese.→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => Experiencing Rural Tourism on Ometepe Island
[post_excerpt] => Photos from a tortilla-making class at Fundación Entre Volcanes, a local NGO which connects rural women and youth to opportunities arising from tourism.
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[post_content] => This op-ed article originally published in The Tico TimesSFS-CSDS student Leslie Ramos (left) collects data on waste management from a Santa Teresa resident known as "El Gato"
We all know how exceedingly fortunate we are to live in or visit such a diverse and stunning place as Costa Rica. So we go to the beach to enjoy. We drink some bottled water, a few sodas and perhaps more than a few beers.
We aren’t barbarians. We all take the bottles to a trash can or back to the hotel. But we generally leave them where we vacation, along with sunscreen bottles and whatever other waste we produce. Completely normal behavior but when multiplied by millions of tourists we have to ask, where does all that waste go?
The small towns that host us have been forced to deal with the influx of waste from tourism, often without municipal experience or proper funding. Many tourists and residents want to participate in recycling and other sustainable practices but there are no well-organized and publicized systems in place.
But doesn’t Costa Rica have waste management laws, you may be asking? Yes, the Integrated Waste Management Law, No. 8839, was passed in 2010 and requires all municipalities to formulate and enact waste management and recycling plans.
Nearly all 81 cantons now have such plans, but many face difficulties executing them. Vacation hotspots face greater challenges, as many are located in isolated areas, with more tourists than local residents, but not included in municipal waste management plans. Others have very basic strategies, such as once-a-month recycling drop-off points, which many people cannot participate in due to transportation or time constraints.
Though we should expect more, that is the reality of waste management in Costa Rica. If we want to see improvements, we will have to take it upon ourselves to facilitate change.
I have seen the problems firsthand while conducting an ongoing study of waste and water management in the beach towns of Mal País and Santa Teresa. Located on the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, they have faced growing waste management issues since tourism began to increase in the late 1990s. The very beaches that residents rely on for most of their economic activity through tourism are jeopardized by waste from littering, bags of trash that are not collected and materials that wash up on shore. To compound the issue, the nearest dump in Cóbano has been condemned and ordered to be shut down for the last two years but remains in use. As I have mapped contamination and gathered input from local stakeholders, it has become clear that a coordinated effort to facilitate waste management at the municipal level is necessary if the area is to continue attracting tourists.
Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper, a local NGO, and the local Chamber of Tourism took the lead in coordinating a public-private waste management effort. In order to provide the recycling center and collection truck needed to scale up local recycling initiatives, Waterkeeper introduced the environmentally responsible company Bionic into the solution mix. Bionic produces yarn from reclaimed plastic that is used in clothing such as board shorts. They have recently begun collecting not only post-consumer plastic waste but ocean waste from four local towns. A partnership between the municipality, the NGO and the company generated a local recycling collection and processing program to reduce landfill inputs by providing a solution that locals and visitors were looking for.
In other areas, such as Monteverde, community-led initiatives are addressing waste collection in an effort to maintain the natural beauty that attracts visitors. The Monteverde Community Fund worked with the municipality to construct waste and recycling mini collection centers in neighborhoods to increase convenience and participation while eliminating the problem of trash entering the environment.
These initiatives make it clear to me that we have to be the change we wish to see in the world, as Gandhi eloquently put it.
In the global economy, international tourists, and increasingly locals, can take their business anywhere in the world. Sound waste management is a minimum threshold to attract tourists and provide the constitutionally guaranteed right to a healthy natural environment for citizens.
If your community is not collecting recycling, as nearly none do, you can meet with the municipality or local organizations to see what the barriers are to help facilitate solutions. You can pressure legislators to enact policies that encourage everyone to use less plastic, such as the bill Costa Rica’s legislature is reviewing that would require businesses to charge customers for plastic bags.
Last week the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gases received the ratifications necessary to come into force. We are witnessing the international community finally addressing climate change head on. Isn’t now our responsibility to facilitate the same type of accountability in our communities to meet the global goal of reducing climate change?
The most effective way to manage waste is to not produce it. We can all start at home by questioning our own consumption patterns and changing old habits, then take that mentality on vacation with us. Find hotels that can tell you how they deal with your waste and water. If you do not want to conduct your own pre-trip investigation, the Costa Rican Institute for Tourism (ICT) has a Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) which awards up to five leaves for sustainable practices, including waste and water management. The website gives details on participating sustainable hotels, tours and restaurants in the region you intend to visit.
It’s a big ask to consider the impact of your waste when trying to get away from the nagging issues of everyday life. But we can be conscientious creatures, even on vacation. Our responsibility is especially important on holiday since that is precisely when we bring our consumption habits to sparsely populated, less contaminated beaches and mountains. It is up to us as consumers of goods and tourism services to care about what happens to our waste if we want this spectacular spot on the planet to remain that way.
→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => Reduce and Recycle to Remain Relevant in Global Tourism
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[post_content] => During the summer of 2016, two groups of students conducted fieldwork concerning the potential for expending sustainable tourism prospects near Carara National Park (CNP). CNP is uniquely situated on the main highway between San Jose, where the majority of tourists arrive and depart, and Jacó Beach, a popular destination for nationals and visitors alike. CNP’s facilities are also unique in that they have a paved, universally accessible trial, among other more challenging trails. Working with the director of the park, we devised a survey method to determine the current touristic options in the region and the possibility for new options that would both generate revenue for the residents while protecting the local environment. The resulting recommendations examine possible collaboration to facilitate the Parks’ mission of assist local communities, particularly through sustainable tourism.
From June 21-26, CSDS students and the author gathered data in communities of El Sur, Bijigual and Las Delicias, which are located in the mountainous region south of the protected area and further from the Park entrance. A similar study was conducted from July 26-30 with another CSDS student group in the towns of Tarcoles and Cebrada Ganado which are to the north of the Park and located near the Bay of Nicoya. The tourism assessment process involved gathering information from members of the communities that are directly and indirectly involved in tourism to create a clearer understanding of communities’ tourism situation. A parallel assessment of the CNP visitors’ plans and tourism interests was conducted in order evaluate overlapping interests and suggest ways in which the Park can facilitate an increase in sustainable eco and rural tourism. This data provided the basis for the recommendations below.
The first research site included the small, mountainous towns by the southeastern corner of Carara National Park approximately 20 km from the main highway. All three communities view tourism expansion as primarily positive and their vision for tourism focuses on rural and nature tourism. Rural and agro-tourism initiatives already exist, including a hostile and tours of traditional food processing. This demonstrates that the local community possesses some of the skills and organization to expand tourism enterprises. Ideally these communities would like to develop the mountain biking tourism corridor from San Jose to Jacó Beach, passing through these towns. All communities agreed that improving the road to get to the area, increased English and marketing are most important to expanding ecotourism.
The other research site, Tarcoles, is a fishing community located on the Nicoya Peninsula, near the entrance of CNP. Some fishing cooperative members already combine their fishing profession with tourism by giving guided fishing tours. Many would like to expand this sustainable form of tourism to further increase tourism growth in the area in a manner that directly benefits the community. Again, although organized in a cooperative, they lack the English and marketing skills to increase and improve fishing tours. Tarcoles community members have discussed ways to attract more tourists such as a parking and picnic area near the bay and mangrove trails.
Seventy-eight percent of community members who participated in surveys have a positive view of the park, but of those 61% said that the park doesn’t benefit them and their community in any way. The park can build on existing social trust and work with communities to build a more mutually beneficial relationship. Both locals in El Sur and Tarcoles areas understand the benefits of environmentally conscious tourism. They are are actively pursuing agro-tourism in El Sur and looking to expand responsible fishing and mangrove trails in Tarcoles. Expanding such ecotourism benefits the park by attracting more environmentally responsible tourists to the area. It also provides alternative economic opportunities to potential local poachers or loggers and farmers who may invade forests expand agriculture. Some of the following park/community collaboration efforts could transform good park/community relations into tangible mutual benefits:
Support local community initiative to develop nature and rural tourism outside the park, to provide additional habitat protection, especially through support at the municipal planning level.
Find creative ways to inform Park visitors of the local, sustainable tourism option available.
Initiate a park wide initiative to permit local craft vendors who make goods from locally and sustainably sourced materials sell their goods at Parks.
Coordinate guide training at the park or nearby, so residents can learn to offer high-quality nature tours outside the park.
Add a link on the Carara National Park webpage to local activities and sustainable services.
→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => Expanding Sustainable Tourism with National Park/Community Partnerships
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[post_content] => Part of our recent week-long exploration of Nicaragua included continuing our study of ethical tourism by examining the prevalence of participation in sustainable practices by tourists and service providers. Nicaragua has seen a 7.5% increase in tourism from 2000 to 2014, outpacing its Central American neighbors (INTUR Tourism Bulletin, 2015). Such significant increases are partially due to Nicaragua’s late entry onto this $ 7.2 billion international industry (CREST, Trends and Statistics, 2016). Increased political stability has led to more investment in tourism, coupled with a growing demand for adventure tourism to less visited destinations. We asked, “Are the potential benefits of increased tourism being fully realized?”
Local tour bus used by SFS while visiting Granada, Nicaragua
While tourism is often presented as an entirely positive economic opportunity for destination nations, there are serious environmental, economic and social consequences that should be evaluated and considered when promoting this sector. Nicaragua has faced aggravated water use and disposal issues, higher demand for drugs and mismanagement of some natural and cultural sites due to increased tourism. Ideally, thoughtful planning and an effort to attract specific types of tourists can generate place-specific and sustainable travel. We took advantage of our mid-semester field trip to Nicaragua to conduct a field exercise considering the strengths and weakness of the expanding tourism industry. Our objective was to compare sustainable practices of tourists and businesses in the less developed island of Ometepe with those of the colonial city of Granada.
Learning to make tortillas with Fundación Entre Volcanes rural tourism collective members, Ometepe, NicaraguaStudents surveying local tourism business on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua
Surveys were conducted by students at both sites during the first week of April. We questioned tourists about the sustainable services they had utilized on vacation, if those options were sufficient to meet their needs and whether they were willing to pay more for a range of sustainable services. On the service supply side, we asked business owners and service providers what level of demand for sustainable services they encountered, whether they provided any such services and what impediments kept them from doing so.
Our results show that 51% of the 153 tourists ranked themselves as very concerned with sustainable practices when traveling. Sixty-four percent reported being content with the sustainable options available in Nicaragua. Between 76% and 81% of tourists indicated that they would be willing to pay more for specific sustainable services such as hotels, restaurants and admission to cultural & nature sites.
Of the 78 businesses surveyed, 74% described sustainable services as very important to them. However, only 17% of businesses thought that tourists had high concern for sustainability. These results led us to question whether tourists are overstating their sustainable intentions or if perhaps businesses are underestimating the potential to provide sustainable services, such as organic food, locally produced crafts and solar-heated water. While both tourists and businesses may be self-reporting higher than actual interest in sustainable practices, a significant interest is clearly demonstrated. Providing more sustainable services that tourists are seeking could unlock financial, social and environmental benefits for tourism sites in Nicaragua.
Students reflected that there is a shared responsibility of businesses to provide services but also tourists to consider the consequences of travel and actively seek sustainable options. A thought we can all take with us on our next trip.
→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => The Tourism/Business Alignment on Sustainable Services in Nicaragua
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[post_content] => Our day began by hiking to the cacao plantation through hot cattle pastures scarred by erosion. The students’ relief was palpable at being embraced by the shady agroforestry system, home to poison-dart frogs, toucans, and a wild variety of insects. We got to work harvesting cacao pods and were rewarded with a break of rustic, stone ground truffles flavored with spices from the farm, appreciated as much for the energy as the incredible flavors. Farm-to-bar is the catchy phrase used to describe small batch, locally made chocolate. Harvesting, husking and hulling the cacao ourselves brought a deeper understanding of the skills, knowledge and connection to land of the people working to preserving traditional cultivation practices.
Students and professor harvesting cacao with farmer Jorge Salazar at Finca La Iguana
Food has traditional been deeply connected to place. In this globalized world, we can easily be separated from our culinary roots, that nourish us physically and culturally. We lose the memory of the local foods that grow abundantly as part of the ecosystem. We can lose sight of traditions that create delicious variety from what is locally available. Instead, it is common to become dependent on imported and processed commodities because we seek variety which we have lost track of locally.
Globalization has also made the gift of travel obtainable to many more. There are more opportunities to visit new places and landscapes to consider alternate ways of doing and being. Those experiences increasingly include the production and preparation of native foods. This semester we invited students to travel to Central America to attend our first special topic course on Chocolate and Coffee. The aim of the course is to explore the environmental and cultural legacy of these charismatic species in Costa Rica’s development. One area of focus is considering how education and agrotourism, on the rise due to globalization, can support local cultural protection while being a tool for economic growth and ecological regeneration.
Tasting traditional hot chocolate during cacao class at Tirimbina Reserve
Chocolate’s roots run deep in Latin American history as a native species that is intertwined with many Indigenous cultures’ worship and celebration. The story of chocolate also includes forced labor of Indigenous people to plant and harvest cacao and, in Costa Rica, their resistance and flight from conquest. The struggle to preserve unique genetic material, beliefs and practices related to this sacred plant continues.
As a culmination of the course, we conducted field research on cacao’s role in agrotourism. As part of the study we met with a cultural leader of the Huetares Indigenous group in central Costa Rica, working to preserve Indigenous plant knowledge, including practices related to cacao. He shared that the earth provides everything we need for life and to live well. Cacao is a prime example as it contains beneficial fats and vitamins, provides the energy boost of caffeine while stimulating endorphins to create a feeling of well-being. He is working to preserve his knowledge in a book on Indigenous uses of local plants since most Indigenous youth are interested in moving to the city for more economic opportunities instead of living locally and learning traditional practices. Tourism has become an important tool for passing on and supporting projects to preserve his group's knowledge.
Presentation on Indigenous uses of cacao by Huetares leader Gerardo Pérez
We also experienced life with a Costa Rican family that grows and processes cacao on their farm. Their roots in this area are much newer than that of Indigenous people but their contributions to ecological preservation are deep. In the 1980s, they formed part of a cacao collective but in the 1990s the fungus Monilia (Moniliophthora roreri) blighted all of the cacao orchards in the area. They abandoned their orchards and returned to cattle ranching as their main source of income until an ecolodge and education center opened in the town in 2002. They began processing small batches of chocolate from their recovering cacao orchard themselves and selling it to visitors at the ecolodge. Interest in their chocolates was so great that they developed a tour and have grown to offer lodging for educational groups like ours. They have also enhanced their agroforestry system to include many plants for use in chocolate and more abundant food options for their family and visitors.
Collecting data on Monilia fungus infection of cacao pods at Finca La Iguana
Our field studies included evaluating the effectiveness of various Monilia control practices. Another project cataloged the local edibles and how many are incorporated into the chocolates including ginger, turmeric, passion fruit, and cinnamon. The third group evaluated the unique aspects of this agrotourism-focused community from a socioeconomic perspective. Younger members of this family shared that the agricultural and intellectual challenges of growing an agrotourism business have made staying on the farm viable and attractive to them. They also highlighted the appeal and importance of knowledge transfer generated by tourism. Many of the improvements to the chocolates and other aspects of the business have come from an exchange of ideas with tourists and volunteers. This transfer of knowledge marks the difference in tourism which drains resources and imposes demands on local culture and responsible tourism that can enrich existing practices.
Products from the farm including chocolate, cacao beans, cacao butter, and turmeric
Our study highlights the ways in which agrotourism can support multiple service providers and leaders instead of competitive north/south, neighbor-against-neighbor market models of growth. These ventures create fertile soil for preserving native species like cacao while integrating concepts from visitors. Our intensive participation in sustainable Costa Rica cacao agrotourism brings to life the possibilities of cultural and ecological regenerative agrotourism. This type of connected tourism can also travel beyond the foods of a single place to inspire our support of local, responsible production wherever in the world we call home.
Summer I students and professor Mary Little→ Biodiversity and Sustainable Food Systems in Costa Rica
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[post_content] => The rugged rainforests and sandy beaches of Costa Rica are brimming with life – from sloths and frogs to brightly colored toucans and hummingbirds. Costa Rica hosts an astounding 5 percent of Earth’s species despite covering only 0.03 percent of its area. Shaded coffee farms integrated into the rainforest constitute just one example of the sustainable conservation strategies for which the country is known.
These efforts to preserve the wild beauty of Costa Rica are recognized worldwide, but climate change and increased urban development bring new and unforeseen challenges. Conservation leaders, farmers, land managers, and policymakers must work together using regenerative strategies to build ecological resilience and minimize climate change impacts. Our research in Costa Rica contributes vital data to innovative efforts that balance conservation and development.
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[post_content] => Sustainable tourism means traveling in a way that 1) has minimal environmental impact, 2) promotes conservation, and 3) improves local livelihoods, both economically and socially. Our Directed Research project on gender and sustainable tourism took us to an excellent example of all three at Hotel Punta Islita on the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. On the environmental front, the Hotel is situated on land that was once tree-barren cattle ranches. Hotel Punta Islita has increased forest cover on its property from 2% in 1975 to 76% in 2008. They also promote conservation principles by providing land and funding to a macaw reintroduction program and organizing beach patrols on a local sea turtle marine reserve.
Our research focused on the social and economic impact of the Hotel on local communities. Students examined job segregation and wage disparity by gender. They also learned how the Hotel actively hires from surrounding communities, provides job training, and promotes local start-up businesses. The project that has had perhaps the largest impact on the community of Islita, and us as visitors, is the six local art groups. The Hotel initiated the program 10 years ago as an attraction for tourists and to improve the quality of life for women in the local community, creating a win/win situation for all involved.
As we interviewed the people of the Islita community we were surrounded by imaginative and colorful mosaics and paintings on every building. In addition to this open-air gallery there is a museum, a workshop for the local artisans, and a shop for tourists to purchase the arts and crafts made by members of the different art collectives. As we took a jewelry-making class from one of the groups, we saw just how art binds the local women together. In addition to economic empowerment, participants mentioned how being part of this program has changed the way they see themselves. They have a role outside of the home, they interact with other community members, and they have been trained in their craft by visiting artists. In the process these women have become artists themselves and are now passing their skills on to their own children, as well as to guests of the Hotel.
Art decorates the façade of the preschool buildingA mural of a Guanacaste, the national tree of Costa RicaA guided tour of the town’s open-air galleryStudents examine Hotel Punta Islita’s recycling systemStudents participating in a jewelry-making class taught by local women
[post_title] => Community Art Takes Sustainable Tourism to a Whole New Level
[post_excerpt] => Sustainable tourism means traveling in a way that 1) has minimal environmental impact, 2) promotes conservation, and 3) improves local livelihoods, both economically and socially.
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[post_date] => 2014-12-04 05:00:10
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[post_content] => Santa Teresa is a booming beach town on the western coast of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula. The waves brought the first surfers in the early 90s before there was electricity in this rural farming and fishing town. The same waves that put this area on the map have continued to draw tourists from around the world. Now the population fluctuates from 5,000 to 10,000 between the low and high points of the tourism season.
With all the possible social and economic gains of tourism, increased population has a drastic and dire impact on the availability and disposal of water. The supply from local wells and the local water authority are not adequate in the dry months and businesses must pay for water brought by truck. Disposal of water is an even larger issue, as there is no sewage treatment facility. People are required to build septic tanks, but many are old or not properly designed. Sewage flows untreated into streams, which flow into the very ocean that attracts tourists.
While in Santa Teresa, we worked with the local Chamber of Tourism and Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper, a local branch of the international organization committed to protect communities, ecosystems, and water quality. They have planned a series of activities to raise community awareness about water related issues, such as a fair to demonstrate ecofriendly practices and bring sustainable technology venders to the community. Another Waterkeeper initiative is to treat the gray and black water that flows directly into stream and construct biogardens.
Our Directed Research project gathered information for an ambitious project to collect grease from local restaurants to feed a biodigester located at the local public high school. The gas produced by the biodigester will be used for cooking at the high school cafeteria. One group of students set out to collect data on sustainable practices and grease use at area restaurants. This information will be used to help effectively implement the biodigester program and learn what other initiatives may help minimize negative environmental impacts. Another group of students collected information on sustainable practices at local hotels to determine what water saving measures are in use and which hotels are receptive to implementing sustainable waste management practices.
Students also considered whether sustainable tourism certification is effective in motivating hotels to adopt sustainable practices. Costa Rica has a certification program created by the Costa Rica Board of Tourism that awards up to 5 “green leaves” for sustainable practices. Opinions of the certification process ranged from strong approval of the program to a belief that the program is a form of green washing or only larger, more expensive hotels have the resources to implement. Local hotels responded more positively to the national blue flag clean beach program, which benefits the entire community equally.
Santa Teresa is at a critical point in its development. Sustainable practices and limited, organized growth are essential to preserve limited freshwater resources. Our data collection will help local stakeholders implement the biodigester and focus on future projects supported by the community. Despite growing implementation of sustainable practices, the fact remains that there are water shortages that lead to digging more wells and trucking in water to sell at exorbitant prices. The pressing lack of a sewage system to contend with the waste created by this growing population remains.
The government has committed to creating an aqueduct to bring more water to the area by 2017, however there is still no plan for a sewage system. The growth that additional water will inevitable generate could be catastrophic to the ecosystem and people’s health if not accompanied by proper sanitation. Future research may include data collection to demonstrate the urgent need for sewage treatment when the government installs additional water pipelines.
[post_title] => Water Solutions in Santa Teresa Bring More Challenges to Light
[post_excerpt] => Santa Teresa is a booming beach town on the western coast of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula.
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[post_date] => 2015-03-13 06:32:54
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[post_content] => In south central Nicaragua you will find Ometepe, a 31 km island situated in Lake Cocibolca (the largest tropical lake of the Americas). A large number of petroglyphs, statues, and daily items provide a cultural link with the Island’s first inhabitants, the Nahua Indians, who migrated from Mexico around 500 B.C. The traditional economic activities of today’s local population – small scale agriculture and fishing – are quickly being joined by tourism as the main source of income. Previously, all tourists arrived to the Island by boat. In May 2014, a small $12 million airport was completed. The airport currently only receives two flights a week from Managua, but there are plans to increase the number as tourism grows. There is speculation that the government is encouraging larger hotel companies to build on Ometepe and the construction of the airport was a prerequisite.
This additional transportation route may have significant effects on Ometepe, though no one is certain of their scale or form. At the end of 2014 work on the Nicaragua Canal began, with little to no assessment of the potential impact on the environment or on rural communities. What is certain is that the Canal route will utilize Lake Cocibolca for part of the transnational crossing. To compound serious concerns about contaminating the freshwater Lake, there are reports that Canal cruise passengers may be routed to resorts to experience the Island’s volcanoes. .
On our field excursion to Ometepe this week we will initiate a study to assess service providers’ and tourists’ willingness to participate in sustainable tourism practices. Our objective is to determine what practices hotels and restaurants are employing, what practices they are interested in implementing, and what obstacles stand in their way. We will also gather information on tourists’ awareness of and preferences for sustainable tourism options. The willingness of tourists to pay for various socially and environmentally responsible services will help determine whether supply and demand align.
Understanding changes in tourism preference for sustainable practices as the industry faces an influx of new types of tourists is the long term goal of this study. It will follow how tourists’ willingness to pay for services affects the sustainable practices adopted by hotel and restaurants and what perceived and actual economic and environmental results manifest from those changes. The study will highlight how expanding infrastructure and the arrival of different types of tourists influences the growth of the industry towards or away from sustainable practices. Our findings will be shared with the local development organization Foundation Between Volcanoes in order to help local business implement the most effective sustainable strategies during this time of change.
[post_title] => Does Sustainable Tourism Offer Viable Alternatives in Ometepe, Nicaragua?
[post_excerpt] => We will initiate a study to assess service providers’ and tourists’ willingness to participate in sustainable tourism practices.
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[post_date] => 2015-03-27 06:41:51
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[post_content] => The SFS Center for Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica has collaborated with the Poás Volcano National Park (PVNP) service for a number of years to collect data from park visitors and expand students’ understanding of the tourist/nature interface on nationally protected lands. As one of the most visited national parks in Costa Rica, with nearly 300,000 visitors annually, rangers grapple with providing access to nature while perceiving the wildlife habitat.
Students from our Center conducted surveys to evaluate tourists’ perception of Park services and evaluate the environmental impacts of visitors. This semester, in addition to the time-consistent questions related to Park services, the study evaluated visitors’ willingness to recycle at home and at the Park, how well the recycling system in place is functioning, and the willingness of tourists to remove their own trash from the Park. The objectives of this study were to determine whether the current recycling and waste management program is functioning well and whether there are other feasible options for waste management.
Data was gathered using identical surveys in English and Spanish. Surveys contained roughly 30 questions on the topics of waste management at the park, participant habits and demographics. Students analyzed the data, including grouped frequency distribution to evaluate the recycling behaviors by differing demographic groups.
Photo: Quinn Bergeon
Findings show that 44% of Costa Ricans reported using recycling containers while at the Park compared to 30% of foreign visitors. While one reason given for not recycling was “nothing to recycle,” the top reasons for both nationalities were that the containers were not conveniently located or not clearly labeled as to which materials could be recycled. Unclear labeling is a significant problem because people then mix materials and it is all disposed of as trash. Recommendations include more recycling receptacles and containers clearly labeled with pictographs that people of all nationalities will understand. Another possible solution suggested in survey comments is to place a trash can next to the recycling containers so that trash is not mixed with the recyclable materials.
An alternative practice that the PVNP has been considering is eliminating recycling and trash containers altogether and asking park visitors to remove any trash they produce from the premises. This practice, known as “carry-in/carry-out,” has been effective in other protected areas. It is beneficial to the park as it nearly eliminates the cost and work of removing trash. When represented by nationality, 91% of Costa Ricans and 82% of foreigners answered yes, they would participate in such a program. While both groups responded very positively, the overall lower rate of agreement by foreigners indicates a possible reluctance to travel with their waste.
Based on these findings, providing park visitors with a bag at the entrance and requesting that all trash is removed is one option that tourists may respond to positively. There are, however, possible external costs, such as increased education so people know about the program, and the risk that some people will not be willing to participate and therefore litter, since the number of trash and recycling containers would be greatly reduced. This study highlights the current problem of mixed waste, which is disrupting the recycling program. Hopefully these findings provide useful data for implementing a more effective and less labor-intensive waste management solution.
[post_title] => Survey Finds Support for Carry-in/Carry-out System at Poás Volcano National Park
[post_excerpt] => Students conducted surveys to evaluate tourists’ perception of Park services and evaluate the environmental impacts of visitors.
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[post_content] => Over the past 20 years many parts of Costa Rica have undergone a dramatic transformation from fishing and farming economies to popular international tourism destinations. The shift has been rapid and unplanned, resulting in strains on local infrastructure. One branch of public services most affected has been solid waste disposal. Waste management is a particularly serious issue in beach towns where trash makes its way to the sea. The most surprising aspect of this situation is that this solid waste management challenge erodes not only the environmental and human health of the area, it also discourages the surf and sand tourism that provide many local livelihoods. Creating a effective recycling system has the potential to greatly reduce the amount of trash that enters the environment and relieve the dysfunctional municipal trash system.
This past spring semester, student researchers from the SFS Center for Sustainable Development Studies, working in partnership with the local NGO Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper, surveyed residents and businesses in Santa Teresa and Malpaís about their current practices and opinions on the implementation of an improved recycling system. This site was chosen because increased tourism and foreign residency has increased the volume of waste significantly. However, the transitory nature of the population has inhibited the long-term implementation of an effective recycling program. Community members that are interested in addressing this issue often become discouraged because key players move and it is difficult to educate short-term residents on proper practices. The situation has only deteriorated since the closest recycling center has closed and the current dump site has been condemned, meaning all waste must now be transported to another town over an hour away.
For this study, 176 surveys on waste materials and willingness and motivation to recycle were gathered from various types of businesses and groups of residents. Interviews were also conducted to gather what motivates them to recycle and their opinions on the best recycling solutions. Of residents surveyed, 84% stated that recycling should be a community-led project and 41% of local businesses stated that they would help with a community recycling program. Many people would like to make legal demands forcing the municipality to address waste issues but since that will necessitate concerted pressure, the community should first organize to implement a functioning system that meets its needs, then use that organization to demand more concrete solutions from the local government.
When asked if they would be willing to participate in recycling in the future, 71% of all residents said yes. However, opinions on what method would be best was almost evenly divided between truck pick up, a localized drop off center, and neighborhood recycling collection points, suggesting that a combination of these methods could work best.
Responses of residents of Malpaís and Santa Teresa on what would be most convenient for their participation in a recycling program.
Local businesses that stated a willingness to participate in recycling efforts could install and collect materials from recycling bins on front of their business. Business owners could also demand that distributors take all packing materials back with them, so that bottles and cardboard waste never enters the local system. An effort can also be made to improve the local garbage collector’s recycling facilities so that he can process more materials and make collection more profitable.
The government’s current inability to meet its waste management obligation indicates that recycling solutions must be created by the community. Creating a recycling program has the added benefit of reducing the amount of solid waste sent to landfills. Though there are many challenges, this study demonstrates that there is widespread willingness to participate in recycling and take on leadership roles in that process. This is an opportunity for members to voice their opinions and help create the system that serves the entire population and can adapt to change. It is our hope that the data we have provided can be used to develop an effective waste management strategy that will garner high community participation.
[post_title] => Recycling in Nicoya Peninsula Communities
[post_excerpt] => Student researchers surveyed residents and businesses about their current practices and opinions on the implementation of an improved recycling system.
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[post_date] => 2015-09-24 13:35:40
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[post_content] => Notwithstanding Costa Rica’s leading status in some environmental arenas, the nation still struggles to implement basic, sound practices in other areas. Take for example recycling, an initiative that is commonplace and even required in many parts of the world. Despite Costa Rican legislation in 2010 (Law 8839) making it mandatory for municipal governments to provide recycling collection, only 3% of materials are being recycled. Five years after enacting the law, only a few large municipal areas have established recycling centers and very few offer recycling collection. Valuable materials are being sent to landfills that are at or near capacity. A battle over creating massive trash incinerators is now underway because many believe there is no other solution to the rapidly increasing amount of trash created by rising salaries and increased consumerism.
These important issues have led me to explore responses to waste management issues in high tourism areas through Directed Research projects. High tourism volume is often a response to pristine natural beauty. Increased trash and pollution are a direct threat to the main economic drivers in many tourism areas. The Monteverde cloud forest is one of the most visited areas in Costa Rica. Like elsewhere, recycling was formerly left to individuals, so often only a handful of concerned businesses found it financially feasible to hire privately contracted collectors to take their materials to a recycling collection center an hour away. Over the last 2 years, the Monteverde Community Fund has worked with the local government, health ministry, and nature reserves to coordinate a more efficient system that will enable all residents (and visitors) to recycle.
The first phase of action has involved the municipality building a recycling collection center in the town of Monteverde. Research done as part of our summer research shows that the center, which opened in 2014, is projected to receive at least twice as many materials by the end of 2015. A major impediment to recycling is that people without vehicles find it difficult to get materials to the center, reported those who participated in our survey. Also the center is only open once a month, which is inconvenient for many. In an effort to facilitate higher recycling participation, a local coalition has built 17 recycling centers in neighborhoods throughout the community. Since there is no recycling collection, the centers are currently being used for trash storage until pick up. This practice is an improvement over leaving bags of trash in the street for collection as it prevents animals from opening the trash and dispersing it into the environment. The temporary measure is a good use of the mini-centers for the time being. However, a final push must be made to hold and collect recyclables there, as intended. Trash storage has led to the negative side effect of confusion over the purpose of the mini centers among local residents.
In meetings with the vice-mayor, financing has been the major impediment to opening the central recycling center more often and offering recycling collection at the mini-centers. A recycling collection truck and a full time employee have been requested for next years’ budget. As the structural aspects of the recycling program are improved, education is important to obtain optimal participation. During our surveying we worked with the rangers from the Monteverde Reserve and local college students to distribute information on the central recycling center, use of the mini-centers, and future plans to have recycling pick-up at the mini-centers.
Student research indicated that local residents were generally enthusiastic about recycling at the mini-centers and confirmed the need for adult education about recycling. Local collection and empowering people with the knowledge to recycle will make Monteverde’s program one that other communities can look to for public/community based solutions when solving their own recycling issues.
Directed Research group and Monteverde Reserve rangers disseminating information on recycling and conducting surveys.Mini center in Monteverde, Costa Rica
[post_title] => Creative Recycling Solution Developed Through Public/Committee Partnership
[post_excerpt] => Increased trash and pollution are a direct threat to the main economic drivers in many tourism areas.
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[post_date] => 2016-04-19 12:24:55
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[post_content] => Ometepe is a beautifully unique island composed of two massive volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua. Each semester we travel here from Costa Rica to explore the abundant natural and cultural diversity. Our SFS group is not alone in taking note of the Ometepe’s unique habitat and indigenous artifacts. In just 10 years the number of tourists has jumped from 20,000 to nearly 50,000 per year. Visitors now exceed the local population and tourism revenue has surpassed that of the traditional mainstay of agriculture. This massive shift raises the crucial question, what type of tourism is present on the island and who will reap the benefits?
Fundación Entre Volcanes is a local NGO which develops community initiatives to connect rural women and youth to opportunities arising from tourism. These groups provide services, from rural home stays to tours, and produce goods used by local restaurants and hotels. One women’s community initiative provided a class on tortilla-making for our group, as maize is a key component of the local diet. We learned a culinary skill that we can hopefully replicate once we return home but, more importantly, we had a chance to connect and learn from a wonderful group of entrepreneurial women.
A home the in the village of Los Angeles with Volcán Concepción in the distance.Costa Rica SFS group learning about Fundación Entre Volcanes’ rural tourism initiatives.Dona Tina, member of the community collective and tortilla-making master.Learning how to prepare the maize.Students bringing their own personable style to the grinding process.Having fun while learning to mold the tortillas. Tortillas being grilled over a wood-fire stove.The finally product, embellished with locally made beans, sour cream and cheese.→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => Experiencing Rural Tourism on Ometepe Island
[post_excerpt] => Photos from a tortilla-making class at Fundación Entre Volcanes, a local NGO which connects rural women and youth to opportunities arising from tourism.
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[post_date] => 2016-10-24 13:06:31
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[post_content] => This op-ed article originally published in The Tico TimesSFS-CSDS student Leslie Ramos (left) collects data on waste management from a Santa Teresa resident known as "El Gato"
We all know how exceedingly fortunate we are to live in or visit such a diverse and stunning place as Costa Rica. So we go to the beach to enjoy. We drink some bottled water, a few sodas and perhaps more than a few beers.
We aren’t barbarians. We all take the bottles to a trash can or back to the hotel. But we generally leave them where we vacation, along with sunscreen bottles and whatever other waste we produce. Completely normal behavior but when multiplied by millions of tourists we have to ask, where does all that waste go?
The small towns that host us have been forced to deal with the influx of waste from tourism, often without municipal experience or proper funding. Many tourists and residents want to participate in recycling and other sustainable practices but there are no well-organized and publicized systems in place.
But doesn’t Costa Rica have waste management laws, you may be asking? Yes, the Integrated Waste Management Law, No. 8839, was passed in 2010 and requires all municipalities to formulate and enact waste management and recycling plans.
Nearly all 81 cantons now have such plans, but many face difficulties executing them. Vacation hotspots face greater challenges, as many are located in isolated areas, with more tourists than local residents, but not included in municipal waste management plans. Others have very basic strategies, such as once-a-month recycling drop-off points, which many people cannot participate in due to transportation or time constraints.
Though we should expect more, that is the reality of waste management in Costa Rica. If we want to see improvements, we will have to take it upon ourselves to facilitate change.
I have seen the problems firsthand while conducting an ongoing study of waste and water management in the beach towns of Mal País and Santa Teresa. Located on the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, they have faced growing waste management issues since tourism began to increase in the late 1990s. The very beaches that residents rely on for most of their economic activity through tourism are jeopardized by waste from littering, bags of trash that are not collected and materials that wash up on shore. To compound the issue, the nearest dump in Cóbano has been condemned and ordered to be shut down for the last two years but remains in use. As I have mapped contamination and gathered input from local stakeholders, it has become clear that a coordinated effort to facilitate waste management at the municipal level is necessary if the area is to continue attracting tourists.
Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper, a local NGO, and the local Chamber of Tourism took the lead in coordinating a public-private waste management effort. In order to provide the recycling center and collection truck needed to scale up local recycling initiatives, Waterkeeper introduced the environmentally responsible company Bionic into the solution mix. Bionic produces yarn from reclaimed plastic that is used in clothing such as board shorts. They have recently begun collecting not only post-consumer plastic waste but ocean waste from four local towns. A partnership between the municipality, the NGO and the company generated a local recycling collection and processing program to reduce landfill inputs by providing a solution that locals and visitors were looking for.
In other areas, such as Monteverde, community-led initiatives are addressing waste collection in an effort to maintain the natural beauty that attracts visitors. The Monteverde Community Fund worked with the municipality to construct waste and recycling mini collection centers in neighborhoods to increase convenience and participation while eliminating the problem of trash entering the environment.
These initiatives make it clear to me that we have to be the change we wish to see in the world, as Gandhi eloquently put it.
In the global economy, international tourists, and increasingly locals, can take their business anywhere in the world. Sound waste management is a minimum threshold to attract tourists and provide the constitutionally guaranteed right to a healthy natural environment for citizens.
If your community is not collecting recycling, as nearly none do, you can meet with the municipality or local organizations to see what the barriers are to help facilitate solutions. You can pressure legislators to enact policies that encourage everyone to use less plastic, such as the bill Costa Rica’s legislature is reviewing that would require businesses to charge customers for plastic bags.
Last week the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gases received the ratifications necessary to come into force. We are witnessing the international community finally addressing climate change head on. Isn’t now our responsibility to facilitate the same type of accountability in our communities to meet the global goal of reducing climate change?
The most effective way to manage waste is to not produce it. We can all start at home by questioning our own consumption patterns and changing old habits, then take that mentality on vacation with us. Find hotels that can tell you how they deal with your waste and water. If you do not want to conduct your own pre-trip investigation, the Costa Rican Institute for Tourism (ICT) has a Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) which awards up to five leaves for sustainable practices, including waste and water management. The website gives details on participating sustainable hotels, tours and restaurants in the region you intend to visit.
It’s a big ask to consider the impact of your waste when trying to get away from the nagging issues of everyday life. But we can be conscientious creatures, even on vacation. Our responsibility is especially important on holiday since that is precisely when we bring our consumption habits to sparsely populated, less contaminated beaches and mountains. It is up to us as consumers of goods and tourism services to care about what happens to our waste if we want this spectacular spot on the planet to remain that way.
→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => Reduce and Recycle to Remain Relevant in Global Tourism
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[post_content] => During the summer of 2016, two groups of students conducted fieldwork concerning the potential for expending sustainable tourism prospects near Carara National Park (CNP). CNP is uniquely situated on the main highway between San Jose, where the majority of tourists arrive and depart, and Jacó Beach, a popular destination for nationals and visitors alike. CNP’s facilities are also unique in that they have a paved, universally accessible trial, among other more challenging trails. Working with the director of the park, we devised a survey method to determine the current touristic options in the region and the possibility for new options that would both generate revenue for the residents while protecting the local environment. The resulting recommendations examine possible collaboration to facilitate the Parks’ mission of assist local communities, particularly through sustainable tourism.
From June 21-26, CSDS students and the author gathered data in communities of El Sur, Bijigual and Las Delicias, which are located in the mountainous region south of the protected area and further from the Park entrance. A similar study was conducted from July 26-30 with another CSDS student group in the towns of Tarcoles and Cebrada Ganado which are to the north of the Park and located near the Bay of Nicoya. The tourism assessment process involved gathering information from members of the communities that are directly and indirectly involved in tourism to create a clearer understanding of communities’ tourism situation. A parallel assessment of the CNP visitors’ plans and tourism interests was conducted in order evaluate overlapping interests and suggest ways in which the Park can facilitate an increase in sustainable eco and rural tourism. This data provided the basis for the recommendations below.
The first research site included the small, mountainous towns by the southeastern corner of Carara National Park approximately 20 km from the main highway. All three communities view tourism expansion as primarily positive and their vision for tourism focuses on rural and nature tourism. Rural and agro-tourism initiatives already exist, including a hostile and tours of traditional food processing. This demonstrates that the local community possesses some of the skills and organization to expand tourism enterprises. Ideally these communities would like to develop the mountain biking tourism corridor from San Jose to Jacó Beach, passing through these towns. All communities agreed that improving the road to get to the area, increased English and marketing are most important to expanding ecotourism.
The other research site, Tarcoles, is a fishing community located on the Nicoya Peninsula, near the entrance of CNP. Some fishing cooperative members already combine their fishing profession with tourism by giving guided fishing tours. Many would like to expand this sustainable form of tourism to further increase tourism growth in the area in a manner that directly benefits the community. Again, although organized in a cooperative, they lack the English and marketing skills to increase and improve fishing tours. Tarcoles community members have discussed ways to attract more tourists such as a parking and picnic area near the bay and mangrove trails.
Seventy-eight percent of community members who participated in surveys have a positive view of the park, but of those 61% said that the park doesn’t benefit them and their community in any way. The park can build on existing social trust and work with communities to build a more mutually beneficial relationship. Both locals in El Sur and Tarcoles areas understand the benefits of environmentally conscious tourism. They are are actively pursuing agro-tourism in El Sur and looking to expand responsible fishing and mangrove trails in Tarcoles. Expanding such ecotourism benefits the park by attracting more environmentally responsible tourists to the area. It also provides alternative economic opportunities to potential local poachers or loggers and farmers who may invade forests expand agriculture. Some of the following park/community collaboration efforts could transform good park/community relations into tangible mutual benefits:
Support local community initiative to develop nature and rural tourism outside the park, to provide additional habitat protection, especially through support at the municipal planning level.
Find creative ways to inform Park visitors of the local, sustainable tourism option available.
Initiate a park wide initiative to permit local craft vendors who make goods from locally and sustainably sourced materials sell their goods at Parks.
Coordinate guide training at the park or nearby, so residents can learn to offer high-quality nature tours outside the park.
Add a link on the Carara National Park webpage to local activities and sustainable services.
→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => Expanding Sustainable Tourism with National Park/Community Partnerships
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[post_content] => Part of our recent week-long exploration of Nicaragua included continuing our study of ethical tourism by examining the prevalence of participation in sustainable practices by tourists and service providers. Nicaragua has seen a 7.5% increase in tourism from 2000 to 2014, outpacing its Central American neighbors (INTUR Tourism Bulletin, 2015). Such significant increases are partially due to Nicaragua’s late entry onto this $ 7.2 billion international industry (CREST, Trends and Statistics, 2016). Increased political stability has led to more investment in tourism, coupled with a growing demand for adventure tourism to less visited destinations. We asked, “Are the potential benefits of increased tourism being fully realized?”
Local tour bus used by SFS while visiting Granada, Nicaragua
While tourism is often presented as an entirely positive economic opportunity for destination nations, there are serious environmental, economic and social consequences that should be evaluated and considered when promoting this sector. Nicaragua has faced aggravated water use and disposal issues, higher demand for drugs and mismanagement of some natural and cultural sites due to increased tourism. Ideally, thoughtful planning and an effort to attract specific types of tourists can generate place-specific and sustainable travel. We took advantage of our mid-semester field trip to Nicaragua to conduct a field exercise considering the strengths and weakness of the expanding tourism industry. Our objective was to compare sustainable practices of tourists and businesses in the less developed island of Ometepe with those of the colonial city of Granada.
Learning to make tortillas with Fundación Entre Volcanes rural tourism collective members, Ometepe, NicaraguaStudents surveying local tourism business on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua
Surveys were conducted by students at both sites during the first week of April. We questioned tourists about the sustainable services they had utilized on vacation, if those options were sufficient to meet their needs and whether they were willing to pay more for a range of sustainable services. On the service supply side, we asked business owners and service providers what level of demand for sustainable services they encountered, whether they provided any such services and what impediments kept them from doing so.
Our results show that 51% of the 153 tourists ranked themselves as very concerned with sustainable practices when traveling. Sixty-four percent reported being content with the sustainable options available in Nicaragua. Between 76% and 81% of tourists indicated that they would be willing to pay more for specific sustainable services such as hotels, restaurants and admission to cultural & nature sites.
Of the 78 businesses surveyed, 74% described sustainable services as very important to them. However, only 17% of businesses thought that tourists had high concern for sustainability. These results led us to question whether tourists are overstating their sustainable intentions or if perhaps businesses are underestimating the potential to provide sustainable services, such as organic food, locally produced crafts and solar-heated water. While both tourists and businesses may be self-reporting higher than actual interest in sustainable practices, a significant interest is clearly demonstrated. Providing more sustainable services that tourists are seeking could unlock financial, social and environmental benefits for tourism sites in Nicaragua.
Students reflected that there is a shared responsibility of businesses to provide services but also tourists to consider the consequences of travel and actively seek sustainable options. A thought we can all take with us on our next trip.
→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
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[post_content] => Our day began by hiking to the cacao plantation through hot cattle pastures scarred by erosion. The students’ relief was palpable at being embraced by the shady agroforestry system, home to poison-dart frogs, toucans, and a wild variety of insects. We got to work harvesting cacao pods and were rewarded with a break of rustic, stone ground truffles flavored with spices from the farm, appreciated as much for the energy as the incredible flavors. Farm-to-bar is the catchy phrase used to describe small batch, locally made chocolate. Harvesting, husking and hulling the cacao ourselves brought a deeper understanding of the skills, knowledge and connection to land of the people working to preserving traditional cultivation practices.
Students and professor harvesting cacao with farmer Jorge Salazar at Finca La Iguana
Food has traditional been deeply connected to place. In this globalized world, we can easily be separated from our culinary roots, that nourish us physically and culturally. We lose the memory of the local foods that grow abundantly as part of the ecosystem. We can lose sight of traditions that create delicious variety from what is locally available. Instead, it is common to become dependent on imported and processed commodities because we seek variety which we have lost track of locally.
Globalization has also made the gift of travel obtainable to many more. There are more opportunities to visit new places and landscapes to consider alternate ways of doing and being. Those experiences increasingly include the production and preparation of native foods. This semester we invited students to travel to Central America to attend our first special topic course on Chocolate and Coffee. The aim of the course is to explore the environmental and cultural legacy of these charismatic species in Costa Rica’s development. One area of focus is considering how education and agrotourism, on the rise due to globalization, can support local cultural protection while being a tool for economic growth and ecological regeneration.
Tasting traditional hot chocolate during cacao class at Tirimbina Reserve
Chocolate’s roots run deep in Latin American history as a native species that is intertwined with many Indigenous cultures’ worship and celebration. The story of chocolate also includes forced labor of Indigenous people to plant and harvest cacao and, in Costa Rica, their resistance and flight from conquest. The struggle to preserve unique genetic material, beliefs and practices related to this sacred plant continues.
As a culmination of the course, we conducted field research on cacao’s role in agrotourism. As part of the study we met with a cultural leader of the Huetares Indigenous group in central Costa Rica, working to preserve Indigenous plant knowledge, including practices related to cacao. He shared that the earth provides everything we need for life and to live well. Cacao is a prime example as it contains beneficial fats and vitamins, provides the energy boost of caffeine while stimulating endorphins to create a feeling of well-being. He is working to preserve his knowledge in a book on Indigenous uses of local plants since most Indigenous youth are interested in moving to the city for more economic opportunities instead of living locally and learning traditional practices. Tourism has become an important tool for passing on and supporting projects to preserve his group's knowledge.
Presentation on Indigenous uses of cacao by Huetares leader Gerardo Pérez
We also experienced life with a Costa Rican family that grows and processes cacao on their farm. Their roots in this area are much newer than that of Indigenous people but their contributions to ecological preservation are deep. In the 1980s, they formed part of a cacao collective but in the 1990s the fungus Monilia (Moniliophthora roreri) blighted all of the cacao orchards in the area. They abandoned their orchards and returned to cattle ranching as their main source of income until an ecolodge and education center opened in the town in 2002. They began processing small batches of chocolate from their recovering cacao orchard themselves and selling it to visitors at the ecolodge. Interest in their chocolates was so great that they developed a tour and have grown to offer lodging for educational groups like ours. They have also enhanced their agroforestry system to include many plants for use in chocolate and more abundant food options for their family and visitors.
Collecting data on Monilia fungus infection of cacao pods at Finca La Iguana
Our field studies included evaluating the effectiveness of various Monilia control practices. Another project cataloged the local edibles and how many are incorporated into the chocolates including ginger, turmeric, passion fruit, and cinnamon. The third group evaluated the unique aspects of this agrotourism-focused community from a socioeconomic perspective. Younger members of this family shared that the agricultural and intellectual challenges of growing an agrotourism business have made staying on the farm viable and attractive to them. They also highlighted the appeal and importance of knowledge transfer generated by tourism. Many of the improvements to the chocolates and other aspects of the business have come from an exchange of ideas with tourists and volunteers. This transfer of knowledge marks the difference in tourism which drains resources and imposes demands on local culture and responsible tourism that can enrich existing practices.
Products from the farm including chocolate, cacao beans, cacao butter, and turmeric
Our study highlights the ways in which agrotourism can support multiple service providers and leaders instead of competitive north/south, neighbor-against-neighbor market models of growth. These ventures create fertile soil for preserving native species like cacao while integrating concepts from visitors. Our intensive participation in sustainable Costa Rica cacao agrotourism brings to life the possibilities of cultural and ecological regenerative agrotourism. This type of connected tourism can also travel beyond the foods of a single place to inspire our support of local, responsible production wherever in the world we call home.
Summer I students and professor Mary Little→ Biodiversity and Sustainable Food Systems in Costa Rica
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NAME
SCHOOL
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SFS PROGRAM
> Summer '19
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[description] => Costa Rica is a resource-rich, wonderfully biodiverse country that is rapidly developing and increasingly recognized for its efforts to ensure conservation and the protection of natural resources. It is home to beautiful cloud forests, dry forests, volcanoes, lowland rainforests, and plantations. Students examine management schemes, identify the benefits of protected areas, and determine which systems offer the best option for economic development, the maintenance of cultural norms, and the preservation of biodiversity.
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[post_content] => The rugged rainforests and sandy beaches of Costa Rica are brimming with life – from sloths and frogs to brightly colored toucans and hummingbirds. Costa Rica hosts an astounding 5 percent of Earth’s species despite covering only 0.03 percent of its area. Shaded coffee farms integrated into the rainforest constitute just one example of the sustainable conservation strategies for which the country is known.
These efforts to preserve the wild beauty of Costa Rica are recognized worldwide, but climate change and increased urban development bring new and unforeseen challenges. Conservation leaders, farmers, land managers, and policymakers must work together using regenerative strategies to build ecological resilience and minimize climate change impacts. Our research in Costa Rica contributes vital data to innovative efforts that balance conservation and development.
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[post_content] => Sustainable tourism means traveling in a way that 1) has minimal environmental impact, 2) promotes conservation, and 3) improves local livelihoods, both economically and socially. Our Directed Research project on gender and sustainable tourism took us to an excellent example of all three at Hotel Punta Islita on the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. On the environmental front, the Hotel is situated on land that was once tree-barren cattle ranches. Hotel Punta Islita has increased forest cover on its property from 2% in 1975 to 76% in 2008. They also promote conservation principles by providing land and funding to a macaw reintroduction program and organizing beach patrols on a local sea turtle marine reserve.
Our research focused on the social and economic impact of the Hotel on local communities. Students examined job segregation and wage disparity by gender. They also learned how the Hotel actively hires from surrounding communities, provides job training, and promotes local start-up businesses. The project that has had perhaps the largest impact on the community of Islita, and us as visitors, is the six local art groups. The Hotel initiated the program 10 years ago as an attraction for tourists and to improve the quality of life for women in the local community, creating a win/win situation for all involved.
As we interviewed the people of the Islita community we were surrounded by imaginative and colorful mosaics and paintings on every building. In addition to this open-air gallery there is a museum, a workshop for the local artisans, and a shop for tourists to purchase the arts and crafts made by members of the different art collectives. As we took a jewelry-making class from one of the groups, we saw just how art binds the local women together. In addition to economic empowerment, participants mentioned how being part of this program has changed the way they see themselves. They have a role outside of the home, they interact with other community members, and they have been trained in their craft by visiting artists. In the process these women have become artists themselves and are now passing their skills on to their own children, as well as to guests of the Hotel.
Art decorates the façade of the preschool buildingA mural of a Guanacaste, the national tree of Costa RicaA guided tour of the town’s open-air galleryStudents examine Hotel Punta Islita’s recycling systemStudents participating in a jewelry-making class taught by local women
[post_title] => Community Art Takes Sustainable Tourism to a Whole New Level
[post_excerpt] => Sustainable tourism means traveling in a way that 1) has minimal environmental impact, 2) promotes conservation, and 3) improves local livelihoods, both economically and socially.
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[post_content] => Santa Teresa is a booming beach town on the western coast of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula. The waves brought the first surfers in the early 90s before there was electricity in this rural farming and fishing town. The same waves that put this area on the map have continued to draw tourists from around the world. Now the population fluctuates from 5,000 to 10,000 between the low and high points of the tourism season.
With all the possible social and economic gains of tourism, increased population has a drastic and dire impact on the availability and disposal of water. The supply from local wells and the local water authority are not adequate in the dry months and businesses must pay for water brought by truck. Disposal of water is an even larger issue, as there is no sewage treatment facility. People are required to build septic tanks, but many are old or not properly designed. Sewage flows untreated into streams, which flow into the very ocean that attracts tourists.
While in Santa Teresa, we worked with the local Chamber of Tourism and Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper, a local branch of the international organization committed to protect communities, ecosystems, and water quality. They have planned a series of activities to raise community awareness about water related issues, such as a fair to demonstrate ecofriendly practices and bring sustainable technology venders to the community. Another Waterkeeper initiative is to treat the gray and black water that flows directly into stream and construct biogardens.
Our Directed Research project gathered information for an ambitious project to collect grease from local restaurants to feed a biodigester located at the local public high school. The gas produced by the biodigester will be used for cooking at the high school cafeteria. One group of students set out to collect data on sustainable practices and grease use at area restaurants. This information will be used to help effectively implement the biodigester program and learn what other initiatives may help minimize negative environmental impacts. Another group of students collected information on sustainable practices at local hotels to determine what water saving measures are in use and which hotels are receptive to implementing sustainable waste management practices.
Students also considered whether sustainable tourism certification is effective in motivating hotels to adopt sustainable practices. Costa Rica has a certification program created by the Costa Rica Board of Tourism that awards up to 5 “green leaves” for sustainable practices. Opinions of the certification process ranged from strong approval of the program to a belief that the program is a form of green washing or only larger, more expensive hotels have the resources to implement. Local hotels responded more positively to the national blue flag clean beach program, which benefits the entire community equally.
Santa Teresa is at a critical point in its development. Sustainable practices and limited, organized growth are essential to preserve limited freshwater resources. Our data collection will help local stakeholders implement the biodigester and focus on future projects supported by the community. Despite growing implementation of sustainable practices, the fact remains that there are water shortages that lead to digging more wells and trucking in water to sell at exorbitant prices. The pressing lack of a sewage system to contend with the waste created by this growing population remains.
The government has committed to creating an aqueduct to bring more water to the area by 2017, however there is still no plan for a sewage system. The growth that additional water will inevitable generate could be catastrophic to the ecosystem and people’s health if not accompanied by proper sanitation. Future research may include data collection to demonstrate the urgent need for sewage treatment when the government installs additional water pipelines.
[post_title] => Water Solutions in Santa Teresa Bring More Challenges to Light
[post_excerpt] => Santa Teresa is a booming beach town on the western coast of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula.
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[post_content] => In south central Nicaragua you will find Ometepe, a 31 km island situated in Lake Cocibolca (the largest tropical lake of the Americas). A large number of petroglyphs, statues, and daily items provide a cultural link with the Island’s first inhabitants, the Nahua Indians, who migrated from Mexico around 500 B.C. The traditional economic activities of today’s local population – small scale agriculture and fishing – are quickly being joined by tourism as the main source of income. Previously, all tourists arrived to the Island by boat. In May 2014, a small $12 million airport was completed. The airport currently only receives two flights a week from Managua, but there are plans to increase the number as tourism grows. There is speculation that the government is encouraging larger hotel companies to build on Ometepe and the construction of the airport was a prerequisite.
This additional transportation route may have significant effects on Ometepe, though no one is certain of their scale or form. At the end of 2014 work on the Nicaragua Canal began, with little to no assessment of the potential impact on the environment or on rural communities. What is certain is that the Canal route will utilize Lake Cocibolca for part of the transnational crossing. To compound serious concerns about contaminating the freshwater Lake, there are reports that Canal cruise passengers may be routed to resorts to experience the Island’s volcanoes. .
On our field excursion to Ometepe this week we will initiate a study to assess service providers’ and tourists’ willingness to participate in sustainable tourism practices. Our objective is to determine what practices hotels and restaurants are employing, what practices they are interested in implementing, and what obstacles stand in their way. We will also gather information on tourists’ awareness of and preferences for sustainable tourism options. The willingness of tourists to pay for various socially and environmentally responsible services will help determine whether supply and demand align.
Understanding changes in tourism preference for sustainable practices as the industry faces an influx of new types of tourists is the long term goal of this study. It will follow how tourists’ willingness to pay for services affects the sustainable practices adopted by hotel and restaurants and what perceived and actual economic and environmental results manifest from those changes. The study will highlight how expanding infrastructure and the arrival of different types of tourists influences the growth of the industry towards or away from sustainable practices. Our findings will be shared with the local development organization Foundation Between Volcanoes in order to help local business implement the most effective sustainable strategies during this time of change.
[post_title] => Does Sustainable Tourism Offer Viable Alternatives in Ometepe, Nicaragua?
[post_excerpt] => We will initiate a study to assess service providers’ and tourists’ willingness to participate in sustainable tourism practices.
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[post_content] => The SFS Center for Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica has collaborated with the Poás Volcano National Park (PVNP) service for a number of years to collect data from park visitors and expand students’ understanding of the tourist/nature interface on nationally protected lands. As one of the most visited national parks in Costa Rica, with nearly 300,000 visitors annually, rangers grapple with providing access to nature while perceiving the wildlife habitat.
Students from our Center conducted surveys to evaluate tourists’ perception of Park services and evaluate the environmental impacts of visitors. This semester, in addition to the time-consistent questions related to Park services, the study evaluated visitors’ willingness to recycle at home and at the Park, how well the recycling system in place is functioning, and the willingness of tourists to remove their own trash from the Park. The objectives of this study were to determine whether the current recycling and waste management program is functioning well and whether there are other feasible options for waste management.
Data was gathered using identical surveys in English and Spanish. Surveys contained roughly 30 questions on the topics of waste management at the park, participant habits and demographics. Students analyzed the data, including grouped frequency distribution to evaluate the recycling behaviors by differing demographic groups.
Photo: Quinn Bergeon
Findings show that 44% of Costa Ricans reported using recycling containers while at the Park compared to 30% of foreign visitors. While one reason given for not recycling was “nothing to recycle,” the top reasons for both nationalities were that the containers were not conveniently located or not clearly labeled as to which materials could be recycled. Unclear labeling is a significant problem because people then mix materials and it is all disposed of as trash. Recommendations include more recycling receptacles and containers clearly labeled with pictographs that people of all nationalities will understand. Another possible solution suggested in survey comments is to place a trash can next to the recycling containers so that trash is not mixed with the recyclable materials.
An alternative practice that the PVNP has been considering is eliminating recycling and trash containers altogether and asking park visitors to remove any trash they produce from the premises. This practice, known as “carry-in/carry-out,” has been effective in other protected areas. It is beneficial to the park as it nearly eliminates the cost and work of removing trash. When represented by nationality, 91% of Costa Ricans and 82% of foreigners answered yes, they would participate in such a program. While both groups responded very positively, the overall lower rate of agreement by foreigners indicates a possible reluctance to travel with their waste.
Based on these findings, providing park visitors with a bag at the entrance and requesting that all trash is removed is one option that tourists may respond to positively. There are, however, possible external costs, such as increased education so people know about the program, and the risk that some people will not be willing to participate and therefore litter, since the number of trash and recycling containers would be greatly reduced. This study highlights the current problem of mixed waste, which is disrupting the recycling program. Hopefully these findings provide useful data for implementing a more effective and less labor-intensive waste management solution.
[post_title] => Survey Finds Support for Carry-in/Carry-out System at Poás Volcano National Park
[post_excerpt] => Students conducted surveys to evaluate tourists’ perception of Park services and evaluate the environmental impacts of visitors.
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[post_content] => Over the past 20 years many parts of Costa Rica have undergone a dramatic transformation from fishing and farming economies to popular international tourism destinations. The shift has been rapid and unplanned, resulting in strains on local infrastructure. One branch of public services most affected has been solid waste disposal. Waste management is a particularly serious issue in beach towns where trash makes its way to the sea. The most surprising aspect of this situation is that this solid waste management challenge erodes not only the environmental and human health of the area, it also discourages the surf and sand tourism that provide many local livelihoods. Creating a effective recycling system has the potential to greatly reduce the amount of trash that enters the environment and relieve the dysfunctional municipal trash system.
This past spring semester, student researchers from the SFS Center for Sustainable Development Studies, working in partnership with the local NGO Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper, surveyed residents and businesses in Santa Teresa and Malpaís about their current practices and opinions on the implementation of an improved recycling system. This site was chosen because increased tourism and foreign residency has increased the volume of waste significantly. However, the transitory nature of the population has inhibited the long-term implementation of an effective recycling program. Community members that are interested in addressing this issue often become discouraged because key players move and it is difficult to educate short-term residents on proper practices. The situation has only deteriorated since the closest recycling center has closed and the current dump site has been condemned, meaning all waste must now be transported to another town over an hour away.
For this study, 176 surveys on waste materials and willingness and motivation to recycle were gathered from various types of businesses and groups of residents. Interviews were also conducted to gather what motivates them to recycle and their opinions on the best recycling solutions. Of residents surveyed, 84% stated that recycling should be a community-led project and 41% of local businesses stated that they would help with a community recycling program. Many people would like to make legal demands forcing the municipality to address waste issues but since that will necessitate concerted pressure, the community should first organize to implement a functioning system that meets its needs, then use that organization to demand more concrete solutions from the local government.
When asked if they would be willing to participate in recycling in the future, 71% of all residents said yes. However, opinions on what method would be best was almost evenly divided between truck pick up, a localized drop off center, and neighborhood recycling collection points, suggesting that a combination of these methods could work best.
Responses of residents of Malpaís and Santa Teresa on what would be most convenient for their participation in a recycling program.
Local businesses that stated a willingness to participate in recycling efforts could install and collect materials from recycling bins on front of their business. Business owners could also demand that distributors take all packing materials back with them, so that bottles and cardboard waste never enters the local system. An effort can also be made to improve the local garbage collector’s recycling facilities so that he can process more materials and make collection more profitable.
The government’s current inability to meet its waste management obligation indicates that recycling solutions must be created by the community. Creating a recycling program has the added benefit of reducing the amount of solid waste sent to landfills. Though there are many challenges, this study demonstrates that there is widespread willingness to participate in recycling and take on leadership roles in that process. This is an opportunity for members to voice their opinions and help create the system that serves the entire population and can adapt to change. It is our hope that the data we have provided can be used to develop an effective waste management strategy that will garner high community participation.
[post_title] => Recycling in Nicoya Peninsula Communities
[post_excerpt] => Student researchers surveyed residents and businesses about their current practices and opinions on the implementation of an improved recycling system.
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[post_date] => 2015-09-24 13:35:40
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[post_content] => Notwithstanding Costa Rica’s leading status in some environmental arenas, the nation still struggles to implement basic, sound practices in other areas. Take for example recycling, an initiative that is commonplace and even required in many parts of the world. Despite Costa Rican legislation in 2010 (Law 8839) making it mandatory for municipal governments to provide recycling collection, only 3% of materials are being recycled. Five years after enacting the law, only a few large municipal areas have established recycling centers and very few offer recycling collection. Valuable materials are being sent to landfills that are at or near capacity. A battle over creating massive trash incinerators is now underway because many believe there is no other solution to the rapidly increasing amount of trash created by rising salaries and increased consumerism.
These important issues have led me to explore responses to waste management issues in high tourism areas through Directed Research projects. High tourism volume is often a response to pristine natural beauty. Increased trash and pollution are a direct threat to the main economic drivers in many tourism areas. The Monteverde cloud forest is one of the most visited areas in Costa Rica. Like elsewhere, recycling was formerly left to individuals, so often only a handful of concerned businesses found it financially feasible to hire privately contracted collectors to take their materials to a recycling collection center an hour away. Over the last 2 years, the Monteverde Community Fund has worked with the local government, health ministry, and nature reserves to coordinate a more efficient system that will enable all residents (and visitors) to recycle.
The first phase of action has involved the municipality building a recycling collection center in the town of Monteverde. Research done as part of our summer research shows that the center, which opened in 2014, is projected to receive at least twice as many materials by the end of 2015. A major impediment to recycling is that people without vehicles find it difficult to get materials to the center, reported those who participated in our survey. Also the center is only open once a month, which is inconvenient for many. In an effort to facilitate higher recycling participation, a local coalition has built 17 recycling centers in neighborhoods throughout the community. Since there is no recycling collection, the centers are currently being used for trash storage until pick up. This practice is an improvement over leaving bags of trash in the street for collection as it prevents animals from opening the trash and dispersing it into the environment. The temporary measure is a good use of the mini-centers for the time being. However, a final push must be made to hold and collect recyclables there, as intended. Trash storage has led to the negative side effect of confusion over the purpose of the mini centers among local residents.
In meetings with the vice-mayor, financing has been the major impediment to opening the central recycling center more often and offering recycling collection at the mini-centers. A recycling collection truck and a full time employee have been requested for next years’ budget. As the structural aspects of the recycling program are improved, education is important to obtain optimal participation. During our surveying we worked with the rangers from the Monteverde Reserve and local college students to distribute information on the central recycling center, use of the mini-centers, and future plans to have recycling pick-up at the mini-centers.
Student research indicated that local residents were generally enthusiastic about recycling at the mini-centers and confirmed the need for adult education about recycling. Local collection and empowering people with the knowledge to recycle will make Monteverde’s program one that other communities can look to for public/community based solutions when solving their own recycling issues.
Directed Research group and Monteverde Reserve rangers disseminating information on recycling and conducting surveys.Mini center in Monteverde, Costa Rica
[post_title] => Creative Recycling Solution Developed Through Public/Committee Partnership
[post_excerpt] => Increased trash and pollution are a direct threat to the main economic drivers in many tourism areas.
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[post_date] => 2016-04-19 12:24:55
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[post_content] => Ometepe is a beautifully unique island composed of two massive volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua. Each semester we travel here from Costa Rica to explore the abundant natural and cultural diversity. Our SFS group is not alone in taking note of the Ometepe’s unique habitat and indigenous artifacts. In just 10 years the number of tourists has jumped from 20,000 to nearly 50,000 per year. Visitors now exceed the local population and tourism revenue has surpassed that of the traditional mainstay of agriculture. This massive shift raises the crucial question, what type of tourism is present on the island and who will reap the benefits?
Fundación Entre Volcanes is a local NGO which develops community initiatives to connect rural women and youth to opportunities arising from tourism. These groups provide services, from rural home stays to tours, and produce goods used by local restaurants and hotels. One women’s community initiative provided a class on tortilla-making for our group, as maize is a key component of the local diet. We learned a culinary skill that we can hopefully replicate once we return home but, more importantly, we had a chance to connect and learn from a wonderful group of entrepreneurial women.
A home the in the village of Los Angeles with Volcán Concepción in the distance.Costa Rica SFS group learning about Fundación Entre Volcanes’ rural tourism initiatives.Dona Tina, member of the community collective and tortilla-making master.Learning how to prepare the maize.Students bringing their own personable style to the grinding process.Having fun while learning to mold the tortillas. Tortillas being grilled over a wood-fire stove.The finally product, embellished with locally made beans, sour cream and cheese.→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => Experiencing Rural Tourism on Ometepe Island
[post_excerpt] => Photos from a tortilla-making class at Fundación Entre Volcanes, a local NGO which connects rural women and youth to opportunities arising from tourism.
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[post_date] => 2016-10-24 13:06:31
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[post_content] => This op-ed article originally published in The Tico TimesSFS-CSDS student Leslie Ramos (left) collects data on waste management from a Santa Teresa resident known as "El Gato"
We all know how exceedingly fortunate we are to live in or visit such a diverse and stunning place as Costa Rica. So we go to the beach to enjoy. We drink some bottled water, a few sodas and perhaps more than a few beers.
We aren’t barbarians. We all take the bottles to a trash can or back to the hotel. But we generally leave them where we vacation, along with sunscreen bottles and whatever other waste we produce. Completely normal behavior but when multiplied by millions of tourists we have to ask, where does all that waste go?
The small towns that host us have been forced to deal with the influx of waste from tourism, often without municipal experience or proper funding. Many tourists and residents want to participate in recycling and other sustainable practices but there are no well-organized and publicized systems in place.
But doesn’t Costa Rica have waste management laws, you may be asking? Yes, the Integrated Waste Management Law, No. 8839, was passed in 2010 and requires all municipalities to formulate and enact waste management and recycling plans.
Nearly all 81 cantons now have such plans, but many face difficulties executing them. Vacation hotspots face greater challenges, as many are located in isolated areas, with more tourists than local residents, but not included in municipal waste management plans. Others have very basic strategies, such as once-a-month recycling drop-off points, which many people cannot participate in due to transportation or time constraints.
Though we should expect more, that is the reality of waste management in Costa Rica. If we want to see improvements, we will have to take it upon ourselves to facilitate change.
I have seen the problems firsthand while conducting an ongoing study of waste and water management in the beach towns of Mal País and Santa Teresa. Located on the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, they have faced growing waste management issues since tourism began to increase in the late 1990s. The very beaches that residents rely on for most of their economic activity through tourism are jeopardized by waste from littering, bags of trash that are not collected and materials that wash up on shore. To compound the issue, the nearest dump in Cóbano has been condemned and ordered to be shut down for the last two years but remains in use. As I have mapped contamination and gathered input from local stakeholders, it has become clear that a coordinated effort to facilitate waste management at the municipal level is necessary if the area is to continue attracting tourists.
Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper, a local NGO, and the local Chamber of Tourism took the lead in coordinating a public-private waste management effort. In order to provide the recycling center and collection truck needed to scale up local recycling initiatives, Waterkeeper introduced the environmentally responsible company Bionic into the solution mix. Bionic produces yarn from reclaimed plastic that is used in clothing such as board shorts. They have recently begun collecting not only post-consumer plastic waste but ocean waste from four local towns. A partnership between the municipality, the NGO and the company generated a local recycling collection and processing program to reduce landfill inputs by providing a solution that locals and visitors were looking for.
In other areas, such as Monteverde, community-led initiatives are addressing waste collection in an effort to maintain the natural beauty that attracts visitors. The Monteverde Community Fund worked with the municipality to construct waste and recycling mini collection centers in neighborhoods to increase convenience and participation while eliminating the problem of trash entering the environment.
These initiatives make it clear to me that we have to be the change we wish to see in the world, as Gandhi eloquently put it.
In the global economy, international tourists, and increasingly locals, can take their business anywhere in the world. Sound waste management is a minimum threshold to attract tourists and provide the constitutionally guaranteed right to a healthy natural environment for citizens.
If your community is not collecting recycling, as nearly none do, you can meet with the municipality or local organizations to see what the barriers are to help facilitate solutions. You can pressure legislators to enact policies that encourage everyone to use less plastic, such as the bill Costa Rica’s legislature is reviewing that would require businesses to charge customers for plastic bags.
Last week the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gases received the ratifications necessary to come into force. We are witnessing the international community finally addressing climate change head on. Isn’t now our responsibility to facilitate the same type of accountability in our communities to meet the global goal of reducing climate change?
The most effective way to manage waste is to not produce it. We can all start at home by questioning our own consumption patterns and changing old habits, then take that mentality on vacation with us. Find hotels that can tell you how they deal with your waste and water. If you do not want to conduct your own pre-trip investigation, the Costa Rican Institute for Tourism (ICT) has a Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) which awards up to five leaves for sustainable practices, including waste and water management. The website gives details on participating sustainable hotels, tours and restaurants in the region you intend to visit.
It’s a big ask to consider the impact of your waste when trying to get away from the nagging issues of everyday life. But we can be conscientious creatures, even on vacation. Our responsibility is especially important on holiday since that is precisely when we bring our consumption habits to sparsely populated, less contaminated beaches and mountains. It is up to us as consumers of goods and tourism services to care about what happens to our waste if we want this spectacular spot on the planet to remain that way.
→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => Reduce and Recycle to Remain Relevant in Global Tourism
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[post_date] => 2016-11-03 12:44:37
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[post_content] => During the summer of 2016, two groups of students conducted fieldwork concerning the potential for expending sustainable tourism prospects near Carara National Park (CNP). CNP is uniquely situated on the main highway between San Jose, where the majority of tourists arrive and depart, and Jacó Beach, a popular destination for nationals and visitors alike. CNP’s facilities are also unique in that they have a paved, universally accessible trial, among other more challenging trails. Working with the director of the park, we devised a survey method to determine the current touristic options in the region and the possibility for new options that would both generate revenue for the residents while protecting the local environment. The resulting recommendations examine possible collaboration to facilitate the Parks’ mission of assist local communities, particularly through sustainable tourism.
From June 21-26, CSDS students and the author gathered data in communities of El Sur, Bijigual and Las Delicias, which are located in the mountainous region south of the protected area and further from the Park entrance. A similar study was conducted from July 26-30 with another CSDS student group in the towns of Tarcoles and Cebrada Ganado which are to the north of the Park and located near the Bay of Nicoya. The tourism assessment process involved gathering information from members of the communities that are directly and indirectly involved in tourism to create a clearer understanding of communities’ tourism situation. A parallel assessment of the CNP visitors’ plans and tourism interests was conducted in order evaluate overlapping interests and suggest ways in which the Park can facilitate an increase in sustainable eco and rural tourism. This data provided the basis for the recommendations below.
The first research site included the small, mountainous towns by the southeastern corner of Carara National Park approximately 20 km from the main highway. All three communities view tourism expansion as primarily positive and their vision for tourism focuses on rural and nature tourism. Rural and agro-tourism initiatives already exist, including a hostile and tours of traditional food processing. This demonstrates that the local community possesses some of the skills and organization to expand tourism enterprises. Ideally these communities would like to develop the mountain biking tourism corridor from San Jose to Jacó Beach, passing through these towns. All communities agreed that improving the road to get to the area, increased English and marketing are most important to expanding ecotourism.
The other research site, Tarcoles, is a fishing community located on the Nicoya Peninsula, near the entrance of CNP. Some fishing cooperative members already combine their fishing profession with tourism by giving guided fishing tours. Many would like to expand this sustainable form of tourism to further increase tourism growth in the area in a manner that directly benefits the community. Again, although organized in a cooperative, they lack the English and marketing skills to increase and improve fishing tours. Tarcoles community members have discussed ways to attract more tourists such as a parking and picnic area near the bay and mangrove trails.
Seventy-eight percent of community members who participated in surveys have a positive view of the park, but of those 61% said that the park doesn’t benefit them and their community in any way. The park can build on existing social trust and work with communities to build a more mutually beneficial relationship. Both locals in El Sur and Tarcoles areas understand the benefits of environmentally conscious tourism. They are are actively pursuing agro-tourism in El Sur and looking to expand responsible fishing and mangrove trails in Tarcoles. Expanding such ecotourism benefits the park by attracting more environmentally responsible tourists to the area. It also provides alternative economic opportunities to potential local poachers or loggers and farmers who may invade forests expand agriculture. Some of the following park/community collaboration efforts could transform good park/community relations into tangible mutual benefits:
Support local community initiative to develop nature and rural tourism outside the park, to provide additional habitat protection, especially through support at the municipal planning level.
Find creative ways to inform Park visitors of the local, sustainable tourism option available.
Initiate a park wide initiative to permit local craft vendors who make goods from locally and sustainably sourced materials sell their goods at Parks.
Coordinate guide training at the park or nearby, so residents can learn to offer high-quality nature tours outside the park.
Add a link on the Carara National Park webpage to local activities and sustainable services.
→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => Expanding Sustainable Tourism with National Park/Community Partnerships
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[post_date] => 2017-04-10 12:37:59
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[post_content] => Part of our recent week-long exploration of Nicaragua included continuing our study of ethical tourism by examining the prevalence of participation in sustainable practices by tourists and service providers. Nicaragua has seen a 7.5% increase in tourism from 2000 to 2014, outpacing its Central American neighbors (INTUR Tourism Bulletin, 2015). Such significant increases are partially due to Nicaragua’s late entry onto this $ 7.2 billion international industry (CREST, Trends and Statistics, 2016). Increased political stability has led to more investment in tourism, coupled with a growing demand for adventure tourism to less visited destinations. We asked, “Are the potential benefits of increased tourism being fully realized?”
Local tour bus used by SFS while visiting Granada, Nicaragua
While tourism is often presented as an entirely positive economic opportunity for destination nations, there are serious environmental, economic and social consequences that should be evaluated and considered when promoting this sector. Nicaragua has faced aggravated water use and disposal issues, higher demand for drugs and mismanagement of some natural and cultural sites due to increased tourism. Ideally, thoughtful planning and an effort to attract specific types of tourists can generate place-specific and sustainable travel. We took advantage of our mid-semester field trip to Nicaragua to conduct a field exercise considering the strengths and weakness of the expanding tourism industry. Our objective was to compare sustainable practices of tourists and businesses in the less developed island of Ometepe with those of the colonial city of Granada.
Learning to make tortillas with Fundación Entre Volcanes rural tourism collective members, Ometepe, NicaraguaStudents surveying local tourism business on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua
Surveys were conducted by students at both sites during the first week of April. We questioned tourists about the sustainable services they had utilized on vacation, if those options were sufficient to meet their needs and whether they were willing to pay more for a range of sustainable services. On the service supply side, we asked business owners and service providers what level of demand for sustainable services they encountered, whether they provided any such services and what impediments kept them from doing so.
Our results show that 51% of the 153 tourists ranked themselves as very concerned with sustainable practices when traveling. Sixty-four percent reported being content with the sustainable options available in Nicaragua. Between 76% and 81% of tourists indicated that they would be willing to pay more for specific sustainable services such as hotels, restaurants and admission to cultural & nature sites.
Of the 78 businesses surveyed, 74% described sustainable services as very important to them. However, only 17% of businesses thought that tourists had high concern for sustainability. These results led us to question whether tourists are overstating their sustainable intentions or if perhaps businesses are underestimating the potential to provide sustainable services, such as organic food, locally produced crafts and solar-heated water. While both tourists and businesses may be self-reporting higher than actual interest in sustainable practices, a significant interest is clearly demonstrated. Providing more sustainable services that tourists are seeking could unlock financial, social and environmental benefits for tourism sites in Nicaragua.
Students reflected that there is a shared responsibility of businesses to provide services but also tourists to consider the consequences of travel and actively seek sustainable options. A thought we can all take with us on our next trip.
→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => The Tourism/Business Alignment on Sustainable Services in Nicaragua
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[post_content] => Our day began by hiking to the cacao plantation through hot cattle pastures scarred by erosion. The students’ relief was palpable at being embraced by the shady agroforestry system, home to poison-dart frogs, toucans, and a wild variety of insects. We got to work harvesting cacao pods and were rewarded with a break of rustic, stone ground truffles flavored with spices from the farm, appreciated as much for the energy as the incredible flavors. Farm-to-bar is the catchy phrase used to describe small batch, locally made chocolate. Harvesting, husking and hulling the cacao ourselves brought a deeper understanding of the skills, knowledge and connection to land of the people working to preserving traditional cultivation practices.
Students and professor harvesting cacao with farmer Jorge Salazar at Finca La Iguana
Food has traditional been deeply connected to place. In this globalized world, we can easily be separated from our culinary roots, that nourish us physically and culturally. We lose the memory of the local foods that grow abundantly as part of the ecosystem. We can lose sight of traditions that create delicious variety from what is locally available. Instead, it is common to become dependent on imported and processed commodities because we seek variety which we have lost track of locally.
Globalization has also made the gift of travel obtainable to many more. There are more opportunities to visit new places and landscapes to consider alternate ways of doing and being. Those experiences increasingly include the production and preparation of native foods. This semester we invited students to travel to Central America to attend our first special topic course on Chocolate and Coffee. The aim of the course is to explore the environmental and cultural legacy of these charismatic species in Costa Rica’s development. One area of focus is considering how education and agrotourism, on the rise due to globalization, can support local cultural protection while being a tool for economic growth and ecological regeneration.
Tasting traditional hot chocolate during cacao class at Tirimbina Reserve
Chocolate’s roots run deep in Latin American history as a native species that is intertwined with many Indigenous cultures’ worship and celebration. The story of chocolate also includes forced labor of Indigenous people to plant and harvest cacao and, in Costa Rica, their resistance and flight from conquest. The struggle to preserve unique genetic material, beliefs and practices related to this sacred plant continues.
As a culmination of the course, we conducted field research on cacao’s role in agrotourism. As part of the study we met with a cultural leader of the Huetares Indigenous group in central Costa Rica, working to preserve Indigenous plant knowledge, including practices related to cacao. He shared that the earth provides everything we need for life and to live well. Cacao is a prime example as it contains beneficial fats and vitamins, provides the energy boost of caffeine while stimulating endorphins to create a feeling of well-being. He is working to preserve his knowledge in a book on Indigenous uses of local plants since most Indigenous youth are interested in moving to the city for more economic opportunities instead of living locally and learning traditional practices. Tourism has become an important tool for passing on and supporting projects to preserve his group's knowledge.
Presentation on Indigenous uses of cacao by Huetares leader Gerardo Pérez
We also experienced life with a Costa Rican family that grows and processes cacao on their farm. Their roots in this area are much newer than that of Indigenous people but their contributions to ecological preservation are deep. In the 1980s, they formed part of a cacao collective but in the 1990s the fungus Monilia (Moniliophthora roreri) blighted all of the cacao orchards in the area. They abandoned their orchards and returned to cattle ranching as their main source of income until an ecolodge and education center opened in the town in 2002. They began processing small batches of chocolate from their recovering cacao orchard themselves and selling it to visitors at the ecolodge. Interest in their chocolates was so great that they developed a tour and have grown to offer lodging for educational groups like ours. They have also enhanced their agroforestry system to include many plants for use in chocolate and more abundant food options for their family and visitors.
Collecting data on Monilia fungus infection of cacao pods at Finca La Iguana
Our field studies included evaluating the effectiveness of various Monilia control practices. Another project cataloged the local edibles and how many are incorporated into the chocolates including ginger, turmeric, passion fruit, and cinnamon. The third group evaluated the unique aspects of this agrotourism-focused community from a socioeconomic perspective. Younger members of this family shared that the agricultural and intellectual challenges of growing an agrotourism business have made staying on the farm viable and attractive to them. They also highlighted the appeal and importance of knowledge transfer generated by tourism. Many of the improvements to the chocolates and other aspects of the business have come from an exchange of ideas with tourists and volunteers. This transfer of knowledge marks the difference in tourism which drains resources and imposes demands on local culture and responsible tourism that can enrich existing practices.
Products from the farm including chocolate, cacao beans, cacao butter, and turmeric
Our study highlights the ways in which agrotourism can support multiple service providers and leaders instead of competitive north/south, neighbor-against-neighbor market models of growth. These ventures create fertile soil for preserving native species like cacao while integrating concepts from visitors. Our intensive participation in sustainable Costa Rica cacao agrotourism brings to life the possibilities of cultural and ecological regenerative agrotourism. This type of connected tourism can also travel beyond the foods of a single place to inspire our support of local, responsible production wherever in the world we call home.
Summer I students and professor Mary Little→ Biodiversity and Sustainable Food Systems in Costa Rica
[post_title] => Cacao's Role in Regenerative Tourism
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Resident Lecturer in Environmental Ethics & Development
Community Art Takes Sustainable Tourism to a Whole New Level
Posted: August 4, 2014
Sustainable tourism means traveling in a way that 1) has minimal environmental impact, 2) promotes conservation, and 3) improves local livelihoods, both economically and socially. Our Directed Research project on gender and sustainable tourism took us to an excellent example of all three at Hotel Punta Islita on the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. On the environmental front, the Hotel is situated on land that was once tree-barren cattle ranches. Hotel Punta Islita has increased forest cover on its property from 2% in 1975 to 76% in 2008. They also promote conservation principles by providing land and funding to a macaw reintroduction program and organizing beach patrols on a local sea turtle marine reserve.
Our research focused on the social and economic impact of the Hotel on local communities. Students examined job segregation and wage disparity by gender. They also learned how the Hotel actively hires from surrounding communities, provides job training, and promotes local start-up businesses. The project that has had perhaps the largest impact on the community of Islita, and us as visitors, is the six local art groups. The Hotel initiated the program 10 years ago as an attraction for tourists and to improve the quality of life for women in the local community, creating a win/win situation for all involved.
As we interviewed the people of the Islita community we were surrounded by imaginative and colorful mosaics and paintings on every building. In addition to this open-air gallery there is a museum, a workshop for the local artisans, and a shop for tourists to purchase the arts and crafts made by members of the different art collectives. As we took a jewelry-making class from one of the groups, we saw just how art binds the local women together. In addition to economic empowerment, participants mentioned how being part of this program has changed the way they see themselves. They have a role outside of the home, they interact with other community members, and they have been trained in their craft by visiting artists. In the process these women have become artists themselves and are now passing their skills on to their own children, as well as to guests of the Hotel.
Art decorates the façade of the preschool building
A mural of a Guanacaste, the national tree of Costa Rica
A guided tour of the town’s open-air gallery
Students examine Hotel Punta Islita’s recycling system
Students participating in a jewelry-making class taught by local women
While in Santa Teresa, we worked with the local Chamber of Tourism and Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper, a local branch of the international organization committed to protect communities, ecosystems, and water quality. They have planned a series of activities to raise community awareness about water related issues, such as a fair to demonstrate ecofriendly practices and bring sustainable technology venders to the community. Another Waterkeeper initiative is to treat the gray and black water that flows directly into stream and construct biogardens.
Our Directed Research project gathered information for an ambitious project to collect grease from local restaurants to feed a biodigester located at the local public high school. The gas produced by the biodigester will be used for cooking at the high school cafeteria. One group of students set out to collect data on sustainable practices and grease use at area restaurants. This information will be used to help effectively implement the biodigester program and learn what other initiatives may help minimize negative environmental impacts. Another group of students collected information on sustainable practices at local hotels to determine what water saving measures are in use and which hotels are receptive to implementing sustainable waste management practices.
Students also considered whether sustainable tourism certification is effective in motivating hotels to adopt sustainable practices. Costa Rica has a certification program created by the Costa Rica Board of Tourism that awards up to 5 “green leaves” for sustainable practices. Opinions of the certification process ranged from strong approval of the program to a belief that the program is a form of green washing or only larger, more expensive hotels have the resources to implement. Local hotels responded more positively to the national blue flag clean beach program, which benefits the entire community equally.
Santa Teresa is at a critical point in its development. Sustainable practices and limited, organized growth are essential to preserve limited freshwater resources. Our data collection will help local stakeholders implement the biodigester and focus on future projects supported by the community. Despite growing implementation of sustainable practices, the fact remains that there are water shortages that lead to digging more wells and trucking in water to sell at exorbitant prices. The pressing lack of a sewage system to contend with the waste created by this growing population remains.
The government has committed to creating an aqueduct to bring more water to the area by 2017, however there is still no plan for a sewage system. The growth that additional water will inevitable generate could be catastrophic to the ecosystem and people’s health if not accompanied by proper sanitation. Future research may include data collection to demonstrate the urgent need for sewage treatment when the government installs additional water pipelines.
[post_title] => Water Solutions in Santa Teresa Bring More Challenges to Light
[post_excerpt] => Santa Teresa is a booming beach town on the western coast of Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula.
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[post_content] => In south central Nicaragua you will find Ometepe, a 31 km island situated in Lake Cocibolca (the largest tropical lake of the Americas). A large number of petroglyphs, statues, and daily items provide a cultural link with the Island’s first inhabitants, the Nahua Indians, who migrated from Mexico around 500 B.C. The traditional economic activities of today’s local population – small scale agriculture and fishing – are quickly being joined by tourism as the main source of income. Previously, all tourists arrived to the Island by boat. In May 2014, a small $12 million airport was completed. The airport currently only receives two flights a week from Managua, but there are plans to increase the number as tourism grows. There is speculation that the government is encouraging larger hotel companies to build on Ometepe and the construction of the airport was a prerequisite.
This additional transportation route may have significant effects on Ometepe, though no one is certain of their scale or form. At the end of 2014 work on the Nicaragua Canal began, with little to no assessment of the potential impact on the environment or on rural communities. What is certain is that the Canal route will utilize Lake Cocibolca for part of the transnational crossing. To compound serious concerns about contaminating the freshwater Lake, there are reports that Canal cruise passengers may be routed to resorts to experience the Island’s volcanoes. .
On our field excursion to Ometepe this week we will initiate a study to assess service providers’ and tourists’ willingness to participate in sustainable tourism practices. Our objective is to determine what practices hotels and restaurants are employing, what practices they are interested in implementing, and what obstacles stand in their way. We will also gather information on tourists’ awareness of and preferences for sustainable tourism options. The willingness of tourists to pay for various socially and environmentally responsible services will help determine whether supply and demand align.
Understanding changes in tourism preference for sustainable practices as the industry faces an influx of new types of tourists is the long term goal of this study. It will follow how tourists’ willingness to pay for services affects the sustainable practices adopted by hotel and restaurants and what perceived and actual economic and environmental results manifest from those changes. The study will highlight how expanding infrastructure and the arrival of different types of tourists influences the growth of the industry towards or away from sustainable practices. Our findings will be shared with the local development organization Foundation Between Volcanoes in order to help local business implement the most effective sustainable strategies during this time of change.
[post_title] => Does Sustainable Tourism Offer Viable Alternatives in Ometepe, Nicaragua?
[post_excerpt] => We will initiate a study to assess service providers’ and tourists’ willingness to participate in sustainable tourism practices.
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[post_date] => 2015-03-27 06:41:51
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[post_content] => The SFS Center for Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica has collaborated with the Poás Volcano National Park (PVNP) service for a number of years to collect data from park visitors and expand students’ understanding of the tourist/nature interface on nationally protected lands. As one of the most visited national parks in Costa Rica, with nearly 300,000 visitors annually, rangers grapple with providing access to nature while perceiving the wildlife habitat.
Students from our Center conducted surveys to evaluate tourists’ perception of Park services and evaluate the environmental impacts of visitors. This semester, in addition to the time-consistent questions related to Park services, the study evaluated visitors’ willingness to recycle at home and at the Park, how well the recycling system in place is functioning, and the willingness of tourists to remove their own trash from the Park. The objectives of this study were to determine whether the current recycling and waste management program is functioning well and whether there are other feasible options for waste management.
Data was gathered using identical surveys in English and Spanish. Surveys contained roughly 30 questions on the topics of waste management at the park, participant habits and demographics. Students analyzed the data, including grouped frequency distribution to evaluate the recycling behaviors by differing demographic groups.
Photo: Quinn Bergeon
Findings show that 44% of Costa Ricans reported using recycling containers while at the Park compared to 30% of foreign visitors. While one reason given for not recycling was “nothing to recycle,” the top reasons for both nationalities were that the containers were not conveniently located or not clearly labeled as to which materials could be recycled. Unclear labeling is a significant problem because people then mix materials and it is all disposed of as trash. Recommendations include more recycling receptacles and containers clearly labeled with pictographs that people of all nationalities will understand. Another possible solution suggested in survey comments is to place a trash can next to the recycling containers so that trash is not mixed with the recyclable materials.
An alternative practice that the PVNP has been considering is eliminating recycling and trash containers altogether and asking park visitors to remove any trash they produce from the premises. This practice, known as “carry-in/carry-out,” has been effective in other protected areas. It is beneficial to the park as it nearly eliminates the cost and work of removing trash. When represented by nationality, 91% of Costa Ricans and 82% of foreigners answered yes, they would participate in such a program. While both groups responded very positively, the overall lower rate of agreement by foreigners indicates a possible reluctance to travel with their waste.
Based on these findings, providing park visitors with a bag at the entrance and requesting that all trash is removed is one option that tourists may respond to positively. There are, however, possible external costs, such as increased education so people know about the program, and the risk that some people will not be willing to participate and therefore litter, since the number of trash and recycling containers would be greatly reduced. This study highlights the current problem of mixed waste, which is disrupting the recycling program. Hopefully these findings provide useful data for implementing a more effective and less labor-intensive waste management solution.
[post_title] => Survey Finds Support for Carry-in/Carry-out System at Poás Volcano National Park
[post_excerpt] => Students conducted surveys to evaluate tourists’ perception of Park services and evaluate the environmental impacts of visitors.
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[post_content] => Over the past 20 years many parts of Costa Rica have undergone a dramatic transformation from fishing and farming economies to popular international tourism destinations. The shift has been rapid and unplanned, resulting in strains on local infrastructure. One branch of public services most affected has been solid waste disposal. Waste management is a particularly serious issue in beach towns where trash makes its way to the sea. The most surprising aspect of this situation is that this solid waste management challenge erodes not only the environmental and human health of the area, it also discourages the surf and sand tourism that provide many local livelihoods. Creating a effective recycling system has the potential to greatly reduce the amount of trash that enters the environment and relieve the dysfunctional municipal trash system.
This past spring semester, student researchers from the SFS Center for Sustainable Development Studies, working in partnership with the local NGO Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper, surveyed residents and businesses in Santa Teresa and Malpaís about their current practices and opinions on the implementation of an improved recycling system. This site was chosen because increased tourism and foreign residency has increased the volume of waste significantly. However, the transitory nature of the population has inhibited the long-term implementation of an effective recycling program. Community members that are interested in addressing this issue often become discouraged because key players move and it is difficult to educate short-term residents on proper practices. The situation has only deteriorated since the closest recycling center has closed and the current dump site has been condemned, meaning all waste must now be transported to another town over an hour away.
For this study, 176 surveys on waste materials and willingness and motivation to recycle were gathered from various types of businesses and groups of residents. Interviews were also conducted to gather what motivates them to recycle and their opinions on the best recycling solutions. Of residents surveyed, 84% stated that recycling should be a community-led project and 41% of local businesses stated that they would help with a community recycling program. Many people would like to make legal demands forcing the municipality to address waste issues but since that will necessitate concerted pressure, the community should first organize to implement a functioning system that meets its needs, then use that organization to demand more concrete solutions from the local government.
When asked if they would be willing to participate in recycling in the future, 71% of all residents said yes. However, opinions on what method would be best was almost evenly divided between truck pick up, a localized drop off center, and neighborhood recycling collection points, suggesting that a combination of these methods could work best.
Responses of residents of Malpaís and Santa Teresa on what would be most convenient for their participation in a recycling program.
Local businesses that stated a willingness to participate in recycling efforts could install and collect materials from recycling bins on front of their business. Business owners could also demand that distributors take all packing materials back with them, so that bottles and cardboard waste never enters the local system. An effort can also be made to improve the local garbage collector’s recycling facilities so that he can process more materials and make collection more profitable.
The government’s current inability to meet its waste management obligation indicates that recycling solutions must be created by the community. Creating a recycling program has the added benefit of reducing the amount of solid waste sent to landfills. Though there are many challenges, this study demonstrates that there is widespread willingness to participate in recycling and take on leadership roles in that process. This is an opportunity for members to voice their opinions and help create the system that serves the entire population and can adapt to change. It is our hope that the data we have provided can be used to develop an effective waste management strategy that will garner high community participation.
[post_title] => Recycling in Nicoya Peninsula Communities
[post_excerpt] => Student researchers surveyed residents and businesses about their current practices and opinions on the implementation of an improved recycling system.
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[post_date] => 2015-09-24 13:35:40
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[post_content] => Notwithstanding Costa Rica’s leading status in some environmental arenas, the nation still struggles to implement basic, sound practices in other areas. Take for example recycling, an initiative that is commonplace and even required in many parts of the world. Despite Costa Rican legislation in 2010 (Law 8839) making it mandatory for municipal governments to provide recycling collection, only 3% of materials are being recycled. Five years after enacting the law, only a few large municipal areas have established recycling centers and very few offer recycling collection. Valuable materials are being sent to landfills that are at or near capacity. A battle over creating massive trash incinerators is now underway because many believe there is no other solution to the rapidly increasing amount of trash created by rising salaries and increased consumerism.
These important issues have led me to explore responses to waste management issues in high tourism areas through Directed Research projects. High tourism volume is often a response to pristine natural beauty. Increased trash and pollution are a direct threat to the main economic drivers in many tourism areas. The Monteverde cloud forest is one of the most visited areas in Costa Rica. Like elsewhere, recycling was formerly left to individuals, so often only a handful of concerned businesses found it financially feasible to hire privately contracted collectors to take their materials to a recycling collection center an hour away. Over the last 2 years, the Monteverde Community Fund has worked with the local government, health ministry, and nature reserves to coordinate a more efficient system that will enable all residents (and visitors) to recycle.
The first phase of action has involved the municipality building a recycling collection center in the town of Monteverde. Research done as part of our summer research shows that the center, which opened in 2014, is projected to receive at least twice as many materials by the end of 2015. A major impediment to recycling is that people without vehicles find it difficult to get materials to the center, reported those who participated in our survey. Also the center is only open once a month, which is inconvenient for many. In an effort to facilitate higher recycling participation, a local coalition has built 17 recycling centers in neighborhoods throughout the community. Since there is no recycling collection, the centers are currently being used for trash storage until pick up. This practice is an improvement over leaving bags of trash in the street for collection as it prevents animals from opening the trash and dispersing it into the environment. The temporary measure is a good use of the mini-centers for the time being. However, a final push must be made to hold and collect recyclables there, as intended. Trash storage has led to the negative side effect of confusion over the purpose of the mini centers among local residents.
In meetings with the vice-mayor, financing has been the major impediment to opening the central recycling center more often and offering recycling collection at the mini-centers. A recycling collection truck and a full time employee have been requested for next years’ budget. As the structural aspects of the recycling program are improved, education is important to obtain optimal participation. During our surveying we worked with the rangers from the Monteverde Reserve and local college students to distribute information on the central recycling center, use of the mini-centers, and future plans to have recycling pick-up at the mini-centers.
Student research indicated that local residents were generally enthusiastic about recycling at the mini-centers and confirmed the need for adult education about recycling. Local collection and empowering people with the knowledge to recycle will make Monteverde’s program one that other communities can look to for public/community based solutions when solving their own recycling issues.
Directed Research group and Monteverde Reserve rangers disseminating information on recycling and conducting surveys.
Mini center in Monteverde, Costa Rica
[post_title] => Creative Recycling Solution Developed Through Public/Committee Partnership
[post_excerpt] => Increased trash and pollution are a direct threat to the main economic drivers in many tourism areas.
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[post_date] => 2016-04-19 12:24:55
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[post_content] => Ometepe is a beautifully unique island composed of two massive volcanoes rising from Lake Nicaragua. Each semester we travel here from Costa Rica to explore the abundant natural and cultural diversity. Our SFS group is not alone in taking note of the Ometepe’s unique habitat and indigenous artifacts. In just 10 years the number of tourists has jumped from 20,000 to nearly 50,000 per year. Visitors now exceed the local population and tourism revenue has surpassed that of the traditional mainstay of agriculture. This massive shift raises the crucial question, what type of tourism is present on the island and who will reap the benefits?
Fundación Entre Volcanes is a local NGO which develops community initiatives to connect rural women and youth to opportunities arising from tourism. These groups provide services, from rural home stays to tours, and produce goods used by local restaurants and hotels. One women’s community initiative provided a class on tortilla-making for our group, as maize is a key component of the local diet. We learned a culinary skill that we can hopefully replicate once we return home but, more importantly, we had a chance to connect and learn from a wonderful group of entrepreneurial women.
A home the in the village of Los Angeles with Volcán Concepción in the distance.
Costa Rica SFS group learning about Fundación Entre Volcanes’ rural tourism initiatives.
Dona Tina, member of the community collective and tortilla-making master.
Learning how to prepare the maize.
Students bringing their own personable style to the grinding process.
Having fun while learning to mold the tortillas.
Tortillas being grilled over a wood-fire stove.
The finally product, embellished with locally made beans, sour cream and cheese.
→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => Experiencing Rural Tourism on Ometepe Island
[post_excerpt] => Photos from a tortilla-making class at Fundación Entre Volcanes, a local NGO which connects rural women and youth to opportunities arising from tourism.
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[post_date] => 2016-10-24 13:06:31
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[post_content] => This op-ed article originally published in The Tico Times
SFS-CSDS student Leslie Ramos (left) collects data on waste management from a Santa Teresa resident known as "El Gato"
We all know how exceedingly fortunate we are to live in or visit such a diverse and stunning place as Costa Rica. So we go to the beach to enjoy. We drink some bottled water, a few sodas and perhaps more than a few beers.
We aren’t barbarians. We all take the bottles to a trash can or back to the hotel. But we generally leave them where we vacation, along with sunscreen bottles and whatever other waste we produce. Completely normal behavior but when multiplied by millions of tourists we have to ask, where does all that waste go?
The small towns that host us have been forced to deal with the influx of waste from tourism, often without municipal experience or proper funding. Many tourists and residents want to participate in recycling and other sustainable practices but there are no well-organized and publicized systems in place.
But doesn’t Costa Rica have waste management laws, you may be asking? Yes, the Integrated Waste Management Law, No. 8839, was passed in 2010 and requires all municipalities to formulate and enact waste management and recycling plans.
Nearly all 81 cantons now have such plans, but many face difficulties executing them. Vacation hotspots face greater challenges, as many are located in isolated areas, with more tourists than local residents, but not included in municipal waste management plans. Others have very basic strategies, such as once-a-month recycling drop-off points, which many people cannot participate in due to transportation or time constraints.
Though we should expect more, that is the reality of waste management in Costa Rica. If we want to see improvements, we will have to take it upon ourselves to facilitate change.
I have seen the problems firsthand while conducting an ongoing study of waste and water management in the beach towns of Mal País and Santa Teresa. Located on the tip of the Nicoya Peninsula, they have faced growing waste management issues since tourism began to increase in the late 1990s. The very beaches that residents rely on for most of their economic activity through tourism are jeopardized by waste from littering, bags of trash that are not collected and materials that wash up on shore. To compound the issue, the nearest dump in Cóbano has been condemned and ordered to be shut down for the last two years but remains in use. As I have mapped contamination and gathered input from local stakeholders, it has become clear that a coordinated effort to facilitate waste management at the municipal level is necessary if the area is to continue attracting tourists.
Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper, a local NGO, and the local Chamber of Tourism took the lead in coordinating a public-private waste management effort. In order to provide the recycling center and collection truck needed to scale up local recycling initiatives, Waterkeeper introduced the environmentally responsible company Bionic into the solution mix. Bionic produces yarn from reclaimed plastic that is used in clothing such as board shorts. They have recently begun collecting not only post-consumer plastic waste but ocean waste from four local towns. A partnership between the municipality, the NGO and the company generated a local recycling collection and processing program to reduce landfill inputs by providing a solution that locals and visitors were looking for.
In other areas, such as Monteverde, community-led initiatives are addressing waste collection in an effort to maintain the natural beauty that attracts visitors. The Monteverde Community Fund worked with the municipality to construct waste and recycling mini collection centers in neighborhoods to increase convenience and participation while eliminating the problem of trash entering the environment.
These initiatives make it clear to me that we have to be the change we wish to see in the world, as Gandhi eloquently put it.
In the global economy, international tourists, and increasingly locals, can take their business anywhere in the world. Sound waste management is a minimum threshold to attract tourists and provide the constitutionally guaranteed right to a healthy natural environment for citizens.
If your community is not collecting recycling, as nearly none do, you can meet with the municipality or local organizations to see what the barriers are to help facilitate solutions. You can pressure legislators to enact policies that encourage everyone to use less plastic, such as the bill Costa Rica’s legislature is reviewing that would require businesses to charge customers for plastic bags.
Last week the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gases received the ratifications necessary to come into force. We are witnessing the international community finally addressing climate change head on. Isn’t now our responsibility to facilitate the same type of accountability in our communities to meet the global goal of reducing climate change?
The most effective way to manage waste is to not produce it. We can all start at home by questioning our own consumption patterns and changing old habits, then take that mentality on vacation with us. Find hotels that can tell you how they deal with your waste and water. If you do not want to conduct your own pre-trip investigation, the Costa Rican Institute for Tourism (ICT) has a Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) which awards up to five leaves for sustainable practices, including waste and water management. The website gives details on participating sustainable hotels, tours and restaurants in the region you intend to visit.
It’s a big ask to consider the impact of your waste when trying to get away from the nagging issues of everyday life. But we can be conscientious creatures, even on vacation. Our responsibility is especially important on holiday since that is precisely when we bring our consumption habits to sparsely populated, less contaminated beaches and mountains. It is up to us as consumers of goods and tourism services to care about what happens to our waste if we want this spectacular spot on the planet to remain that way.
→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => Reduce and Recycle to Remain Relevant in Global Tourism
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[post_content] => During the summer of 2016, two groups of students conducted fieldwork concerning the potential for expending sustainable tourism prospects near Carara National Park (CNP). CNP is uniquely situated on the main highway between San Jose, where the majority of tourists arrive and depart, and Jacó Beach, a popular destination for nationals and visitors alike. CNP’s facilities are also unique in that they have a paved, universally accessible trial, among other more challenging trails. Working with the director of the park, we devised a survey method to determine the current touristic options in the region and the possibility for new options that would both generate revenue for the residents while protecting the local environment. The resulting recommendations examine possible collaboration to facilitate the Parks’ mission of assist local communities, particularly through sustainable tourism.
From June 21-26, CSDS students and the author gathered data in communities of El Sur, Bijigual and Las Delicias, which are located in the mountainous region south of the protected area and further from the Park entrance. A similar study was conducted from July 26-30 with another CSDS student group in the towns of Tarcoles and Cebrada Ganado which are to the north of the Park and located near the Bay of Nicoya. The tourism assessment process involved gathering information from members of the communities that are directly and indirectly involved in tourism to create a clearer understanding of communities’ tourism situation. A parallel assessment of the CNP visitors’ plans and tourism interests was conducted in order evaluate overlapping interests and suggest ways in which the Park can facilitate an increase in sustainable eco and rural tourism. This data provided the basis for the recommendations below.
The first research site included the small, mountainous towns by the southeastern corner of Carara National Park approximately 20 km from the main highway. All three communities view tourism expansion as primarily positive and their vision for tourism focuses on rural and nature tourism. Rural and agro-tourism initiatives already exist, including a hostile and tours of traditional food processing. This demonstrates that the local community possesses some of the skills and organization to expand tourism enterprises. Ideally these communities would like to develop the mountain biking tourism corridor from San Jose to Jacó Beach, passing through these towns. All communities agreed that improving the road to get to the area, increased English and marketing are most important to expanding ecotourism.
The other research site, Tarcoles, is a fishing community located on the Nicoya Peninsula, near the entrance of CNP. Some fishing cooperative members already combine their fishing profession with tourism by giving guided fishing tours. Many would like to expand this sustainable form of tourism to further increase tourism growth in the area in a manner that directly benefits the community. Again, although organized in a cooperative, they lack the English and marketing skills to increase and improve fishing tours. Tarcoles community members have discussed ways to attract more tourists such as a parking and picnic area near the bay and mangrove trails.
Seventy-eight percent of community members who participated in surveys have a positive view of the park, but of those 61% said that the park doesn’t benefit them and their community in any way. The park can build on existing social trust and work with communities to build a more mutually beneficial relationship. Both locals in El Sur and Tarcoles areas understand the benefits of environmentally conscious tourism. They are are actively pursuing agro-tourism in El Sur and looking to expand responsible fishing and mangrove trails in Tarcoles. Expanding such ecotourism benefits the park by attracting more environmentally responsible tourists to the area. It also provides alternative economic opportunities to potential local poachers or loggers and farmers who may invade forests expand agriculture. Some of the following park/community collaboration efforts could transform good park/community relations into tangible mutual benefits:
Support local community initiative to develop nature and rural tourism outside the park, to provide additional habitat protection, especially through support at the municipal planning level.
Find creative ways to inform Park visitors of the local, sustainable tourism option available.
Initiate a park wide initiative to permit local craft vendors who make goods from locally and sustainably sourced materials sell their goods at Parks.
Coordinate guide training at the park or nearby, so residents can learn to offer high-quality nature tours outside the park.
Add a link on the Carara National Park webpage to local activities and sustainable services.
→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => Expanding Sustainable Tourism with National Park/Community Partnerships
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[post_content] => Part of our recent week-long exploration of Nicaragua included continuing our study of ethical tourism by examining the prevalence of participation in sustainable practices by tourists and service providers. Nicaragua has seen a 7.5% increase in tourism from 2000 to 2014, outpacing its Central American neighbors (INTUR Tourism Bulletin, 2015). Such significant increases are partially due to Nicaragua’s late entry onto this $ 7.2 billion international industry (CREST, Trends and Statistics, 2016). Increased political stability has led to more investment in tourism, coupled with a growing demand for adventure tourism to less visited destinations. We asked, “Are the potential benefits of increased tourism being fully realized?”
Local tour bus used by SFS while visiting Granada, Nicaragua
While tourism is often presented as an entirely positive economic opportunity for destination nations, there are serious environmental, economic and social consequences that should be evaluated and considered when promoting this sector. Nicaragua has faced aggravated water use and disposal issues, higher demand for drugs and mismanagement of some natural and cultural sites due to increased tourism. Ideally, thoughtful planning and an effort to attract specific types of tourists can generate place-specific and sustainable travel. We took advantage of our mid-semester field trip to Nicaragua to conduct a field exercise considering the strengths and weakness of the expanding tourism industry. Our objective was to compare sustainable practices of tourists and businesses in the less developed island of Ometepe with those of the colonial city of Granada.
Learning to make tortillas with Fundación Entre Volcanes rural tourism collective members, Ometepe, Nicaragua
Students surveying local tourism business on Ometepe Island, Nicaragua
Surveys were conducted by students at both sites during the first week of April. We questioned tourists about the sustainable services they had utilized on vacation, if those options were sufficient to meet their needs and whether they were willing to pay more for a range of sustainable services. On the service supply side, we asked business owners and service providers what level of demand for sustainable services they encountered, whether they provided any such services and what impediments kept them from doing so.
Our results show that 51% of the 153 tourists ranked themselves as very concerned with sustainable practices when traveling. Sixty-four percent reported being content with the sustainable options available in Nicaragua. Between 76% and 81% of tourists indicated that they would be willing to pay more for specific sustainable services such as hotels, restaurants and admission to cultural & nature sites.
Of the 78 businesses surveyed, 74% described sustainable services as very important to them. However, only 17% of businesses thought that tourists had high concern for sustainability. These results led us to question whether tourists are overstating their sustainable intentions or if perhaps businesses are underestimating the potential to provide sustainable services, such as organic food, locally produced crafts and solar-heated water. While both tourists and businesses may be self-reporting higher than actual interest in sustainable practices, a significant interest is clearly demonstrated. Providing more sustainable services that tourists are seeking could unlock financial, social and environmental benefits for tourism sites in Nicaragua.
Students reflected that there is a shared responsibility of businesses to provide services but also tourists to consider the consequences of travel and actively seek sustainable options. A thought we can all take with us on our next trip.
→ Sustainable Development Studies in Costa Rica
[post_title] => The Tourism/Business Alignment on Sustainable Services in Nicaragua
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[post_content] => Our day began by hiking to the cacao plantation through hot cattle pastures scarred by erosion. The students’ relief was palpable at being embraced by the shady agroforestry system, home to poison-dart frogs, toucans, and a wild variety of insects. We got to work harvesting cacao pods and were rewarded with a break of rustic, stone ground truffles flavored with spices from the farm, appreciated as much for the energy as the incredible flavors. Farm-to-bar is the catchy phrase used to describe small batch, locally made chocolate. Harvesting, husking and hulling the cacao ourselves brought a deeper understanding of the skills, knowledge and connection to land of the people working to preserving traditional cultivation practices.
Students and professor harvesting cacao with farmer Jorge Salazar at Finca La Iguana
Food has traditional been deeply connected to place. In this globalized world, we can easily be separated from our culinary roots, that nourish us physically and culturally. We lose the memory of the local foods that grow abundantly as part of the ecosystem. We can lose sight of traditions that create delicious variety from what is locally available. Instead, it is common to become dependent on imported and processed commodities because we seek variety which we have lost track of locally.
Globalization has also made the gift of travel obtainable to many more. There are more opportunities to visit new places and landscapes to consider alternate ways of doing and being. Those experiences increasingly include the production and preparation of native foods. This semester we invited students to travel to Central America to attend our first special topic course on Chocolate and Coffee. The aim of the course is to explore the environmental and cultural legacy of these charismatic species in Costa Rica’s development. One area of focus is considering how education and agrotourism, on the rise due to globalization, can support local cultural protection while being a tool for economic growth and ecological regeneration.
Tasting traditional hot chocolate during cacao class at Tirimbina Reserve
Chocolate’s roots run deep in Latin American history as a native species that is intertwined with many Indigenous cultures’ worship and celebration. The story of chocolate also includes forced labor of Indigenous people to plant and harvest cacao and, in Costa Rica, their resistance and flight from conquest. The struggle to preserve unique genetic material, beliefs and practices related to this sacred plant continues.
As a culmination of the course, we conducted field research on cacao’s role in agrotourism. As part of the study we met with a cultural leader of the Huetares Indigenous group in central Costa Rica, working to preserve Indigenous plant knowledge, including practices related to cacao. He shared that the earth provides everything we need for life and to live well. Cacao is a prime example as it contains beneficial fats and vitamins, provides the energy boost of caffeine while stimulating endorphins to create a feeling of well-being. He is working to preserve his knowledge in a book on Indigenous uses of local plants since most Indigenous youth are interested in moving to the city for more economic opportunities instead of living locally and learning traditional practices. Tourism has become an important tool for passing on and supporting projects to preserve his group's knowledge.
Presentation on Indigenous uses of cacao by Huetares leader Gerardo Pérez
We also experienced life with a Costa Rican family that grows and processes cacao on their farm. Their roots in this area are much newer than that of Indigenous people but their contributions to ecological preservation are deep. In the 1980s, they formed part of a cacao collective but in the 1990s the fungus Monilia (Moniliophthora roreri) blighted all of the cacao orchards in the area. They abandoned their orchards and returned to cattle ranching as their main source of income until an ecolodge and education center opened in the town in 2002. They began processing small batches of chocolate from their recovering cacao orchard themselves and selling it to visitors at the ecolodge. Interest in their chocolates was so great that they developed a tour and have grown to offer lodging for educational groups like ours. They have also enhanced their agroforestry system to include many plants for use in chocolate and more abundant food options for their family and visitors.
Collecting data on Monilia fungus infection of cacao pods at Finca La Iguana
Our field studies included evaluating the effectiveness of various Monilia control practices. Another project cataloged the local edibles and how many are incorporated into the chocolates including ginger, turmeric, passion fruit, and cinnamon. The third group evaluated the unique aspects of this agrotourism-focused community from a socioeconomic perspective. Younger members of this family shared that the agricultural and intellectual challenges of growing an agrotourism business have made staying on the farm viable and attractive to them. They also highlighted the appeal and importance of knowledge transfer generated by tourism. Many of the improvements to the chocolates and other aspects of the business have come from an exchange of ideas with tourists and volunteers. This transfer of knowledge marks the difference in tourism which drains resources and imposes demands on local culture and responsible tourism that can enrich existing practices.
Products from the farm including chocolate, cacao beans, cacao butter, and turmeric
Our study highlights the ways in which agrotourism can support multiple service providers and leaders instead of competitive north/south, neighbor-against-neighbor market models of growth. These ventures create fertile soil for preserving native species like cacao while integrating concepts from visitors. Our intensive participation in sustainable Costa Rica cacao agrotourism brings to life the possibilities of cultural and ecological regenerative agrotourism. This type of connected tourism can also travel beyond the foods of a single place to inspire our support of local, responsible production wherever in the world we call home.
Summer I students and professor Mary Little
→ Biodiversity and Sustainable Food Systems in Costa Rica
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