Conservation

During this year's Earth Hour, Costa Rica saved 32 kilowatts, 2 more than in last year's celebration.

Government officials pledged to evaluate available options to compensate 170 alleged former gold miners who claim they were evicted from the lands that are now part of Corcovado National Park.

The Public Security Ministry confirmed that 50 National Police officers had been sent to help Corcovado's park rangers and staffers respond to the demonstration.

The Society for Conservation Biology created the Jairo Mora Sandoval Award to raise awareness about the sometimes fatal risks that conservationists take to protect the environment.

The conservation agreement calls for more expeditious and severe punishment for people found guilty of trafficking endangered wildlife species, and greater exchange of conservation experts, students and researchers.

Monkeys at break time drive home the point of Costa Rica conservation conference in Punta Leona — that nature and tourism are friends.

An international conference on private conservation and sustainable tourism kicked off Monday night at the Wyndham San José Herradura Hotel, with Vice President Ana Helena Chacón preaching to a choir from over a dozen countries about the need for sustainable, earth-friendly growth in a global economy.

Evalena Leedy was teaching a free community yoga class in Brooklyn's Prospect Park when a red-tailed hawk sat on a high branch and observed the session - launching a quest that would lead her to support conservation in Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula.

The United States is one of the world’s largest importers of wild fauna and flora. Central America’s proximity to the U.S. makes it even more important for the region and U.S. customs officials to be on the same page when it comes to flora and fauna trade. “As a consuming country, it’s incumbent on us to make sure that trade is happening legally and sustainably,” said Christina Kish, project manager with the International Technical Assistance Program of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Pollution, industrial fishing and climate change have killed off half of marine life in the last four decades, according to a WWF report released Wednesday. A quarter of shark and ray species face extinction, largely due to overfishing.