U.S. Ambassador to Costa Rica S. Fitzgerald Haney marked the 240th anniversary of U.S. independence alongside the 100th anniversary of the U.S. National Park Service, praising the park system of both the U.S. and Costa Rica.
Since 2013, Costa Rica’s dry tropical forests have been under siege from loggers looking to cash in on skyrocketing demand for precious hardwoods, especially cocobolo (Dalbergia retusa), also known as tropical rosewood. The illegal logging of cocobolo and other precious hardwoods threatens Costa Rica’s famous but understaffed national parks as loggers look to protected areas as the last untapped source of valuable lumber for export.
Despite declarations from the executive branch that the Costa Rican government will not pursue geothermal electricity development in national parks, the office of governing Citizen Action Party legislator Ottón Solís is working on a bill to allow it in three volcanic protected areas.
According to Costa Rica's National System of Conservation Areas, mudslides and flooding damaged access roads and collapsed sewers in several parks, some of which were forced to close access to visitors. Those closings mostly occurred in the Central Volcanic Range, the La Amistad-Caribe area and Tortuguero National Park.
With nearly 2.5 million visitors in 2013 (the latest statistics available), Costa Rica’s diverse national parks system is the main reason many people travel...
Writer John McPhaul takes a look at the similarities between battles in the U.S. to keep national parks in the public interest, and Costa Rica’s current dilemma of protecting its own parks.
Lawmaker José María Villalta, a member of the legislative Energy and Environment Commission, called for a national discussion on the geothermal energy issue.
United States President Donald Trump announced a sweeping new tariff program today, dubbed "Liberation Day," which imposes a universal 10% tariff on all imports...
The combative president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, has become a key partner for the provocative migrant deportation policy of his American counterpart Donald...