Abstract:
Deforestation in Costa Rica is expanding and the environmental impact is becoming increasingly more obvious as well. Currently, there are laws established in Costa Rica but these are easily avoidable and often the government officials accept bribes to turn their heads when loggers and tree-poachers need to access protected lands. The reason the current laws had been established was simply because the Costa Ricans recognized the need to save and protect their greatest resource and tourist attraction. Unfortunately, this well intended goal has not been enforced strictly enough and it is my plan to raise awareness by creating a documentary, explaining to viewers why the Costa Rican fauna is essential to the planet’s ecosystem and it is my goal to find footage that will show the viewers how this land is a treasure and should never be lost to world despite the fact that over 60% of Costa Rica’s original forest is already lost.
Letters:
Hello Mr. Acosta,
I am a senior at High Tech High International and I will be going to your property this year with the teacher Elika Dadsetan. I can’t wait to be there and see the incredible Costa Rican flora and to help preserve it for future generations to enjoy.
Currently, in Elika’s class I am working on a project to help raise awareness about deforestation in Costa Rica and the effect of these catastrophes on the global environment. I was hoping that I could get some significant and applicable footage from the trip this spring, but I also wanted to see if you had any suggestions or ideas that would help enhance my project or make my message more effective. In addition to your personal feedback, if you have any contacts that you feel would be helpful I would love to get in touch with them as well. Our visit would also be a great opportunity for me to conduct some interviews hopefully with you and any other people in the area that may be interested in giving me their insight.
Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Danielle Nisan
Dear Senator Feinstein:
My name is Danielle Nisan, I am a senior at High Tech High International and I am writing in an effort to raise awareness about insufficient, Costa Rican environmental policies. I have been concerned lately with the environmental impact as a result of heavy deforestation in that region. Ecological stability and global sustainability have become increasingly important in the past decade and as a result more action is being taken to protect the environment. It makes me proud to see recycling bins in restaurants and citizens walking through the street picking up trash as they see it. The efforts I see being taken in the states are one of the many reasons I am inspired to offer help and assistance in Costa Rica.
It is my belief that America should not only set an example for environmental protection but also should promote and push other countries to meet or exceed us in their own policies. We have a lot of progress to make in green technology fields and in the protection of land and natural resources. However, rushing to establish laws that won’t be properly enforced will not be enough to help the situation. The current Costa Rican environmental protection agency is corrupt and with small bribes and manipulation of the system most of their current laws can be maneuvered around. It is, in my opinion, our responsibility to help the Costa Ricans preserve their natural resources, not only because the land is beautiful and irreplaceable, but the repercussions of losing the Costa Rican fauna would be felt all over the world. In 1970, Costa Rica’s economy changed and farmers began raising cattle instead of growing coffee beans as the demands altered. The land they used for grazing cattle caused over 60% of the Costa Rican forest coverage to be destroyed. The attempt to protect these vast and magnificent rainforests has been done with good intentions, but unfortunately the problem still exists. The reason I feel that specifically Costa Rica should be addressed is because of the spotlight put on them currently, and the claim that they are the “Poster Child” for environmental policy is false and needs to be changed.
Please consider supporting me in my efforts to move the United States government to pressure the Costa Rican government to begin truly enforcing their pre-existing laws. It is my hope that by acknowledging the Costa Rican corruption in the Ministry of Environment and Energy, it will encourage other countries, including the United States, to improve and progress with the actions they are already taking.
Sincerely,
Danielle Nisan
Contact Information
Email: Danielle.nisan@gmail.com
Phone: (619)916-8606
Address: 9251 Golondrina Drive, CA, La Mesa 91941
Dear Editor,
I am a senior at High Tech High International and I am writing in an effort to raise awareness about insufficient, Costa Rican environmental policies. I have been concerned lately with the environmental impact as a result of heavy deforestation in that region. Ecological stability and global sustainability have become increasingly important in the past decade and as a result more action is being taken to protect the environment. It makes me proud to see recycling bins in restaurants and citizens walking through the street picking up trash as they see it. The efforts I see being taken in the States are a few of the many reasons I am inspired to offer help and assistance in Costa Rica.
It is my belief that America should not only set an example for environmental protection but also should promote and push other countries to meet or exceed us in their own policies. However, rushing to establish laws that won’t be properly enforced will not be enough to help the situation. The current Costa Rican environmental protection agency is corrupt and with small bribes and manipulation of the system most of their current laws can be maneuvered around. It is, in my opinion, our responsibility to help the Costa Ricans preserve their natural resources, not only because the land is beautiful and irreplaceable, but the repercussions of losing the Costa Rican fauna would be felt all over the world. In 1970, Costa Rica’s economy changed and farmers began raising cattle instead of growing coffee beans as the demands altered. The land they used for grazing cattle caused over 60% of the Costa Rican forest coverage to be destroyed. The attempt to protect these vast and magnificent rainforests has been done with good intentions, but unfortunately the problem still exists. The reason I feel that specifically Costa Rica should be addressed is because of the spotlight put on them often, and the claim that they are the “Poster Child” for environmental policy is false and needs to be addressed.
It is my hope that I can raise awareness and help push Costa Rica to change their policies. The land that many have visited or even dreamed about visiting should be preserved for future generations and for the benefit of our environment.
Thank you,
Danielle Nisan
Research Paper:
Deforestation and Destruction of Habitat in Costa Rica
Elika: Talked to you about my proposal, proposal critique, and rough
draft. Excused. Thank you for all the help!!!
Deforestation is the purposeful human destruction of natural forests.
This destruction is not evenly spread through all types of forests and
as a result it threatens the existence and sustainability of our planet
(Maciuleviciute). Global deforestation is becoming increasingly more
significant and as population increases, tourists travel the world, and
our standards for living skyrocket. It is essential for heavily
forested areas to be conserved all around the world in order to ensure
ecological stability and a carefully balanced planet-wide ecosystem.
Costa Rica is considered one of the world’s greatest examples of an
environmentally sensitive country. Although Costa Rica’s environmental
laws are so well established and consequently considered one of the
best, they are not sufficiently enforced and as a result the global
perception of Costa Rica is skewed.
This small Central American country is abundant in plant, butterfly,
amphibian, reptile 19050352425 and mammal species that live naturally
in the Costa Rican Fauna. This wildlife is dependent on the environment
and if their natural habitat is being torn down and destroyed to
support new developments then more and more of these unique animals
will become threatened, endangered and eventually extinct. In 1970
Costa Rica’s economy changed and farmers began raising cattle instead
of growing coffee beans as the demands altered. The land they used for
grazing cattle caused over 60% of the Costa Rican forest coverage to be
destroyed (Maciuleviciute). The government has been frantically
working to re-grow and protect their environment and their biggest
tourist attraction. The attempt to protect these vast and magnificent
rainforests has been done with good intentions but unfortunately the
problem still exists. During the time the most deforestation was
occurring to provide grazing land for cattle many of the farmers and
citizens did not realize the impact they were having on the land. By
the time they could understand, most of the major damage was done and
irreversible.
952501903730The establishment of national parks is one crucial step
that the government must take in order to assure the majority of their
wooded area is being protected. Forest is destroyed for more reasons
than cattle grazing; trees are torn down for logging, to support
population growth, agriculture, infrastructure and roads and much more.
Some of the detrimental effects of deforestation globally is the
increase of CO2 emissions because the trees are no longer there to
absorb the CO2 in the atmosphere and the irony of it all is that much
of the deforestation is done ultimately to support a growing
population, which will be creating even more CO2 emissions just from
being alive. In Costa Rica alone, there are “approximately 20,000 acres
of land deforested annually (Deforestation).” This is a significant
amount of land and something must be done immediately if this is our
“poster child” for ecological conservation (Maciuleviciute). In 1986,
Costa Rica only 17% of their initially fauna coverage remained, and of
that 17% only about half is actually considered a national territory.
The other half of the rainforests are generally privately owned and it
is relatively easy to receive permits to build and on the land which is
where the majority of the deforestation occurs.
Should the government have stricter enforcement of their laws, there
could be more monitoring of deforestation. Not only do government
officials have to actually follow their laws and not be tolerant of
bribery, the procedure for receiving a building permit should consist
of research done by a local biologist to determine which areas of the
builder’s land are more biologically significant than other parts of
the property.
426720045085In a 1990 report by the Forest Resource Assessment it was
established that “Costa Rica [is] a country with one of the highest
deforestation rates in the tropics (estimated at 2.9% a year)
(Deforestation, Carbon).” If Costa Rica diminishes its natural
resources the country will inevitably suffer. Not only will their
tourist attraction dwindle (which is their greatest economic booster),
animals’ habitats will be destroyed and the animal species could be put
at risk to become endangered or even extinct, the air quality will
dramatically drop, causing huge health complications nation-wide and
eventually on a global scale. Something must be done, and something
must be done now.
A plausible solution for the current dilemma is to begin enforcing
pre-existing laws and to create a much more developed national
environmental protection agency that will be more effective than the
current Ministry of Environment and Energy that is established.
Through contacting the Ministry of Environment and Energy and informing
them that their actions, or lack of action, is leading to the depletion
of irreplaceable habitat and rainforest that is not only a classic
example of mother nature at her finest and a home to thousands upon
thousands of plants, birds and animals, but one of the nation’s highest
forms of revenue. The country has so much tourism just based off its
beautiful and colorful environment and their beautiful and colorful
culture is often a significant bonus for traveling as well but not
generally the primary reason for travel. Another way to help
deforestation that is already happening is to strongly enforce a
replanting program.
3705225673100Working with other not-for-profit organizations already in
place in Costa Rica to develop new programs where people in the United
States can reach out and participate in funding and supporting
replanting and reinitiating the growth of an ancient rainforest will be
a perfect way to discourage even more deforestation. As well as making
individual efforts separate to those being made by the government,
establishing an agreement with major logging companies in Costa Rica
that for every tree cut down another will be planted in its place. Ways
to raise money for this program would be through change collecting jars
in classrooms across campus where people can drop spare change to plant
a tree and other native plants to expand national forests or to
reforest an all ready deforested area. There are limitless
opportunities to help the situation but the only way to truly solve the
problem is to put in place programs that will be everlasting and to
create even more nationally protected areas that can allow for
rainforest life to flourish and maintain Costa Rica’s global appeal.
Work cited:
“Deforestation”. Viva Costa Rica! 2003. 8 December 2008.
“Deforestation, carbon dynamics, and sustainable mitigation measures in
Costa Rica, The Puerto
Viejo de Sarapiquí Case Study.” 1995. 9 December 2008.
Maciuleviciute, Evelina. “Deforestation: What is it? Who cares? It
doesn’t affect me. . .does it?”
15 May 2002. 8 December
2008.
Ewing, Jack. “Deforestation, the Third Time Around.” Hacienda Baru. 10
December 2008.
< http://www.haciendabaru.com/articles/DEFORESTATION-THE-THIRD-TIME-
AROUND.htm>
Storyboard for Documentary:
No comments:
Post a Comment