NO PLACE LIKE
COSTA RICA
The Jaguar is Costa Rica's only “big cat.” It can grow to over two meters in length and weigh up to 250 pounds. They are a very threatened species due to habitat loss and illegal hunting. The Jaguar is primarily found in reserves and national parks where they are more protected.
01
COSTA RICA IS HOME TO MORE THAN 500,000 SPECIES
02
WHICH REPRESENTS NEARLY 5% OF THE TOTAL SPECIES
ESTIMATED WORLDWIDE
03
MAKING COSTA RICA ONE OF
THE 20 COUNTRIES WITH THE HIGHEST BIODIVERSITY IN THE WORLD
Costa Rica is considered to possess the highest density of biodiversity of any country WORLDWIDE.
While encompassing just one thirtieth of a percent of Earth's landmass, Costa Rica contains four percent of species estimated to exist on the planet. Hundreds of these species are endemic to Costa Rica, meaning they exist nowhere else on earth. These endemic species include frogs, snakes, lizards, finches, hummingbirds, gophers, mice, cichlids, and gobies among many more.
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Costa Rica's biodiversity can be attributed to the variety of ecosystems within the country. Tropical rainforests, deciduous forests, Atlantic and Pacific coastline, cloud forests, and mangrove forests are all represented throughout the 19,730 square miles of Costa Rica's landmass. The ecological regions are twelve climatic zones. This variation provides numerous niches which are filled by a diversity of species.
In Costa Rica, an estimated 1,500 Scarlet Macaws live in dry, moist, and wet tropical lowland forests along the Pacific Coast. Between poaching and loss of habitat from deforestation, Scarlet Macaws are now an endangered species.
BUT OUR PARADISE
IS UNDER ATTACK
ERIK REINHOLD
PROJECT MANAGER
80%
Deforestation is a major threat to biodiversity and ecosystems in Costa Rica. Economic advantages from cattle ranching, agricultural development, and logging have caused major deforestation as more land must be cleared to facilitate such practices. Despite government efforts to mitigate deforestation, it continues to cause harm to the environment of Costa Rica by impacting flooding, soil erosion, desertification, and loss of biodiversity.
SINCE THE END OF THE 1940's, APPROXIMATELY 80% OF THE FORESTS OF COSTA RICA HAVE DISAPPEARED. APPROXIMATELY 20,000 ACRES (8,100 HA) OF LAND ARE DEFORESTED ANNUALLY. IN THE 1990's THE COUNTRY HAD ONE OF THE WORST DEFORESTATION RATES IN CENTRAL AMERICA.
Costa Rica is home to nearly 250 species of mammal. Medium-sized forest-dwelling mammals are often the most appreciated mammalian fauna of the country. These include four species of monkeys such as the frantic white-headed capuchin and noisy mantled howlers; two species of sloths; the opportunistic white-nosed coati; and the fierce predator, the tayra.
THE
RICH COAST
75%
One of the principal sources of Costa Rica's biodiversity is that the country, together with the land now considered Panama, formed a bridge connecting the North and South American continents approximately three to five million years ago. This bridge allowed the very different flora and fauna of the two continents to mix.
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BEFORE THE 1940'S MORE THAN 75% OF COSTA RICA USED TO BE MADE UP OF RAINFOREST CREATING THE PERFECT HABITAT FOR IT'S OUTSTANDING BIODIVERSITY!
WHAT CAUSES
DEFORESTATION?
01
CATTLE RANCHING
As a result of the initial population growth and increasing meat prices in the 1950s around the world, the people of Costa Rica began to cut down the forests to provide pasture land for cattle ranching and produce beef for the world market which generated revenue for Costa Rica’s economy
02
AGRICULTURE
While cattle ranching is a significant cause of deforestation in Costa Rica, agriculture and cash crop productions, namely banana plantations, have also significantly contributed to the problem.[6] Lowland rainforest has been most affected where 130,000 acres (530 km2) of previously forested land (primarily in the Atlantic and Northern regions) have been removed.
03
POPULATION DYNAMICS
Although most of the larger plantations in Costa Rica are owned by large companies, often multinationals, population pressure in Costa Rica has increased the demand for land as poor citizens are forced to venture out into rural and forested areas.
04
LACK OF GOVERNMENT INTERVENTION
While certain conservation laws have been passed in Costa Rica, the government lacks the resources to enforce them.
IN SHORT
GREED
BUT ALSO
NEED
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We made it our mission to not only rebuild the Rainforest and therefor give back and protect the wildlife's habitat but to also close the circle by employing the descendants of the native people that once took down the jungle, to now building it back up!
WHAT ARE THE
DEVASTATING
EFFECTS OF
DEFORESTATION?
The list is long and the effects are horrific for all living creatures including humans close or far from Costa Rica.
01
GLOBAL
WARMING
02
INCREASE IN
GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS
03
WILDLIFE EXTINCTION &
HABITAT LOSS
04
SOIL
EROSION
05​
INCREASING AMOUNT OF
FLOODS
06
LOSS OF
BIODIVERSITY
07
CLIMATE IMBALANCE &
CLIMATE CHANGE
08
ACIDIC
OCEANS
09
THE DECLINE IN
LIFE QUALITY OF PEOPLE
10
FOOD INSECURITY
IN THE FUTURE
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Source: www.globalforestwatch.org
