|
How
Costa
Rica
Is
Saving
The
Environment
What
would
you
say
if
we
told
you
there
was
a
country
that
used
99.2%
renewable
energy,
has
kept
is
GDP
growing
for
decades,
disbanded
its
military,
and
transformed
itself
from
one
of
the
most
deforested
nations
in
the
Western
hemisphere
to
one
with
forest
cover
over
half
its
area?
It’s
not
a
trick
question.
It’s
Costa
Rica.
Amid
news
of
global
environmental
degradation,
the
country
has
shone
a
spotlight
on
how
certain
economic
policies
and
favorable
governance
can
turn
a
country
(at
least,
a
small
country
in
Central
America)
into
a
relatively
sustainable,
modern
democracy
within
a
few
decades.
A
review
published
by
the
United
Nations
University
suggests
Costa
Rica’s
example
can
pave
the
way
elsewhere
for
initiatives
such
as
payments
for
environmental
services
(PES)
as a
tool
for
poverty
reduction,
achieving
carbon
neutrality
by
2021,
and
the
Pax
Natura
(peace
with
nature)
Initiative
announced
by
Costa
Rica’s
President
in
2007
as a
basis
for
ethical
environmental
commitment.
So
how
did
Costa
Rica
do
it?
"The
answer
seems
to
lie
in a
combination
of
ethics,
environmentalism
and
effective
policymaking,"
writes
Robert
Blasiak,
who
cites
the
decision
to
redirect
funds
from
the
military
in
1948
as a
turning
point.
"After
63
years
without
a
military,
such
a
seemingly
unconventional
decision
has
proven
both
brave
and
useful
in
channeling
additional
investment
into
the
country’s
social
and
environmental
programs."
But
as
with
all
major
national
shifts,
multiple
factors
muddy
the
waters.
It
probably
wasn’t
all
enlightened
governance.
There
is
plenty
of
evidence
(PDF)
that
macroeconomic
shifts
and
other
policies
made
cattle
ranching
and
forest
clearing
less
profitable
and
they
might
have
faded
even
without
the
1996
National
Forestry
Fund
that
has
doled
out
about
us$230
million
to
conserve
as
many
hectares
of
forest
as
possible.
Disbanding
the
military
is
also
not
an
option
for
most
countries.
But
Costa
Rica’s
track
record
as
both
one
of
the
most
most
prosperous
and
environmental
responsible
countries
in
the
region
speaks
for
itself:
Its
6%
unemployment
rate
and
robust
economic
growth
coexist
with
a
conservation
policy
that
has
placed
one-quarter
of
its
land
under
protection
and
constitutional
protection
of
the
right
of
“every
person
[…]
to a
healthy
and
ecologically
balanced
environment."
Costa
Rica
now
ranks
fifth
in
Yale’s
global
Environmental
Performance
Index.
Perhaps
Costa
Rica’s
model
truly
is
exceptional,
and
only
feasible
in
small,
well-educated
enclaves
that
can
offer
attractive
environment.
But
as
the
world
transforms
its
economies
from
mostly
industrial
to
something
else,
perhaps
everyone
can
learn
something
from
its
success.
From
fastcoexist.com |
