Fijatevos.com - Look Deeper

Osa Peninsula on Costa Rica's southern Pacific shore has long been recognized as a treasure trove of exotic, rare wildlife. But a recent report by Costa Rica's Environmental Tribunal says that illegal tourism construction, invasion of protected public land, illegal logging and runaway residential development is causing severe damage.

The good news is that the Tribunal has been inspecting the area frequently since 2008. For decades, the national and municipal governments have turned a blind eye to rampant illegal logging, not even spurred to action by press reports in papers such as La Nación and The Tico Times, plus exposés by national TV journalists.

A National University-based Center for Economic Policy for Sustainable Development study says that in 2009, national parks and biological reserves earned $1.5 billion for the country's economy, thanks to ecologically-minded tourists eager to see this country's abundant flora and fauna.

The study refutes critics who think that eco-tourism benefits only foreigners and overseas travel agencies. Researchers estimated that 70% of that revenue landed in the hands of local tourism business such as restaurants, hotels, transport firms and travel agencies. It exonerates the government's longtime setting aside of land for nature preserves and investment for park improvement over many decades since the administration of Daniel Oduber.