Costa Rica eco tourism can take many forms, is appreciated or
experienced in different ways,
moncler, affects folks in various
ways, and yields diverse societal consequences-some obvious, some not.
And, indeed,
www.moncleroutletsky.com, the very
word "eco tourism" brings different images to mind in different
individuals.
For many, Costa Rica
ecotourism brings to mind experiencing the country's extraordinary biological
variety,
timberland boots.
Hence, it's appropriate to label the kinds of ecotourists traveling this
country.
Only about as big as little West Virginia, comprising about
1/10,000 of the globe's land surface, nearly 5% of all the world's species of
plants and animals on earth are found in this Central American
nation.
There are more varieties of butterflies in tiny Costa Rica than
on the whole continent of Africa. And,nearly as many kinds of birds have been
observed in its forests and lands as in the continental United States.
The planet's largest Green Marine Turtle preserve is off the Caribbean
Coast at Tortuguero National Park. Sometimes more than 30,000 turtles come
ashore to nest on the deserted beaches.
35% of the world's species of
cetaceans (whales and porpoises) can be seen in its offshore waters---and
humpback whales from Antarctica travel north to Costa Rica while humpback whales
from the Arctic travel south to the same waters.
Remote Corcovado Park,
just 20 miles long and 8 miles wide,
louis vuitton outlet, has been
labeled "the most biologically intense place" in the world by National
Geographic.
Folks who travel Costa Rica for any of these things are best
described as "vacation eco tourists."
However, Costa Rica ecotourism is
more diverse than bird watching, taking a photography tour, or hiking jungle
trails to lovely waterfalls-which brings this author to an internationally
acknowledged but little known and comparatively little visited place called the
Tirimbina Rainforest Center.
The Tirimbina Rainforest Center sits on
about 345 hectares (850 acres) of primary rainforest. "Primary rainforest" is
the original, never logged,
moncler
outlet, rainforest that covered 99% of Central America when Christopher
Columbus sailed its Caribbean coast and discovered (and named) Costa Rica in
1503.
Over the ensuing centuries, extensive logging and burning to
create more agricultural areas decimated primary forests and only vestiges of
this valuable resource remain.
The Center's history goes back to 1960
when an American, Robert Hunter, traveled to Costa Rica to work for the
Inter-American Institute for Science and Agriculture and purchased the land now
occupied by the Center. He invited American scientists to the property, one of
whom was Dr. Allen Young of the Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Public Museum, and an
internationally identified authority on rain forests and cacao cultivation.
Dr. Young, and others like him who have visited the Center over the last
decades, are "research eco tourists." Their professional curiosity and work on
rain forests have proved invaluable to understanding the tropical
ecosystems.
Tirimbina proved fascinating not merely to Dr. Young but to
the Milwaukee Public Museum itself which, in 1986, developed a permanent exhibit
on the tropical rainforest, called "Exploring Life on Earth." In the ensuing
years hundreds of thousands of museum visitors have viewed the Tirimbina exhibit
as "virtual eco tourists" whose awareness of the importance--and fragility-of
rain forests have contributed to conservation efforts.
In fact, the
Museum ultimately purchased the Tirimbina Rainforest Center and managed it until
2006 when it was sold to a Milwaukee nonprofit called the Pura Vida Foundation.
More recently, the Center was transferred to a Costa Rica nonprofit
organization, the Asociacion Tirimbina Para La Conservacion, Investigacion y
Educacion.
If you're an eco tourist or considering real-deal Costa Rica
ecotourism, we recommend visiting the Tirimbina Rainforest Center if you
are:
(a) A "research eco tourist." This is a working rain forest research
center and for 30 years has been used for doctorate research, graduate studies,
and museum related work;
(b) A college student looking for a one-of-a
kind study abroad opportunity.
Ball State University of Indianapolis has
just announced a new Study Abroad in Costa Rica program at Tirimbina Rainforest
Center, starting Spring Semester 2010. This program is modeled after two very
well received study abroad programs in Australia and England. If this is for
you, you will be a "student eco tourist" ; or
(c) Simply interested in
touring a working tropical forest research center that also hosts family
activities and educational projects like hiking through primary rainforest on
miles of trails; a bird tour; a frog tour; a bat tour; even a chocolate tour.
Also there is an aerial tram tour, boat tour, and a truly remarkable
number of optional activities. Visit the Tirimbina web page for a list of the
activities and become "family eco tourists."
Accommodations and a
restaurant are on the grounds for people who want to stay overnight or for
several days.
Though it has been known by the scientific community for
more than five decades, Tirimbina Rainforest Center is visited by only about
8,000 Costa Rica ecotourists a year. Until now, its existence has been virtually
unknown as a tourist destination, but no more. If you are planning a Costa Rica
vacation, consider a visit.
Related articles:
