Eco-Tourism: A Closer Look!

After watching, The 11th Hour, I have realized how vital it is as a human species that we take responsibility for our actions and promote the growth of our planet over the promotion of the economy. In other words, our species can survive without an economy, but it can’t survive without our planet. The wonderful thing is that ecotourism in Costa Rica has been able to combine the two. Not only are they preserving essential forests, but they are using them to boast their economy with little side effects.

Speaking of deforestation, I feel it is important to discuss how significant this issue is in our world today. Deforestation is growing at an exponential amount and if we don’t take a stance now it will be too late. How are reserves, such as Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve, beneficial to our ecosystem? Well, we are losing biodiversity, they not only create homes for many different animals and plants, but they are also the source of different medicines. In addition, forests are vital aspect to complete the environmental cycle. Trees are able to absorb CO2 emissions that we as a human species are emitting. Two other critical purposes of forests are to control flooding and erosion, without them, both could become serious problems.

I tell you the effects of deforestation to stress the importance of these forests and wildlife for our very existence. Without them, we would live a life where natural resources are even limited than they are now until we reached a breaking point. A surface look at Monteverde forest and you see beautiful Mother Nature, however if you take a step back, you can see that it is truly a key aspect to our survival. At the rate that the human population is growing, more forests must be kept safe from deforestation, before it is too late.

While at Monteverde, I was interested in what the “locals” thought of all of the tourists. The reply from the man who worked there was that he loved the tourists because they were the ones that were allowing him to put food on the table for his family. It seemed like a win-win situation. I was enjoying the culture of Costa Rica and he was able to feed and care for his family. However, he said that many Ticos that don’t work in the tourist industry can become very irritated by tourists due to the fact that they increase traffic and don’t speak Spanish. There are always going to be positives and negatives to every situation because nothing is perfect. Nevertheless, the eco-tourism industry is a fundamental sustaining industry for the world’s eco-system.