Incredible, Amazing, Beautiful, on and on these words go on in for Costa Rica, and now to add on more beauty to this amazing destination Cost Rica presents to the world as one of the best destinations when its comes to Ecotourism.

Costa Rica’s more than a quarter lands have been set aside to protect it from the possible exploitations and the ravages from other humans. Costa Rica has shined with ecotourism as key to its economic development. Although Costa Rica is small country, which can be said as the size of the West Virginia, yet Costa Rica has incredibly rich biodiversity, beautiful beaches, lush and verdant rain forest, extraordinary volcanoes, and with exotic wildlife. The Costa Rica tourism industry brings about one million visitors per year and is generating an approximate of $1 billion per year, which makes tourism industry Costa Rica’s second largest in the source of income. There is no other country which even comes close to Costa Rica in ecotourism statistics in world. the statistics shows that more then twenty-seven percentage of Costa Rica’s land is been designated as either national parks, or biological reserve, or wildlife refuge or some or the other category of the protected areas, in both public and private.

Costa Rica has very wisely developed environmentally safe and worthwhile ecotourism industry, which allows it in protecting vast natural treasures as well as bringing economic prospects to in general disadvantaged people of rural areas.

Amazing numbers defining Costa Rica’s ecology:

• Flora and fauna: 500,000 to 1 million total species
• Insects: million species
• Orchids: 2,000 species
• Mammals: 208 species
• Birds: 850 species
• Moths and butterflies: thousands of the species
• Reptiles: 220 species
• Amphibians: 163 Species

Variety of habitats:

• Rain forest,
• Dry forest,
• Cloud forest
• Oak forest
• Mountains
• Wetland,
• Mangrove
• Aquatic habitats

Think about it:

Cost Rica occupies space which is less than three ten-thousands of earth’s surface but host approximately 5 percent of its biodiversity that all the plants and animals species found on the planet.

Costa Rica seems to offer something for everyone:

• Hiking in the rainforests and the mountains,
• Relaxing and sun bathing on beaches,

• Snorkeling experience in tropical reefs of Caribbean and Pacific coast

• Surfing over the best waves of Central America,
• Costa Rica is the natural wonderful land and has plenty of beaches of Caribbean coast and Pacific coast.

Costa Rica’s charm lies embodied in the forests, unpredictability of volcanoes, stunning endless shores and myriads of underwater marvels. If you haven’t been to Costa Rica, and walked on one of its forest trails, you can’t claim to be a traveler, for herein lays the essence of country, inner meaning of vibrant skeins of life woven between the enchanting shorelines and to covering the rugged mountain chains. You will feel in Costa Rica there is some miracle or magic prevailing that you can’t reach or hold it but there’s sense that there is something. Once To Costa Rica you’ll never really leave the feel of Costa Rica behind, no matter though wherever the body goes.

Ecotourism in Costa Rica prevails because now there is increasing number of people who have become environmental conscious travelers, who while traveling prefer ecotourism coz it is a combination of an exotic travel experiences and giving in self-satisfying concept of being environmentally and socially responsible.

This country surely serves as an ideal for those who have purposely closed their eyes for their own expedience. It has secured sprawling 40 miles of lush green rain-forests by maintaining nine ecological zones. Other rain-forests which are enriched with extensive biological features are maintained as ecologically- sensitive areas and visiting those places is completely restricted. Eco-tourism has actually served as an occupation to the indigenous populace. The Government has backed its obligation of protecting the natural environments through a project wherein it surges incentives of $ 50 annually to the people who protect per hectare of forest land.

There is not just one project for ecological conservation. Other than the above project there is an initiative taken under the tag of FUNDECOR which means “Forest Project of the Foundation for the Development of the Central Volcanic Mountain Range.” The motto of this Forest Management Program is to preserve 13000 hectares forest. This not only helps in conserving the serenity of forests but also lets the inhabitants to capitalize and earn their daily bread and butter. This feature of ecological conservation entices tourists to visit the impeccant location on Earth as well this place offers good welcoming features when it comes to tourists safety and good parks system.

But this country grabs the limelight not just for all the positive reasons, the waves of criticism has also taken it into its clutches because of some controversial issues like the construction of hotels in the eco-sensitive regions. Also, sometimes the excessive restrictions imposed on visiting the parks at some point of time, does the pestering job. And the other major reason that spoils the goody-goody image is deforestation.

The analysis shows that past in the time of 1990’s, this region had worst track record because of plunging number of trees. It is believed that once this region was possessing dense forests of 99% and in today’s date there exists only 35% of forests. These figures are denoted by the FAO’s State of the World’s Forests (FAO’s Forest Resources Assessment. Also, this region had heaps of coffee and bananas which did not contribute for the good for the region, but on the contrary proved to be a bad phenomenon because these natural resources were harvested and all this lead to the devastation of the forests.

Also extensive part of rainforest was burned between the 1970’s and 1980’s for cattle lands which added to the misery. There are many other difficulties that this region has to bear like illegal timber harvesting, agricultural activities and cattle grazing. This area is also hit by corruption.

Also, the tag of eco-tourism destination invites a lot of tourists and the authorities try to cash up from them rather than doing their job of protecting the environment. Even, the recent government has not performing their job upto the mark; instead of protecting the environment they are using park funds.