Costa Rica is taking a leading role in motivating the international community to take action towards the decontamination of the oceans. As part of the celebration of World Oceans Day this June 8, Costa Rica will host the Global Dialogue about Oceans June 8th and 9th in the Villa Caletas Hotel in the Central Pacific of Costa Rica. Over 100 high level representatives from different countries ...

5 hammerhead sharks tagged during expedition to Cocos Island with Mission Blue Also on the expedition were Fins Attached, Ocean First Foundation and CREMA-Costa Rica The scientists removed abandoned longline fishing gear A 10-day scientific expedition led by Dr. Sylvia Earl of the U.S.-based marine conservation organization Mission Blue, just returned from Cocos Island National Park...

Researchers at the University of Costa Rica recently observed a neotropical frog that hasn't been observed for at least 30 years and which had therefore been declared extinct by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The rediscovery of the species, Craugastor escoces, or red-bellied frog, occurred in the Juan Castro Blanco National Park,  located in the province of Alaju...

Costa Rica's legislature will discuss a bill proposing the exploration and exploitation of geothermal energy in the country's protected areas, reported local media recently. Studies carried out by the Costa Rican Institute of Electricity (ICE) estimate potential geothermal energy generation in the country at 875 MW. The current installed geothermal capacity is 195 MW. Bill 19,233, which has ...

- Protestors took to the streets again this Monday, two weeks after a similar demonstration in San José criticized deforestation and pollution caused by pineapple farming in Costa Rica. While Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís was giving a public talk to commemorate World Environment Day, some young protestors stood in front of him with a banner reading "De Muerte" or "of death" painted o...

Editor’s note: The views expressed by guest columnists are not necessarily those of The Costa Rica Star, its advertisers, or its staff.  By Britt Nelson The worldwide uproar over President Donald Trump’s decision to pull the USA out of the United Nations sponsored Paris Climate Accord is mostly due to two reasons – one the loss of trillions of dollars overtime to help other countries c...

An emergency measure ordered by the Costa Rican Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock's National Animal Health Service (SENASA) aimed at controlling a stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans) outbreak in northern Costa Rica went into effect last week. All pineapple farms in the district of Cutris de San Carlos and San Rafael de Río Cuarto must refrain from any new plantings or soil preparations for the...

Photo: Alvaro Cubero / Tiny Snowcap hummingbird If admiring the different species of birds is what you enjoy and whenever you travel you are hoping to capture with your camera lens the perfect photo of a colorful and unique bird, Costa Rica is certainly the place to visit with close to 10% of the species of birds in the planet. In the right places in Costa Rica a bird watcher can see up to ...

The Braulio Carrillo National Park is one of Costa Rica’s most vibrant rainforests, it is full of interesting wildlife living in the dense forest. Part of the Braulio Carrillo National Park is located in Heredia and part in San José, so as you might have guessed getting there doesn’t take too long, and it makes for a great one-day tour in Costa Rica. Most visitors access this park, named af...

Once again the Poás Volcano interrupted its relative calm period and during the afternoon of this Friday, June 2, Poás Volcano presented a couple of small size eruptions which included an ash column. So far, this volcano´s activity had consisted mostly of phreatic eruptions, which means they contained mostly steam and vapor; however, the eruptions today as it was clearly captured by the cameras...

Santa Teresa in Cóbano, Puntarenas, has quickly gained a reputation among foreigners for its laid-back environment, amazing beaches (which have excellent conditions for surfing), and its surrounding nature. This has, of course, attracted the attention of many that choose Santa Teresa as a vacation destination, but other many looking to make real estate investments in the area; after all, this i...

While pineapple growers downplay the social, and also environmental, issues behind the monoculture’s activity in Costa Rica, local communities continue to share firsthand experiences of human and labor rights violations. “One of the most worrying complaints that is systematically repeated in the plantations visited in Limón province - in Guácimo, Siquirres, Pococí, and Talamanca - as well as th...

Captain Paul Watson and his not for profit Sea Shepherd crews work around the clock to protect marine life when no one else will. Sea Shepherds involvement and aide in the protection of Costa Rican marine life over the years has been absolute regardless of the very questionable political issues and agenda which surrounds Captain Paul Watson and the country. If you care about protecting ou...

Costa Rica's pineapple sector employs about 32,000 people directly and generates exports of about one billion dollars a year, which is the equivalent of 10 per cent of the country's total exports, according to a report released today. The study, "Economic, Social and Environmental Impact of Pineapple in Costa Rica", conducted by the Central American Institute of Business Administration (INCAE) ...

Tortuguero National Park in the Costa Rican North Caribbean is known as an ecological paradise, a place where different species of sea turtles find a nesting refuge and many national and international tourists visit every year looking for a small taste of a lost paradise; however, community leaders in the area have raised their voice to alert of a contamination problem with sewage waters that has ...

The Turrialba Volcano in Cartago continued with constant eruptions throughout this week, most of them not exceeding the 500 meters above the active crater, but according to the National University’s Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute (OVSICORI), there are at least four or five every hour lasting under one minute. These frequent eruptions have been releasing gases and ash, and some ...

The Ministry of Environment of Costa Rica released a new website that provides information regarding the country’s natural resources. The website www.crn.go.cr , where CRN (Spanish acronym) stands for Accounting of the Natural Resources, is a tool that allows the country to determine if its economic growth is sustainable; in other words, it provides details on the capacity of the country to gen...

Off the Osa Peninsula in southern Costa Rica, scientists experiment with reviving coral reefs. Last year things turned pretty bad for coral reefs throughout the world due to ocean warming caused by El Niño and human activities that bleached and caused death in many reefs, including those in the Golfo Dulce. By "reforesting" the coral reef with fragments of coral "planted" in ceramic discs, a...

The Rincón de la Vieja Volcano in Guanacaste registered unexpected activity this Tuesday at 10:20 a.m. with a phreatic eruption (steam and water) that elevated 400 meters over the crater, reported the National University's Volcanology and Seismology Research Institute. The short eruption lasted under two minutes, but neighbors mentioned hearing a sound similar to a jet’s engine; material (mud, ...

Biologists wanted to find out whether drug trafficking, in addition to drug cultivation, might also affect deforestation. Noting that Central America as a region has had a net loss of forest cover over the past decade, while other parts of Latin America have slowed their forest loss, researchers wondered if the growing presence of illicit drugs had any role to play. Central American countrie...

Costa Rica and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have agreed to develop a joint groundwater exploration and evaluation project to improve resource management and minimize the impact of climate change, reported the Spanish news agency EFE last week. The Costa Rican Environment and Energy Ministry (MINAE) said in a press release that the Geological Survey expert, Saud Amer, who carried o...

Animal Rescue Zoo Ave and the Minister of Environment and Energy (MINAE) confirmed the release of 16 red macaws in the Bosque Escondido Wildlife Refuge in the Nicoya Peninsula. Each of the birds released has a coded identification ring on their leg to enable their monitoring. The macaws were born in the Endangered Species Reproduction Center of the Zoo Ave where they were cared for until the...

The Prusia Forest part of the Irazú Volcano National Park, in the province of Cartago is one of the preferred destinations for tourists looking for a one-day tour; it actually increased its visitation in a 200% from 2015 to 2016 year in which it received almost 77 thousand visitors, the majority national tourists. Park authorities consider that the increase in visitation obeyed to the fixing of...

The Rangers on Cocos Island need a fast patrol vessel and Sea Shepherd can supply that need. Sea Shepherd arrives in Costa Rica today with an offer to assist the Central American country in controlling illegal fishing in the waters surrounding its Cocos Island National Park. The non-profit, anti-poaching conservation society has offered to deploy the M/V John Paul DeJoria, a 110-foot...

Turrialba Volcano had a new eruption the afternoon of this Friday, May 19, breaking its period of "relative calm". Although both eruptions are considered small, they are a reminder of the fact that this volcano continues with high activity and precautions and security measures should be taken seriously. The eruptions from the Turrialba volcano usually contain ash, yet, because of the rai...

According to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) there are 3,812 endangered species of flora and fauna in Costa Rica ranging from those considered Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Extinct and of Least Concern. The IUCN Global Species Program assesses the conservation status of species, subspecies, varieties and even selected subpopulations on a gl...

Warnings have been loud, frequent and clear both by the National Commission of Risk Prevention and Emergency Attention (CNE) and the Technical Assessment Vulcanology Committee (CAT) in Costa Rica regarding the danger of violating the restrictions in the access to both the Turrialba and Poás volcanoes; yet, time and time again, daredevils continue to disregard the warnings and find new paths and wa...

The southernmost end of Tortuguero beach, in the sector known as Jalova, is closed as of this week, by orders of Tortuguero Conservation Area officials due to the presence of a jaguar, something which has happened in the past. The Tortuguero Conservation Area provides habitat for jaguars (Panthera onca). Officials said they see no threat to tourists by the presence of the feline, but want to do...

The Poás Volcano near Alajuela has been sending up columns of water vapor over the past several days after becoming more active on May 13, making for some great photography, and not causing any problems for neighboring areas, reported the Volcanology and Seismology Observatory at the Costa Rican National University (Ovsicori-UNA). Meanwhile, further south along the Central Volcanic mountain cha...

The peaceful gathering and march of over 500 people yesterday in downtown San José centered around the feared negative environmental and human health effects of increasing pineapple production in the southern Costa Rica wetlands area bordering the Térraba-Sierpe National Wetlands. Their voices were heard by environmental authorities, who today announced a moratorium on any further pineapple exp...

The government of Costa Rica will ban the use of the herbicide bromacil throughout the country to avoid groundwater contamination, the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (MAG) reported in a statement yesterday. The decision was made due to the high risk that the chemical will contaminate groundwater. Bromacil, a possible human carcinogen, is used on many pineapple farms in Costa Rica. In ...

Seven local aqueducts in the Central Pacific region of Costa Rica are now functioning with solar energy, thanks to support and funding from a number of institutions including the Costa Rica-U.S. Foundation (CRUSA). The panels are expected to allow the rural water supplies save up to 50 percent on their electric costs, thus freeing up much needed funds to invest in repairs and improvements, said...

In the calm, clean waters of the Golfo Dulce in the southern coast of Costa Rica near the Osa Península, scientists Alejandro Solórzano and Mahmood Sasa from the University of Costa Rica found the object of their investigation, a 60 cm entirely yellow sea snake. The investigators believe this is an endemic species, that has been isolated in this region due to the particular temperature and curr...

Costa Rica’s National Technical Environmental Secretariat (Secretaría Técnica Nacional Ambiental, Setena) recently gave the green light for increased pineapple production in Costa Rica’s southern region, a move that is troubling to environmentalists and indigenous groups whose protected lands in that region would be threatened by the intensive monoculture agriculture, reported Edgardo Araya, Broad...

Marine conservation groups criticized today en executive decree published last week they say paves the way for exports of sharks (and fins from sharks) that are classified as threatened or in danger of extinction. The groups decried the Costa Rican President's decree that grants sole mandate to authorize exports to the Costa Rican Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute (Incopesca), saying the agen...

Officials of Costa Rica's National Coast Guard Service, as part of their mission to protect marine biodiversity, this weekend detained a man who had 136 Leatherback sea turtle eggs in his possession, reported the Public Security Ministry. The Coast Guard's environmental unit was on patrol in the Barra de Marina region, where the Parismina beach is one of the few Atlantic beaches worldwide where...

The National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) is hustling to invest around 600 million colones (about US$1,000,000) to make improvements to the Manuel Antonio National Park before the end of the year. The Ministry of Health ordered some big changes to be made by year's end including creating new access and exit routes in and out of the park. The park, located about an hour-and-a-half south ...

Every year the problem repeats itself, as soon as the rainy season begins in Costa Rica many streets in the metropolitan area flood, causing a lot of different problems; the cause is of common knowledge, the sewage system is clogged with trash, but the efforts of the municipalities are insufficient, people continue to throw garbage where it doesn’t belong, and the consequences affect everyone. ...

The World Economic Forum’s 2017 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report ranked 136 countries according to the natural resources they possess, the number of World Heritage natural sites, protected areas and species as well as the natural tourism digital demand and the role the country’s natural resources had in attracting tourists to it. Costa Rica is listed among the top ranked countries fo...

Meet the changemakers promoting sustainable living in one of the world's greenest, and happiest, countries, Costa Rica:    ...