Why Costa Rica?

„Costa Rica is the first country to bet its entire economic future on the power of sustainable development.”
David Tenenbaum, the Greening of Costa Rica, in Technology Review (published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Costa Rica is famous for its natural beauty with an immense variety of flora and fauna. It is known for its love for peace and Nobel prize awarded president Oscar Arias. And it is also the country most famed for its unparalleled efforts towards sustainable development. Simply put, there is no better place on earth than Costa Rica to fully embrace, feel and live what sustainable development is about, and how it can positively change society and the world around us. And still Costa Rica is a developing country facing many social and economic challenges… that’s why we chose it as the perfect place to study – and to support the locals in their endeavor towards sustainability. Although serving as a role model there is much more that can be done with our help.

Below we are listing only a fraction of what has been done in Costa Rica so far and is done at this very moment. We have become very knowledgable about this paradisiacal stretch of land, but please still don’t take our word for it… feel free to click throught the links and see what other wrote about this country on its way from a poor developing nation to the world’s leader in ecological business and sustainable developments:

1. Costa Rica has implemented the world’s most serious Sustainable Tourism program. Regulated by a national commission Costa Rican businesses in the tourism industry receive CST certifications for their achievements in ecological ways of doing business and improvements in the areas of infrastructure, interaction with clients and local communities as well as its surrounding natural habitat. Renowned for its environment-friendly approach to business this industry has grown to a $1,9 billion-a-year industry, contributing 8,1% of the country's GNP and representing 13,3% of direct and indirect employment.
   • The Rainforest Alliance on Costa Rica’s Sustainable Tourism.
   • Partnerships for Sustainable Development of the United Nations
   • Costa Rica's leading newspaper La Nacion on ecotourism
     
     
2. In 2008 the Fourth Meeting of the International Work Group regarding the Development of Sustainable Tourism will be held in Costa Rica. Countries from around the world, the EU, UNESCO, WTO and representatives of professional and nongovernmental organizations will all be participating in this international gathering to project and value “good practices” in sustainable tourism that are respectful towards local cultural identities, the environment, and that allow a harmonious development of small towns.
   
   
3. Costa Rica hosts the Earth Charter’s Center for Education for Sustainable Development and plays a central role in its initiative of building a just, sustainable, and peaceful global society for the 21st century.
   
   
4. Costa Rica is member of an abundance of partnerships for sustainable development and business, e.g.:
   • United Nations ERP Sustainability Program: a call for a collaborative action to address rural-urban disparities by targeting the educational needs of rural people.
   • Coalition for Rainforest Nations: a coalition of tropical countries and industrialized nations to reconcile forest stewardship with economic development
   • Energy and Environment Partnership with Central America: partnership of EU and Central American countries to promote the use of renewable energy sources and clean technologies in Central America in a sustainable manner, and to make energy services more accessible to the poor, particularly to those in rural areas.
   • Program for South-South cooperation: program to promote sustainable development, implementation of agenda 21 and the Johannesburg Plan of implementation based on the principles of equality, participation and reciprocity.
   • SHRIMPS: partnership to provide training on the relationship between human rights and sustainable development so as to encourage consultation with intergovernmental organizations and major groups possessing expertise in human rights for guidance in sustainable development activities undertaken pursuant to Agenda 21 and the UN Millennium Declaration.
     
     ...and hosts dozens of organizations in the areas of economic, social and environmental development.
     
     
5. In 1994 Costa Rica’s president (who has then been CEO of the World Economic Forum) José María Figueres formulated the vision of becoming a model of sustainable development. Since then Costa Rica has worked with the United Nations (e.g. within the Capacity 21 Program) and many other organizations and created a comprehensive national Sustainable Development strategy combining sound macroeconomic indicators, together with strategic investment in human development, and a strong alliance with nature through the implementation of innovative environmental policies.
   
   
6. Sustainable agriculture has helped crop growing business in Costa Rica to increase revenues by taking care of the environment. The Rainforest Alliance lists Costa Rica as one of the countries with the most developed sustainable agriculture projects. Examples include multinational cooperations such as Chiquita as well as small companies supplying international businesses.
   
   
7. Costa Rica is home to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights as well as the United Nations University of Peace. The country is an active member of the United Nations and the Organizations of American States and a member of many other international organizations related to human rights and democracy. Costa Rica's main foreign policy objective is to foster human rights and sustainable development as a way to secure stability and growth.
   
   
8. Costa Rica has gained a worldwide reputation for its stunning biodiversity – 5-7% of the world's total within 0.1% of its landmass - varied terrain and at least six distinct types of ecosystem. About 23% of Costa Rica is composed of protected forests, national parks and reserves.