Sustainability (Rainforests or Cows?)

Costa Rica is a positive example of a country that has successfully reversed a century of deforestation, with 52% of its land mass now covered in forests -- up from just 40% in 1986. The country limited the destruction of forest areas and illegal timber farming / cattle ranching through the use of a National Forestry Financing Fund (financed by tourism), which expands its 1986 Forest Law and a 1998 Biodiversity Law that together promote the protection and "rational use" of the country's natural resources. These laws are (uniquely?) possible in Costa Rica due to the rapid growth of its (eco)tourism industry, which accounts for ~30% of the country's GDP and which relies on vibrant forests to attract visitors.

While noting those successes, it is clear that sustainable development will remain a challenge for Costa Rica over the long run given that so much of its land area is perfect for agriculture, farming or additional development. Roughly 20% of Costa Rica's original rainforests are now home to cattle ranches and 35% of Costa Rica’s overall land area is used for agriculture (2020). As we’ve traveled around the country’s central rainforests these statistics actually seem like an understatement, with huge cattle farms bordering the majority of the main roads and former rainforest areas commonly covered by grassland (punctuated with occasional old-growth trees) with hordes of grazing cattle.

Our initial reaction to the still-ample grazing land was negative, as the cattle ranches offer immensely less biodiversity for the amazing creatures we were able to spot on our treks through the forest. Similarly, large plantain plantations offer no natural habitat for tree frogs, crested pitvipers, sloths, monkeys, iguanas or myriad other fauna that we were not fortunate enough to observe….

… but the people of Costa Rica need to eat and earn their livelihoods too. The same former rainforests grazed by cattle are also home to way too many families living in plywood and aluminum shacks; whose inhabitants reportedly earn less than $20/day as farmers for Chiquita. In America, we love to eat cheap bananas and beef, so it’s hypocritical of us to condemn the deforestation that makes brings those tasty foods to our grocery store. The average OECD-adjusted income in Costa Rica is ~$16k, roughly half that of the USA, so even if it is not a poor country Costa Ricans are clearly less affluent than Americans. (And they have to deal with much worse infrastructure -- in particular roads!). 

On the more-clearly positive side, it has been good for the kids to see where food comes from (coffee, cocoa, bananas, plantains, beef) and to see how fortunate they are living in Newport Beach. It is also encouraging to see that Costa Rica is making a genuine effort to achieve carbon Net Zero by 2050 and that it has limited permits for deforestation to expand agriculture — in particular cattle farming.

Interesting statistics: We have seen zero solar panels and zero EV cars in our ~8 days in Costa Rica thus far. We have seen one advertised EV charging station. That seems inconsistent with the claim that over 99% of energy in Costa Rica is generated from renewable sources (72% hydropower, 15% geothermal, 12% wind and 0.5% solar). Clearly the 99% renewable energy claim does not include ground transportation, which is almost exclusively fossil fuels. Even so, Costa Rica has definitely invested a lot in its energy infrastructure and the bulk of its industrial and residential energy mix (ex cars) comes from renewable sources.