Costa Rica is such a phenomenal country that is full of so much biodiversity and so many rare species, which as we discussed during my last blog are crucial for global planetary health. But Costa Rica is also known for other aspects including agricultural production and ecotourism. This past week we were diving into these two sectors of Costa Rica, by experiencing industrial agriculture production first hand through intensive food tours and ecotourism with visits to popular tourist destinations like La Fortuna.
Costa Rica is a large agricultural producer and you can see it driving around the town of Sarapique in the Heredia providence of Costa Rica where we stayed at La Selva. There are rows and rows of pineapple crops growing from the ground and then around the corner empty pastures for a sporadic number of cows to graze. Costa Rica is a huge exporter of pineapple, banana, and coffee to the global north, making this small country dependent on these crops for a large source of income. Agriculture began with Spanish rule, but didn’t become a massive monocultural economic endeavor for Costa Rica until globalization. With modern globalization Costa Rica purchased loans from the United States during a period of economic success, but this resulted in fluctuating interest rates that caused economic disturbance for Costa Rica and required the use aid services from the International Monetary Fund. However, these aid services included conditions such as a switch to large-scale monoculture farms (Dr. Libby, 2022). And as we learned, monoculture destroys ecosystems but are also severely vulnerable by the changing climate. This is because biodiversity is not present within the fields making farms more susceptible to diseases and invasive species. This looming threat of pests and diseases attacking the crop promotes the use of pesticides within monoculture. We’ve seen this problem in Indiana as most of our waterways have severe pollution and eutrophication from excessive nitrogen runoff. Pesticide use is a similar problem here in Costa Rica, due to the tropical climate which supports fungi growth and the high sugar content of the plants which attract insects, which has had extremely detrimental affects to freshwater ecosystems.
But there are farms and agricultural endeavors fighting again these large corporations dominating the agricultural scene.On May 30th we drove through Sarapique to visit a local organic pineapple farm. This farm had hundreds of acres full of pineapples and utilized only microorganisms and natural repellents to dispel insects and other pests from the vicinity. Other than that they only used one chemical, ethylene, to induce fruit growth. It was amazing to see how they can support such a large yield of pineapples while protecting the surrounding environment from dangerous chemicals. We also explored a Banana Farm to learn about this fascinating crop and evaluate its production. However, this tour was extremely different from the pineapple farm we visited just one day before. This farm was owned by a local family who owned a small plot of land to produce bananas and plantains to their community and some outside vendors. But, here at this farm they were extremely knowledgable about banana production and the sustainable ways to maneuver a monocultural system. At their farm they utilized every aspect of the banana plant for compost, food for farm animals, and even a type of paper. It was amazing to see the different ways to fully benefit off of one plant. However, it was impossible to ignore the competition and potential struggle against massive agricultural industries that dominate our ruthless capitalistic society. In both tours, you could tell that these exact tours were a major source of income for these farms. Especially when these guides spoke of their hardships during the pandemic when the tourism declined by almost 2 million people. And to me this speaks volumes about the importance of tourism and ecotourism within the small country of Costa Rica.
Ecotourism is a major source for profit as almost one-third of Costa Rican revenue comes from the ecotourism sector. Therefore, most natural places, farms, and towns are extremely dependent on tourists to support the economy. This I recognize in the states where tourists destinations are heavily promoted and national parks rely on attendance to support the natural environment. But here in Costa Rica, one thing really stood out for me, was the target audience for these ecotourist sites. Throughout the week we visited a variety of ecotourist destinations, ranging from resort-style facilities to more rustic locations that use ecotourism as an opportunity for side-revenue. Baldi Mountain Natural Hotsprings was probably the most touristy and expensive place we went, whereas Tortuguero National Park and La Fortuna were towns that bordered natural wonders. Surrounding these various locations were an abundance of signs promoting spas, zip lining tours, and whitewater rafting, and one major commonality was the use of white individuals on these posters. They featured nuclear families looking a sloths together or a heteronormative couples getting massages in comfort, and they just highlighted the unspoken target audience for this industry.
And these signs prioritized English above the native Spanish spoken in Costa Rica. It was clear that even though we are here in Costa Rica, these resources and destinations are still being steered towards the global north. It was almost as if the only way tourism could survive is if ecotourism sites conform to the desires of the global north and this was very evident to me when exploring ecotourism. But on the other hand, ecotourism provides so many jobs and necessary funding for environmental endeavors and conservation efforts by these organizations. One example was Rancho Margot a small-scale organic and completely sustainable farm that we visited. Rancho Margot was an inspiration as they provide all of their electricity, water, and food on the farm itself. It also included protected areas that is being added to create a corridor for wildlife traveling throughout the country. Therefore, they utilize their ecotourism income to support this work and sustainable production in Costa Rica, which would not be possible without ecotourism and visitors. And this is why ecotourism is so complicated, since it can have unintended consequences but important benefits wherever it is located. And now learning that here in Costa Rica it is crucial to analyze this industry elsewhere and the American influences on tourism in other parts of the world.
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