Spending a month in the steamy jungles of two Costa Rican
communities provided not just an introduction to tropical biology and culture
in one of the most ecologically diverse locations on the planet, but has
instilled a strong connection to the place as well. We spent our time exploring, mapping wildlife
distributions, identifying an astonishing diversity of tree species, teaching
elementary school children about the interactions between humans and nature, and
helping with construction of a community center in a rural town. I have come to believe that such a connection
is at the core of a stewardship ethic.
It gives the theories of conservation a foundation, anchoring them to
real places, animals, and people.
Without such a connection binding people to the things they could (and
should) work to protect, it is all too easy to ignore the impacts of ones
actions.
Specifically, I believe that the participation itself is the
primary means by which the connection is made.
Reading about the complexities of a place, and how they are intertwined
can provide only an isolated and distant image of a place. Being
in a place, and directly interacting
with its complexities is a powerful way to build a deep and lasting connection. For people to sacrifice their personal
luxury, I believe that a connection to what they are sacrificing for must often
be present. It was an amazing and a once
in a lifetime experience for all eighteen students who spent a month of their
summer studying in the wet tropical heat.
I think it also created a connection that will forever remind them to
take action to help protect the nature and culture of Costa Rica.
In order to extend the sense of connection with the awesome
diversity and beauty of the Costa Rican jungles to the greater public I have
begun a project with the Huxley Spatial Institute to develop a web-map that
encourages people to view and submit wildlife sightings in Carara National
Park, in the central Pacific area of the country. http://myweb.students.wwu.edu/kaneb2/carara/
The map will be used to document the diversity and
distribution of wildlife in the park, and the management of the park is
enthusiastic about using the information created by site users as a decision
support system to help guide conservation strategy within the park. An additional, and potentially powerful outcome
of the project will be inclusion of
the public and the resulting connection to the park and its wildlife. My hope is that, as I have experienced in
this month of observing and mapping the jungles of Costa Rica, the inclusion of
the public will create a foundation for a stewardship ethic, and will result in
an increased public support for conservation policies and actions. As such, this is a platform for civic cartography, where the public
cooperates to create a map that benefits society as a whole.
After visiting the main office at Carara National Park it
became apparent that the National Park system in Costa Rica is in dire need of
such support. With crumbling, overgrown
walkways, dilapidated buildings piled high with paperwork to be done, and electricity
and supplies being paid for by park staff themselves, the infrastructure and
funding to support the impressively large national system of conservation is in
direct contrast to the wealth of species in the park. The current economic crisis has lead the
government to consider cutting as many jobs as make up the entire staff of all
of the national parks in Costa Rica combined.
It is at a time like this when public support and participation will be
absolutely necessary for the survival of the national park system in Costa
Rica.
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