Contaminated rivers are not something unusual anywhere in the world, every country has their own contaminated rivers, which is sad, but true; Costa Rica being a “green country” is no exception. According to the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) the Tarcoles River in Costa Rica is the most contaminated river in Central America, it receives the equivalent of 100 Olympic pools of contamin...

Costa Rica is a famous destination for birdwatching, but it is also a place where you can get see over 1,500 different species of butterflies and 12,000 species of moths, here you can actually find 90% of all the different species existent in Central America, and about a 16% of the varieties existent in the world. One of the most famous butterflies that you can spot in Costa Rica include the Mo...

Photo Credit: Cusuko fotografía and Iván Meza Photography, members of Volcanes Sin Fronteras-VSF. Volcanes sin Fronteras (Volcanoes without Borders) a non-governmental organization in Costa Rica dedicated to the study of volcanoes shared impressive images of the Turrialba Volcano in Costa Rica and its constant activity. The video and the corresponding report regarding the findings by the vul...

Scuba diver instructor and photographer of Ecotourism agency Marea Alta based in Playas del Coco, Rolbin Garcia, had always heard of the existence of the giant albino manta ray (Manta birostris), the largest type of ray in the world, in the waters of the North Pacific, but had never had a chance to see it until last January 12. On that day while he was working at sea he had the great luck of ...

Costa Rican authorities continue to battle the illegal traffic of wild animals; today, a US tourist tried to enter the country through the Panama Frontier Migratory Control Station with a baby howler monkey on each shoulder. The women of last name Frame had no documentation or permit to justify having the two animals with her. The authorities seized the animals and coordinated with the Ministry...

During the last two weeks authorities from the Conservation Area Arenal-Tempisque (ACAT) part of the National System of Areas of Conservation (SINAC-MINAE) has seize a large amount of illegal wood and machinery and equipment used for logging. The operations to control the illegal logging will continue in the sector of Abangares, during the end and beginning of the year. All cases reported hav...

Guanacaste Wildlife Protected Areas During the holidays the number of visitors to the Guanacaste Wildlife Protected Areas increases and therefore the Guancaste Conservation Area (ACG) establishes a special attention schedule for tourists to be able to experience the different areas. The following schedules will be in place through Sunday, January 7, 2018: Santa Rosa Sector: The Santa Ro...

A group of tourists and their guide, Costa Rican Angelo Benlis from Tortuga Lodge, had the amazing chance to see a manatee in the waters of the Tortugero National Park in the Costa Rican Northeastern Caribbean. Costa Rica is home to the West Indian Manatees, and the largest population of them is found in Tortuguero, they are rarely seen though, this is an endangered species, and the population...

Renown US magazine The Atlantic published an article including 40 photographs of volcanoes around the world that had activity during this 2017. The article titled “2017 The Year In Volcanic Activity” includes impressive photos of erupting volcanoes around the world, including the Shiveluch Volcano on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula; Mount Sinabung in North Sumatra, Indonesia; in America three volc...

Costa Rica made the top 20 in the first edition of the Index of Environmental and Social Development - Laudato Si. Pope Francis’ encyclical “Laudato Si” was used to create a tool to measure and rank countries’ efforts in human and environmental development. The investigation analyzed 127 countries, it was carried out by the Universidad Catolica in alliance with Viva Trus, Incae Business Scho...

Two hunters were arrested this Monday as suspects of killing several tapirs (Tapirus bairdii), an infringement to the Law of Conservation of Wildlife. After a detailed investigation that began in September this year, the two men, one 23 years-old of last names Valverde Esquivel and the other 43 years of age and of last names Valverde Ureña, were detained in their homes located in the areas of E...

The investigation of non-governmental organization World Animal Protection entitled “A close-up to Cruelty: The negative Impact of Selfies with Wild Animals”, positions Costa Rica as the seventh country in the world where more selfies are taken with wild animals. The practice of taking selfies with wild animals is considered in many occasions animal cruelty. The investigation carried out regist...

Blue Planet II is a documentary series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit, presented and narrated by David Attenborough which explores de planet’s oceans; the filming of the documentary series was done over the course of four years and involved 125 expeditions across 39 countries, one of these was Costa Rica. Costa Rican photographer Sergio Pucci was the person in charge of filming the wo...

A four-foot-long Boa constrictor snake encircled itself atop a man’s fishing pole while trying his luck at Bejuco Beach about 10 miles south of Jaco late Tuesday night. Retired U.S. Army veteran Mike Hughes had left his baited fishing pole in its holder on the beach for about 10-mintes and returned to find the snake tightly curled around the end of his fishing pole. “I have never seen anything lik...

A series of photographs that show the richness of Costa Rica’s biodiversity, particularly that of the Pacuare Nature Reserve is being showcased at the Royal Botanic Garden in Madrid, Spain. The exhibit organized by the Royal Botanic Garden (RJB-CSIC) showcases a collection of photographs taken by the students of the Official Program of Masters and Doctorate in Biodiversity in Tropical Areas an...

The Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) certified the Zoo Ave Animal Rescue Center and Las Pumas Rescue center for their high standards in animal wellness and conservation of wildlife. The accreditation was decided after a long process of evaluation and the recognition was given during a ceremony with the participation of the Ministry of Environment and the organization Human Socie...

During this 2017 Costa Rica made important investments for the conservation and protection of the Natural Heritage. The country registered 10,000 hectares of land in the Turrialba Volcano, Tenorio Volcano and Irazú Volcano National Parks as well as in the Juan Castro Blanco National Parl, the National Wildlife Refuge Iguanita and the Nicolas Wessberg Absolute Natural Refuge; this involved an in...

Florida Ice & Farm Costa Rica (FIFCO) has reached its goal of becoming the first mass consumption company in Costa Rica to be certified as carbon positive. Being carbon positive means that their actions for reduction and compensation where higher than the emissions of CO2 generated by their operations. This achievement applies to the four manufacturing plants brewery, (Pepsi, Cristal bott...

Mission Shark is a non-profit Costa Rican organization that promotes the investigation and conservation of sharks and other marine species. For the sixth consecutive year, Mission Shark is calling those scuba divers that want to participate in the annual count of sharks and rays with the intention of extending their data base. The event will be held two different dates, this Saturday, December...

The battle in favor and against shrimp trawling continues in Costa Rica, the Constitutional Chamber (Sala Cuarta or Sala Constitucional) brought the intentions of the Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture (INCOPESCA) of issuing new trawling permits to a halt. By accepting a constitutional appeal (recurso de amparo) presented by environmental attorney Alvaro Sagot against the government agreeme...

The beautiful scarlet macaw (Ara Macao) is one of the most beautiful birds that exist, their scarlet, yellow and blue colors them hard to go unnoticed, in Costa Rica they are easily spotted specially in the Pacific coast, however, this wasn’t always the case, back in the 90’s this was an endangered species. During that decade the number of scarlet macaws in the country dropped to under 200, i...

As it is known, wetlands are a very important part of our environment, their impact in our daily lives involve reducing the impacts of floods, helping deal with pollution, improving water quality, among many other things. Costa Rica has 12 wetlands that are considered Ramsar sites, which means, wetlands considered of international importance for conservation due to their ecological and biological...

The Playa Hermosa – Punta Mala National Wildlife Refuge is part of the Central Pacific Conservation Area, located in the county of Garabito in Puntarenas 5km from Jaco beach town. The local park rangers have reported an increase in the number of cases of sea turtles and crocodiles found trapped, the majority dead, in fishing nets in the waters or shore of the protected area. “I have found 3...

As The Costa Rica Star reported a few days ago, controversy has raised after the Board of Directors of the Costa Rican Fisheries and Aquaculture Institute (Incopesca) is granting new trawling permits, a practice that is prohibited by law in Costa Rica since 2013 due to the environmental damages it causes; Incopesca argues that these new licenses would be granted considering 25 regulatory improveme...

The Costa Rican Constitutional Court (Sala Constitucional or Sala IV) sentenced the country’s authorities for the supposed abandonment of the National Parks. The sentence, dictated back in September 22 grants the Government a term of 5 years to take the necessary actions to resolve problems such as: the traffic of live animals, the contamination of the rivers, the lack of or damaged basis servi...

A new species of mammal was found in Costa Rica, the discovery of the “bush dog” in Costa Rican territory (Carnivora: Canidae) was confirmed by the Neotropical Biology and Conservation website. The species was first spotted through camera-traps located in the protected zone of Las Tablas in Coto Brus, Puntarenas in May of 2016, however, it was not until September that it was confirmed followi...

AyA says that aquifers that provide water to these communities are below the historical level. Daniela Abarca / CRH. The Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) stopped a project of the Costa Rican Institute of Aqueducts and Sewers (AyA), with which it was intended to solve the lack of water that has the coastal area of ​​El Coco - Ocotal and Playa Hermosa, in Guanacaste. The comptroller den...

Coffee produced in Costa Rica could soon be commercialized as the first coffee in the world to have the Carbon Neutral certification, this, thanks to a plan that should increase the production and quality of the coffee bean, while reducing the carbon emissions in its process. The Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Environment and the Inter-American Development Bank are the institutions ...

In 2013 Costa Rica’s Sala Cuarta or Sala Constitucional (Constitutional Hall) made clear its position (and the country’s position), by forbidding the renovation or emission of new trawling permits due to the environmental damages this practice causes, the sentence also established that the only way they could reconsider allowing this practice would be if enough changes were met to make it a sust...

The Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, Guanacaste, Costa Rica, became as of Friday the first air terminal in Central America to be certified as carbon-neutral. In order to earn the certification the Airport had to first quantify the greenhouse gases that were being generated and then had to elaborate a plan to reduce this number considerably and also recover refrigerant gases. T...

Costa Rica already reached 300 days this year producing its energy from renewable sources, according to data by the National Energy Control Center. 99.62% of the national electricity production comes from its five clean energy sources, water, wind, sun, geothermal and biomass, with the hydroelectric energy making up the bulk of energy production, 78.26%; wind 10.29%; geothermal 10.23%, and 0.84...

Costa Rica has 5 active volcanoes, 1290 kilometers of coastlines, and 51.000 square kilometers of land, and Costa Rica’s National University, (UNA) in conjunction with the University of Costa Rica (UCR) have developed several observatories to help nationals and tourists safely enjoy the abundance of natural resources available here. In 1984, the UNA created the Volcanological and Seismological ...

In the northern region of Guanacaste, forested lands increased from 51 percent in 2005 to 60 percent in 2015, transforming the landscape that in the 1970s was nominated by livestock ranches, and now encourages eco-tourism, according to information released by the 2017 "Estado de la Nación," or State of the Nation report in Costa Rica. Today an estimated 75.5 percent of Costa Rica's territory is...

Tourist businesses affiliated with the Chamber of Tourism of Osa (CATUOSA) last week signed a pledge to eliminate the use of plastic containers, bags and other plastic disposable items in shops, bars and restaurants in the Osa Peninsula region in southern Costa Rica. Companies plan to substitute single-use plastics and styrofoam packages like utensils, cups, plates, straws and bags for biodegra...

This video taken by Esteban Saborío at the Herradura beach Marriott Los Sueños Resort, adjacent to Jacó on Costa Rica's central Pacific coast shows the strong impact of this evening's 6.9 magnitude earthquake. The earthquake was felt virtually throughout the entire country.  ...

The Costa Rican Constitutional Court, the country's highest chamber, ruled in support of restrictions on water permits for developments in some hilly areas of Heredia, a province adjacent to the San José metropolitan area, said the judiciary press office this week. The high court rejected an appeal filed by a citizen by the last name of Rodríguez against the Public Services Company of Heredia (...

The Costa Rican government and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines are joining to combat carbon dioxide emissions, said the KLM press office. KLM is the only European airline operating intercontinental flights using biofuel. Over the coming months, the business will collaborate with the Costa Rican government in a first ever such alliance for the company to research the possibilities of flying betw...

If you've ever felt out of your element upon boarding an airplane, imagine how these marine creatures must have felt. A Costa Rican man arrived at the Juan Santamaría International Airport outside of San José, Costa Rica Saturday, November 4 with a dozen or so hermit crabs stashed into two Tupperware containers with holes poked in the top. A failed school science project? Who knows ... Costa...

The marine research yacht, the Shark Water, will dock in the Pacific port of Puntarenas, Costa Rica at the tourist pier Thursday, November 9, 2017 at 10 a.m., and will be open to the public for viewing. The 40-meter yacht was refitted to facilitate biological research of highly migratory sharks and other marine fauna in the Eastern Pacific, and is owned by the Colorado, United States-based ...

The eagle logo on Costa Rica's national beer, Imperial, is now taking on new meaning, as the company sends out volunteers, called "Aguilas al Rescate" or "Eagles to the Rescue," on different community improvement projects. The company's first initiative is being carried out in conjunction with the Costas Verdes foundation, and involves planting native trees along the central Pacific coast of Co...