Food, Fuel, and Biodiversity

Unsustainable practices in agricultural, cattle and pig farming management are present towards the northern area surrounding the Ario watershed. The aqueduct which will soon supply water to the coastal towns will feed from the Ario aquifer. Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper promotes and carries out case-specific mitigation and restoration strategies to protect water quality of the streams flowing into the sea. Based on the information generated by their Water Quality Monitoring Program, Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper is able to identify the origins and types of pollution and design strategies with relevant stakeholders to find sustainable solutions and advocate for changes resulting in better water quality of their coastal waters. The Waterkeeper’s mitigation strategies will use low cost, easy-to-implement technologies including: biogardens to treat grey waters; erosion control using vetiver; bioswales to remove silt and pollution from surface runoff water; biodigestors which decompose organic matter, waste from grease traps from the food industry sector for example, to produce bio gas which can be used as energy source; and compost toilets which treat excreta,

with no or small volumes of flush water, via composting or managed aerobic decomposition. Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper wants to show the community that environmentally respectful practices exist and are available for everyone to implement. They promote behavior changes that benefit present and future generations and all the beautiful invaluable natural resources that surround them.

Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper is a non-government organization, whose mission is to monitor, protect and restore water quality in the coastal watersheds and marine ecosystems between the Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve and the Caletas-Ario National Wildlife Refuge through research, field work, education and advocacy.

People often perceive agricultural development and wilderness conservation as irreconcilable opposites...

But many studies suggest agricultural lands may provide adequate habitat or foraging area for some species, without infringing on agricultural production or goals. Immediately outside of the Palo Verde National Park in Bagaces, Costa Rica, the government of that country has enabled extensive rice cultivation by providing water from the dammed Lake Arenal for irrigation and by distributing land to the small-scale farmers who make up the Bagatzi Cooperative. Since its inception in 1983, the Bagatzi Co-operative, a government-organized agricultural community for the rural poor, has principally grown rice, which can serve as an alternate habitat for wading birds and even some endangered species, such as the jabiru stork, allowing avian marsh species to exploit a wider territory. This ability to use agricultural areas for foraging helps avian species make up for the loss of some marsh habitats through changing land management and seasonal variation in water levels. 262 avian species use Palo Verde either year-round or seasonally. The National Park is an important habitat for many waterbirds as well, with 94 species that prefer aquatic habitats. Past studies suggest that many of these species also exploit the farmlands surrounding Palo Verde, including the great egret (Casmerodius albus) and the roseate spoonbill (Ajaia ajaja). Additionally, migratory species, such as the blue-winged teal (Anas discors), winter in the Palo Verde wetlands and attract outside interest and investment to the park.6 The diversity of birds and ease in viewing them at Palo Verde has made the park a major attraction for ecotourists, particularly birdwatchers. The 19,800 hectare park contains one of the few remaining patches of tropical dry forest in Central America as well as the critically important marshland, which has put the park on the Ramsar List of Wetlands of International Importance and made the park of vital interest to researchers. Palo Verde serves local and global interests by offering employment opportunities to local residents and attracting investment to the area, in addition to protecting a rare and delicate ecosystem.

Lauren Aileen Sauls studied Tropical Biology at Duke University. She studied abroad and worked with local ornithologists and ecologists to gather research on how human development in the Guanacaste region is affecting endangered bird species.

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art & design

Afterglobe was designed, printed, and assembled by Nicole Wasson Art & Design.