National parks in Costa Rica

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The national parks in Costa Rica provide protection and relaxation areas for the threatened flora and fauna and thus serve directly to protect the environment. Some animal species can only be observed there. Because many of them migrate in the course of the climatic change between dry and rainy seasons , the neighboring parks are vital for these animals.

Protected areas

A total of 25.6 percent of the area of Costa Rica is under general conservation. These areas are grouped into protected zones or protected areas (Area de Conservación), for whose administration a national park administration (Servicio de Parques Nacionales) was formed in the early 1970s. This resulted in the SINAC (Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación) in 1994 as the responsible authority for the protected areas.

In the protected areas there are protected areas that are categorized differently:

  • National park (Parque Nacional): protection and conservation of animal and plant species that are of "national and international interest", limited use by humans for tourist or scientific purposes (2008: 26 national parks)
  • Biological reserve (Reserva Biológica): protection of ecosystems with special flora and fauna, human use for scientific or educational purposes (2008: 8 biological reserves)
  • Nature reserve (Reserva Natural Absoluta): Protection of the habitat of plants and animals (2008: Cabo Blanco is the only nature reserve, founded in 1963)
  • National Monument (Monumento Nacional): historically or archaeologically significant sites (2008: only National Monument excavations of Guayabo )
  • National nature reserve (Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre): Protection of certain animal species, represent a preliminary stage to the biological reserves and national parks, these are not managed by the SINAC, but by the Dirección General de Vida Silvestre.

The designated protected areas are (sometimes subdivisions or different assignments are made):

Protected area National parks
La Amistad Barbilla, Cahuita, Chirripó, Tapantí, Parque Internacional La Amistad (general nature reserve)
Tortuguero Tortuguero
Central Cordilleras Braulio Carrillo, Juan Castro Blanco, Irazú Volcano, Poas Volcano, Turrialba Volcano
Arenal Arenal Volcano, Tenorio Volcano
Guanacaste Santa Rosa, Guanacaste, Rincon de la Vieja
Tempisque Barra Honda, Las Baulas, Diriá, Palo Verde
Central Pacific Coast La Cangreja, Carara, Manuel Antonio
Osa Ballena, Corcovado, Piedras Blancas
Isla del Coco Isla del Coco

In addition to the state-administered protected areas, there are other private initiatives for the protection of animals and plants. One project with Austrian participation is the Austrian Rainforest .

National parks

About half of the area of ​​the protected areas (over eleven percent of the area of ​​Costa Rica) is taken up by the national parks.

Surname established Size
(hectares) 		Remarks
Ballena 1990 4,500 National Marine Park
Barbilla 1982 11,900 very humid tropical forest
Barra Honda 1974 2,300 42 karst caves
Las Baulas de Guanacaste 1991 450 Marine National Park, another 22,000 hectares are protected in the sea
Braulio Carrillo 1978 45,000 very dense vegetation
Cahuita 1970 1,000 Tropical rainforest , mangroves , strawberry frogs
La Cangreja 2004 2,240 endemic plant species, tropical transitional forest
Carara 1978 4,700 American crocodiles in the adjacent Río Tárcoles, scarlet macaw
Chirripó 1975 50,000 Cerro Chirripó highest mountain in Costa Rica (3,820 meters)
Corcovado 1975 55,000 500 tree species, including trees 50 meters high
Diriá 1991 5,428 over 100 species of birds, around 20 species of bats
Guanacaste 1989 36,000 Research stations Maritza, Pitilla and Cacao for animal observation
Isla del Coco 1978 5,200 is on the UNESCO World Heritage List
Juan Castro Blanco 1992 14,258 four different forest zones, the most important drinking water reservoir
Manuel Antonio 1972 683 very good animal viewing opportunities
Palo Verde 1980 17,000 Bird sanctuary for around 300 species (estimated population 200,000 birds)
Piedras Blancas 1992 14,000 140 species of mammals, 350 species of birds, over 100 species of amphibians
Rincon de la Vieja 1973 14,084 Geysers and sulfur springs, orchid species Cattleya Skinneria (national flower of Costa Rica)
Santa Rosa 1971 50,000 Nesting of sea turtles from around the world eight species lay their eggs in Costa Rica six from
Tapantí 1992 5,100 primary rainforest
Tortuguero 1975 26,000 Sea turtles lay their eggs (four species)
Arenal Volcano ( Arenal ) 1994 4,000 hardly any vegetation, protection of primary forest remains
Irazú Volcano ( Irazú ) 1955 2,000 Irazú highest active volcano in Costa Rica (3,432 meters)
Poas Volcano ( Poas ) 1971 5,600 Cloud forest , mosses , epiphytes , lichens
Tenorio Volcano ( Tenorio ) 1995 18,400 evergreen cloud and rainforests
Turrialba volcano ( Turrialba ) 1955 1,600 Possible to descend into the main crater
La Amistad National Park
(general nature reserve)		 192,000 in Panama another 440,000 hectares belong to this park

Remarks:

  • The information on the establishment varies, with either the year of the appointment as a national park or the establishment of a forerunner (biological reserve or similar).
  • The information on the size fluctuates because in some cases neighboring areas are included.

Others

Manuel Antonio National Park was listed by Forbes in 2011 as one of the 12 most beautiful national parks in the world.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.botschaft-costa-rica.de/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=73%3Aareas-protegidas&catid=37%3Aambiente&lang=de
  2. ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/janelevere/2011/08/29/the-worlds-most-beautiful-national-parks/

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