Deforestation
During the past 40 years, more than two-thirds of Costa Rica's original
forests have been destroyed, cut at a rate of between 362 sq km (140 sq
mi)
and 765 sq km (295 sq mi) per year. Forests have traditionally been
considered
unproductive land, and their destruction was for a long time synonymous
with
development. During the 1970s and 1980s, international and domestic
development
policies fueled the destruction of large tracts of wilderness.
Fortunately,
Costa Rican conservationists became alarmed by that deforestation, and
in
the 1970s they began creating what has since grown to become the
region's
best national parks system.
 Thanks to
public and private efforts, and
Costa Rica’s
laws restricting
cutting down trees, the rate of destruction has dropped significantly.
However
poaching and illegal logging continue to be serious problems that, if
left
uncorrected, will eventually wipe out many important species and wild
areas.
Deforestation not only spells disaster for the jaguar and the eagle,
but
it can also have grave consequences for human beings.
Forests absorb the rains and release water slowly, playing an important
role in regulating the flow of rivers, which is why severely deforested
regions often suffer floods during the rainy season and drought during
the dry months. A forest's tree cover also prevents topsoil erosion,
thus keeping the land fertile and productive, and in many parts of the
country, erosion has left once-productive farmland almost worthless.
The loss of the forest also disrupts the carbon cycle. Living trees
take up the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and with other processes
create the carbohydrates, fats, and proteins which we need to live.
When the trees are burned or when they rot, they release the carbon as
CO2. Since so many trees are being cut down, there is a great deal of
carbon released into the air, which causes an increase in the
atmospheric CO2 concentration and global warming.
Finally, hidden within the country's flora and fauna are countless
understudied substances that could eventually be extracted to cure
diseases and serve humankind.
The destruction of Costa Rica's forests is a loss for the entire world.
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