In August 2020, in the middle of lockdown, Costa Rica announced its 30th national park. The former prison island of San Lucas, off Puntarenas on the Pacific coast, is a haven for howler monkeys, bats, spiders, snakes, deer, pheasants, hammerhead sharks, manta rays, and sea turtles, and now will be one as well for hikers and history buffs eager to learn about the Alcatraz of Central America.
This news was a powerful reminder that the planet remains a chief priority, above and beyond the pandemic, and of the country s single-minded commitment to protect its natural environmentsâfor its own sake and to mitigate against climate change. Ecotourism has played a lead role in this, helping fund the preservation of the ethereal cloud forests of Monteverde and the remote jungles of the Osa Peninsula as well as popular destinations like the Tortuguero and Manuel Antonio national parks. And while countries around the world have taken an approach to tourism similar to that of Costa Rica, pe