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Apr
14
New Court to Bring Speedy Justice to Caribbean Coast
April 14, 2010 | Tags: Crime & Punishment | 2 Comments
 Limon Circuit Court building. Photo courtesy La Nación |
The supreme court on Monday approved the creation of a “Tribunal de Flagrancia” for Limon Province and the new court will start operating on April 15.
The court will deal with offenders who are caught in the act or near where a crime has been committed with evidence that they were involved. They will be immediately processed and sentenced, often the same day, avoiding the long delays that had plagued the system. This also means that tourists who are victims of crimes will be able to testify while they are still on their trip. The court will operate out of the Limon Circuit Court building from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Friday.
Similar courts are already operating in Puntarenas, Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago provinces.
The initiative is part of an anti-crime push in Limon Province which has seen some early successes in falling crime rates.
More: La Nación: Tribunal de Flagrancia comenzará el 15 de abril en Limón
Apr
7
Caribbean Coast Attracting a New Kind of Traveler
April 7, 2010 | Tags: Site news, Tourism | 6 Comments
While the recession took it’s toll, the Caribbean Coast continues to be a bright spot in Costa Rica’s tourism industry with visitor interest growing.
A feature article in Sunday’s New York Times travel section has many locals and business owners talking optimistically about the future.
This article and others from publications which generally focus on higher end travelers such as Travel+Leisure Magazine, Condé Nast Traveler or USA Today also make official what we’ve all been seeing for some time now: Puerto Viejo isn’t just for backpackers and surfers anymore!
The number of visitors to the Puerto Viejo Satellite and Talamanca News sites also indicates a strong interest. There were more than 20,000 visitors to the sites each month for the first three months of 2010! Page views were 43,800 per month in this period (see the full traffic graph here).
Mar
15
Project Green Jungle: Achieving Conservation through Responsible Commercialisation
March 15, 2010 | Tags: Community Calendar, Environment, Helping Out | Comments Off
| April 17, 2010 |
Has anyone ever sidled up to you, eyes darting furtively left and right and offered you a baby frog, iguana, parrot, or snake for a ‘very cheap price’ ?
Illegal trade in wildlife is rampant in many corners of the world – and we’re not talking about just off the beaten track here. In countries where there is extensive wildlife and low wages the temptation to resist can be too great for the seller. If you can barely make enough to feed your family you are exactly what illegal exporters are looking for.
It works like this: these exporters turn to local indigenous and low income families to obtain wild animals/reptiles for a few dollars, organise the smuggling for a few dollars more and then sell the remaining creatures that survive the inappropriate transport for a handsome profit. And the end result? ‘Silent Forest Syndrome’, communities bent on capturing wildlife to eke out an inadequate wage and exporters banking the proceeds.
If we can assume that the industry in wildlife will always exist, due to demand coupled with global wealth inequalities, how can the damage to the environmental wildlife populations be contained?
Enter John Brickel and Tom Snyder, founders of Project Green Jungle, a non-profit conservation organisation intent on changing the current picture. With zoological backgrounds and extensive experience these two environmentalists share a passion for conservation through education and responsible commercialisation.
Wildlife and commerce is a connection most of us don’t feel comfortable with. It smacks of caged animals, lack of natural habitat, neglect, cruelty even … after all it’s just plain unnatural isn’t it?
But what if controlled breeding programmes of certain amphibians and reptiles:
• Increases numbers of certain species by reintroduction programmes.
• Benefits indigenous communities financially through capacity building programmes.
• Preserves more natural habitat for wildlife that would otherwise be ruined through traditional agriculture.
• Educates children, locals and tourists on conservation methods.
• Promotes cross cultural communication in pursuit of a common goal.
Then the picture begins to look significantly different.
The advantages of a captive breeding programme of this type are significant and far reaching.
If, for instance, an indigenous community is taught how to breed a certain snake such as the dwarf boa (Ungaliophis panamensis), just one of these snakes will net the community around a years worth of wages when legally sold to a zoo. This means that the community does not need to clear rainforest or jungle to make a meagre living from bananas or maize. Obviously it also makes poaching and the illegal trade of wildlife redundant in that area.
In a captive breeding programme reptiles/amphibians are healthier, transport is less stressful, control is exercised on who they are sold to and not unimportant, price is regulated. The initial investment is minimal, the profit made goes to the local community breeders and up to half of those bred in captivity will be released into the wild.
The educational and cross cultural communication aspects of such a programme are just as significant and may even help determine the future of a large area. If schoolchildren, tourists and locals living in this area become interested and/or involved, the opportunities to exchange knowledge on conservation methods and much more between differing cultural groups are legion. By learning from each other about each other we remove a barrier of ignorance and assumption that will have an important impact on our lives.
Project Green Jungle hopes to achieve all of the above and more! As a non-profit organisation they are concerned with integrating various factors to achieve a goal that is long term and pervasive. And that goal is ultimately a symbiotic relationship between humans, wildlife and the environment.
As Tom put it, “Puerto Viejo and its surrounds is an area dependent on its natural environment and its environment is dependent on degrees of conservation.”
Project Green Jungle believes that this area is “ripe for traditional progress” so that by promoting ecological, social and cultural conservation and preservation the community will create a balance between it and the environment.
To that end, Project Green Jungle are busy on a number of fronts. Whilst interviewing John and Tom it became clear that this is not a quick ‘flash in the pan project’, but a way of life.
But it could be said that this project does not belong to just John and Tom, the committed and dedicated founders, but to all of us: those who visit this area and those who live in this area, whether indigenous, foreigners or locals. As John said, “ the social aspect of this project is as significant as the conservation aspect, as one is dependant on the other. We are all involved in the development that happens here just because we are here.”
To leave a ‘positive footprint’ means getting involved. During Earth Days from April 5th to April 22nd, various activities will take place in Puerto Viejo, ‘from the Reef to the Beach to the Jungle’ to elevate environmental consciousness and have fun while you’re doing that!
There will be:
• Tours to watch a bio survey in progress.
• Tours to Kachabri to meet the people involved and share in some traditional celebrations.
• Kayak tours to Sixaola.
And on Saturday April 17th 2010 there will be a community day where there will be:
• A Beach Clean-up by our younger members followed by a party especially for them and awarding of prizes to the ‘most effective rubbish collectors’!
• Talks by local experts on various environmental aspects of this area.
• An Earth Day party for adults including live bands, food and a raffle with seriously good prizes.
Green Jungle is a project of a non-profit-making zoological organisation and their efforts will benefit us all. So spread the word and be part of Earth Day in April. Donate, Volunteer or simply Attend and do your bit for our community!
If you would like to make a donation or to offer a prize for the raffle, do contact John or Tom through their website www.greenjungle.org.
 Article by Zoë Courtier. Zoë along with her husband Tom Keller are the proprietors of Geckoes Rainforest River Lodge. Two luxurious holiday houses with private plunge pools in a magnificent rainforest and river setting minutes from Playa Cocles. More information at www.geckoeslodge.com |
 Photos by David Langs, founder/editor of www.packcamera.com and www.greenphototours.com. |
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