Eco Tourism or Eco Disney?
by Carol Cespedes

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The term "ecotourism" was invented just a few years ago, but it has already been appropriated by numerous hotels and tourist attractions that have absolutely nothing to do with protecting the environment. Nowhere is this more true than in Costa Rica, a country that has become a popular international tourist destination through its early identification with the ecotourism movement. While Costa Rica remains a leader in environmentalism, such crass exploitation of the ecotourism label occurs that we have heard European visitors refer to Costa Rica as "Eco Disney."

Just a week ago I fell into conversation with a woman who arranges tours for a large nonprofit organization. She told me that she was thoroughly disappointed with her experience in Costa Rica. Like so many recent travelers, she had taken advantage of irresistible package prices promoted for the Playa Tambor resort on the Pacific Coast, all unaware of the sordid history behind the construction of this posh, all- inclusive resort, and of the splendid range of alternatives that might have been available to her group if she had looked for small, owner-operated properties. That of course should be the first rule of the ecotraveler: keep the impact down by keeping facilities small.

There are many nature lodges in Costa Rica well deserving of the ecotourism label. The number is growing as privately managed biological reserves become successful alternatives to overstressed national parks. In the excellent guide book The New to Key Costa Rica, Anne Becher has designated lodgings that meet the highest ecotourism standards. Here are some of my personal favorites:

• Rara Avis: A lodge so deep in the rain forest that it can only be reached by a half-day tractor ride, Amos Bien's Rara Avis offers better beds and more hot water than many first class city hotels. And what hotel could compete with the birds, the rain forest, and the thundering waterfalls? Rara Avis' greatest achievement has been its role in persuading many visitors to help expand the protected area by contributing to the purchase of more forest land.

• Marenco: Marenco protects 300 hectares of primary forest on the northern border of Corcovado National Park, offering its own system of private rain forest trails as well as regularly scheduled tours to Corcovado and the nearby Isla del Cano. Marenco is owned by the Mirandas, a Costa Rican family that pioneered the idea of the private biological reserve combining tourism, education, and research. Groups of Costa Rican high school students are invited to Marenco for their first glimpse of the true rain forest.

• Tiskita: On the mainland just south of the tip of the Osa, Tiskita Lodge combines ecotourism with experimental fruit farming. Peter Aspinall has reforested with fruit trees from all over the world, a practice appreciated as much by the birds and monkeys as by the guests. Tiskita contributes a portion of its profits to the support of local schools.

• Albergue Savegre: A family farm in the high Talamanca Mountains south of San Jose has become a center of research on the resplendent quetzal, bird of the cloud forests. The Chacon family's success in helping the quetzals by nurturing the small wild avocados that provide food to the species has led other landowners to follow suit. Thanks to them, the quetzal population of the Savegre Valley is even more abundant than in the famous Monteverde.

• Cabinas Chimuri: Near the Caribbean beach community of Puerto Viejo, Mauricio Salazar offers simple thatch huts where visitors experience the lifestyle of the Bribri and Cabecar Indian tribes. Mauricio also offers carefully managed hiking trips to learn the forest lore and visit Indian homes deep in the reserve.

1. Environment:. This includes both minimizing the impact of their own facilities and taking a proactive role in protecting the surrounding natural environment.

2. Community: They are all responsible members of their local communities, providing opportunities for employment and advancement, serving as a model for other projects in their neighborhood, and contributing to local organizations.

3. Education: They all offer a quality educational experience. At its best this goes beyond showing their visitors a few birds and trees, but asks them to become part of the on-going cause of preserving the environment. That is what ecotourism is all about.

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