Eco-Benin visits Costa Rica (Day 2)

Max was already out of the room when I awoke at 6 am. It turns out his internal clock was still on Benin time and he ended up waking up at 3 am! I headed out to get some quick birding in but was quickly stopped by Maximin in the lobby when he told me Nadine our other participant from Benin was stuck in Paris. A large snow storm in Paris, and an airport crippling storm along the east coast led to a canceled flight to Newark. Her internet connection died apparently and we were left to wonder what might happen.

A windy morning in Santo Domingo de Heredia held back bird observations. The only thing fun to note was Tennessee Warbler and White-eared Ground Sparrow so we ate a nice long breakfast of croissants (as a shout out to the France - Benin connection), Gallo Pinto (the spotted rooster that wakes you up in Costa Rica), fruit (Papaya, Melon, and watermelon, but no pineapple. I still am protesting Pineapple) and Costa Rican coffee.

Our rent a car was late of course, so the rest of the day was pushed back a bit. We cruised over the mountains stopping to snap nice shots of the large untouched virgin forest of Braullio Carrillio National Park. We decided to stop at Quebrada Gonzalez the newest site to be added to the Costa Rican Bird Route for 2010. We were very glad we stopped. We had a chance to drop off some map and guides, but more importantly we were able to meet with Ivan a guide for the Guapiles guide association called AGUTI. It turns out that the latest developments at Quebrada Gonzalez were very similar to some of the developments in the Lama Forest in Benin (www.ecotourismelama.org). Max and Ivan hit it off very well and much was taken from this short meeting. I also talked Ivan into taking a short walk with us into the National Park. Quebrada Gonzalez never disappoints and in my book is a top 5 birding site in all of Costa Rica. We had a great mixed flock come through and had really nice looks at the very elusive Brownbilled Sythebill a type of Woodcreeper (google it!), the very large Spotted Woodcreeper, the Streak-crowned Antvireo, as well as Dusky faced Tanager and the really cool White-throated Shrike Tanager!

We were late to visit the Sarapiqui Conservation Learning so we had to quick leave the National Park. We ate lunch and were joined by Gerardo Vega the CECOS Director, Kattia Craddock the Tourism Coordinator and Kaity Fitzgerald the Volunteer Coordinator. After a tour and long conversations about all the programs Max came away with ideas as well as content feeling of so many similarities between the RBG / CECOS projects and his projects in Benin.

About 4 pm we received word the Nadine would be arriving at 4 pm on the 11th. A day late. Luckily we are not a dollar short and will bus her up to Maquenque Eco-lodge to meet us there. I am not sure if I will have internet connection in the next few days as Boca Tapada is pretty remote. Ill let you know the results of the days in the lowlands of northern CostaRica where the last Great Green Macaws nest in Costa Rica.

Tonight we visit Chilamate Jungle and share stories with the Davis and Meghan.

Eco-Benin visits Costa Rica (Feb. 9)

As part of our grant entitled " Supporting Conservation through Tourism Development in the Forest areas of Benin and Costa Rica" RBG is hosting a visit from Eco-Benin, our partner organization from Benin for this grant. The grant is provided by the Program for South-South Cooperation with funding from the Netherlands. The delegation from Benin consists of two people Maxim Djondo and Nadine Worou. I will be sharing our adventures as I guide them through a week long trip to Costa Rica and the Costa Rican Bird Route (www.costaricanbirdroute.com).

Today, Feb. 9 Maxim arrived after two long days for travel from Benin, via Paris and Mexico City. I was up early as well, and went and got some birding in at the Hotel Bougenvillea gardens where we were staying. Good birds for the morning included Blue-crowned Motmot, Ferruginous Pygmy Owl and Yellow-throated Vireo. After birding, breakfast and a battle with fax machine along side the very helpful recepcionistas I met Maxim. A very nice, joyful conservationist of 34 years. We briefly made introductions, spoke about advances with the project and went over the days itinerary. During lunch we asked eachother lots of questions as we were finally working in person together instead of over the internet. After two years of communicating over email it was nice to be able to speak face to face.

In the afternoon, we visited with the grants national mechanism Fundecooperacion and were able to organize plans for the remainder of our grant, further ask questions and get to know the players involved with this particular grant.

In the evening we got right to work at Hotel Bougenvillea. That was until Smallville (Max's show) and Lost (My show) came on. I was suprised to find Maxim was not only familiar with both but was a fan of both and knew all the characters. "Its a small world after all".

Tomorrow we head to Sarapiqui and meet with the Sarapiqui Conservation Learning Center, in my old stomping grounds of Chill-a-mate, and will be staying at Chilamate Jungle with Davis and Meghan.

To be continued..

Costa Rica Makes History

As reported by the BBC, Costa Rica made history Sunday, February 7th, with the election of its first female president, Laura Chinchilla, head of the National Liberation Party. Ms. Chinchilla, who won 47% of the vote, is committed to advancing open-market policies in the country. Also recently reported, a study by the New Economics Foundation, the Happy Planet Index, ranks Costa Rica in first place above all other nations as the most happy, making a connection between happiness and the health of the environment.

Costa Rica is a stable nation with a growing tourism industry and sound environmental policies, something that many people attribute to the nation's protection of their forests. As stated by the BBC, "more than half its territory is now covered in trees, compared to 20% in the 1980s." It is one of the only developing countries in the world rated so high in being happy and green when compared to other nations, and the two measures seem to be related. People profess to being more in-tune with the natural world, a characteristic integral for the active participation in environmental protecion.

Costa Rica was the first developing nation to commit to being carbon neutral by 2021, has implemented a carbon tax, and is currently getting 90% of its energy supply from renewable sources. Costa Rica is right on track for preserving their fragile environment. Yet there is room for improvement, since the government still allows open pit mining and the unfettered melon and pineapple growing by multinational corporations threatens the ecosystem through the use of many agrochemicals.

Hopefully the newly elected president will, in an effor to promote open-market operations, direct more attention to making the tourism industry in the area more eco-friendly as it promises to raise revenues while maintaining what seems to make Costa Ricans most happy, the health of the environment. One Costa Rican, Juan Francisco Montealegre, explains, "We don't have a sensation of death. Nothing is arid here, you can see life everywhere."

Referenced BBC reports:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8498456.stm


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8503425.stm


Photo by Alex Villegas

General Mills Responds to Rainforest Action Network Campaign

As reported yesterday, the environmental activist group Rainforest Action Network launched a campaign against the company General Mills for using palm oil, the production of which results in rainforest destruction, in many of their product lines.

General Mills was quick to respond and clarify that they only use a modest amount of palm oil and palm oil derivatives in their products, and that they have engaged their suppliers, which are all members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO); and will only purchase from suppliers who meet RSPO principles and criteria.

It is also reassuring that General Mills publicly supports a moratorium on palm oil expansion in tropical rainforests. Unfortunately, their palm oil supplier, Cargill, does not. In Cargill’s recently updated “Palm Oil Commitments”, Cargill commits to no expansion into high conservation value forests (HCVF) or peatlands and only expand on “degraded land”. As the largest importer of palm oil into the United States, Cargill should expand their commitment by supporting a moratorium on palm oil expansion in Southest Asia as other companies have already done. It is hoped that General Mills can convince Cargill to support a moratorium.

General Mills should not only meet RSPO principles and criteria, but exceed that criteria, and certainly should not continue to do business with a supplier such as Cargill, who is not strongly committed to stopping rainforest construction.

To learn more about socially and environmentally responsible palm oil, check out our reccommendations for market leaders and our model policy at www.theproblemwithpalmoil.org

General Mills Linked to Rainforest Destruction

Taken from mongabay.com:

1/19/2010 - The activist activist group Rainforest Action Network (RAN) linked General Mills to destruction of rainforests in Southeast Asia in dramatic fashion on Tuesday, when it unfurled a giant banner, reading "Warning: General Mills Destroys Rainforests", outside the company's Minneapolis headquarters building. The stunt was executed to highlight the role that palm oil consumption has in deforestation in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea. Expansion of oil palm plantations over the past twenty years has emerged as one of the biggest threats to the Southeast Asia's rainforests, which house such endangered species as the orangutan, the pygmy elephant of Borneo, and the Sumatran rhino. Palm oil production has also become a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, which result from deforestation, degradation and conversion of peatlands, and fires set for plantation establishment.

RAN says that at least a hundred General Mills products, including goods sold under Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Stovetop Hamburger Helper and Toaster Strudel brands, contain palm oil or palm oil derivatives. RAN is calling for General Mills to commit to buying only responsibly-sourced palm oil.

"General Mills could do a lot to transform the palm oil supply in the food industry and to protect rainforests, communities and the climate," said Madeline Gardner, Minneapolis-based activist, in a statement. "As an industry leader and a trusted brand, General Mills could have a huge impact in changing the food industry for good."

Unilever, the world's largest corporate buyer of palm oil, has already committed to using only palm oil produced in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. Last month the company severed ties with Sinar Mas after an investigation showed that the palm oil producer was clearing rainforests and draining peatlands. In its campaign, dubbed The Problem with Palm Oil, RAN argues that General Mills and other companies face a risk of consumer backlash if they continues current sourcing policies. "Palm oil is a leading cause of rainforest destruction in places like Indonesia," said Ashley Schaeffer of Rainforest Action Network. "As long as General Mills is using irresponsibly sourced palm oil, their customers will have to worry that they are contributing money to rainforest destruction."

A quote to inspire for 2010

"If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them something more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it."

– President Lyndon B. Johnson, on the signing of the Wilderness Act of 1964

Update on the Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act

Back in October we reported that the House Natural Resources Committee was about to consider HR 2213, a bill sponsored by Ron Kind (D-WI) that would more than triple funding for the Neotropical Migratory Bird Act.

In response to the call of thousands of Audubon activists, the Senate has acted on this $20 million package for bird conservation and the House Natural Resources Committee passed a similar bill with a $15 million funding level. It is expected to get to the President's desk in the next session of Congress. Final passage will be good news for the more than 125 neotropical species in decline from habitat loss and other threats.

So stay tuned!