Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-rkxrd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-17T02:03:05.813Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

State Policies and the Preservation of Forest Cover: Lessons from Contrasting Public-Policy Regimes in Costa Rica

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 October 2022

Charles D. Brockett  and
Robert R. Gottfried
Charles D. Brockett
Affiliation:
University of the South
Robert R. Gottfried
Affiliation:
University of the South
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

This study evaluates the impact of state policies on forest cover in Costa Rica, focusing on the influence of public policies on private incentives for preserving forest cover. Three periods are analyzed: the “laissez-faire period” when high rates of deforestation were largely unrestrained; the “interventionist period” when state policies created protection for some wildlands, especially with the creation of parks and reserves, but when many regulatory policies produced mixed results at best; and the current “hybrid period” featuring major policy changes and mixing market-oriented and interventionist approaches but not always in a coherent design. Despite significant successes, current policies appear unlikely to provide sufficient incentive to maintain the desired amount of forest cover unless the international community compensates Costa Ricans for the benefits that their forests provide the world.

Type
Research Article
Information
Latin American Research Review , Volume 37 , Issue 1 , 2002 , pp. 7 - 40
Copyright
Copyright © 2002 by the University of Texas Press

Footnotes

*

This study is based on annual field trips throughout the 1990s and on Robert Gottfried's participation in the Universidad Nacional's study of Costa Rican forest policy for the Consejo Centroamericano de Bosques y Areas Protegidas, from August 1995 through May 1996. We acknowledge the following for their assistance in arranging site visits and interviews and for sharing their insights: Mel Baker, Asociación Talamanqueña de Ecoturismo y Conservación (ATEC); Enrique Barrau, former natural resource officer with USAID/Costa Rica; Dr. José Joaquín Campos, former director of Bosques de la Península de Osa (BOSCOSA), now with the Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigaciones y Enseñanza (CATIE); Guiselle Méndez of the Area de Conservación Guanacaste (AGC); and Miriam Miranda Quirós of the Universidad Nacional. We are also grateful to David Kaimowitz, Deborah McGrath, Ken Smith, and the LARR anonymous reviewers for their comments on earlier drafts and to Barry Allen, William Davis, and Olman Segura for their insights in many conversations.

References

ALFARO, MARIELOS, CHAVES, GUIDO, and LOBO, SONIA 1998 “El sistema de certificación forestal en Costa Rica.” In Certificación forestal: Avances y perspectivas en América Latina y el Caribe, edited by José Joaquín Campos and Perl, Matthew, 48–51. Turrialba, C.R.: CATIE.Google Scholar
ASCHER, WILLIAM 1999 Why Governments Waste Natural Resources: Policy Failures in Developing Countries. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
ASHE, J. 1978 Rural Development in Costa Rica. New York: ACCION International.Google Scholar
AUGELLI, J. P. 1987 “Costa Rica's Frontier Legacy.” Geographical Review 77, no. 1: 1–15.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
AYLWARD, D., ALLEN, K., ECHEVERRIA, J., and TOSI, J. 1996 “Sustainable Ecotourism in Costa Rica: The Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve.” Biodiversity Conservation 5, no. 3: 315–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BAEZ, ANA L. 1996 “Learning from Experience in the Monteverde Cloud Forest.” In People and Tourism in Fragile Environments, edited by Price, Martin F., 109–22. New York: John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
BARRANTES, ALFONSO, CAMINO, RONNIE DE, and RODRIGUEZ, JORGE 1998 Análisis de políticas forestales y de recursos naturales de Costa Rica con miras al futuro: Resultados del Foro Nacional. San José: Oficina Nacional Forestal and Universidad para la Paz.Google Scholar
BARRANTES, GERARDO, and CASTRO, EDMUNDO 1999 Aportes de la biodiversidad silvestre de las áreas de conservación a la economía nacional. Heredia, C.R.: INBio.Google Scholar
BARRAU, ENRIQUE 1992 “La problemática del sector foresta costarricense: Análisis y posibles soluciones.” In Desarrollo sostenible y políticas económicas en América Latina, edited by Segura, Olman, 281–89. San José: Departamento Ecuménico de Investigación.Google Scholar
BAWA, KAMALJIT S., and SEIDLER, REINMAR 1998 “Natural Forest Management and Conservation of Biodiversity in Tropical Forests.” Conservation Biology 12, no. 1: 46–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BLAIKIE, PIERS 1985 The Political Economy of Soil Erosion in Developing Countries. London: Longman.Google Scholar
BOO, ELIZABETH 1990 Ecotourism: The Potentials and Pitfalls. Washington, D.C.: World Wildlife Fund.Google Scholar
BOZA, MARIO A. 1993 “Conservation in Action: Past, Present, and Future of the National Park System of Costa Rica.” Conservation Biology 7, no. 2: 239–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
BOZA, MARIO A. 1994 Biodiversidad y desarrollo en Mesoamérica: Una propuesta para contribuir con el desarrollo sostenible de Mesoamérica mediante la conservación de las especies y las áreas silvestres. San José: Proyecto Paseo Pantera y Proyecto COSEFORMA/CTZ.Google Scholar
BROCKETT, CHARLES D. 1998 Land, Power, and Poverty: Agrarian Transformation and Political Conflict in Central America. Second edition. Boulder, Colo.: Westview.Google Scholar
BROWDER, JOHN O. 1989 “Development Alternatives for Tropical Rain Forests.” In Environment and the Poor: Development Strategies for a Common Agenda, edited by Leonard, H. Jeffrey, 111–33. New Brunswick, N.J.: Overseas Development Council.Google Scholar
BROWDER, JOHN O., ED. 1989 Fragile Lands of Latin America: Strategies for Sustainable Development. Boulder, Colo.: Westview.Google Scholar
BUDOWSKI, GERARDO 1982 “The Socio-Economic Effects of Forest Management on the Lives of People Living in the Area.” In Socio-Economic Effects and Constraints in Tropical Forest Management, edited by Hallsworth, E. G., 87–102. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
CABARLE, B., BAUER, J., PALMER, P., and SYMINGTON, M. 1992 “BOSCOSA: The Program for Forest Management and Conservation on the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.” Report prepared for USAID/Costa Rica under agreement with the Biodiversity Support Program.Google Scholar
CAMPOS, J. 1991 “The BOSCOSA Project: Case Study of Sustainable Natural Resource Management and Community Development in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica.” Paper presented to the Humid Tropical Lowlands Conference: Development Strategies and Natural Resource Management, sponsored by DESFIL, Panama City.Google Scholar
CARRIERE, JEAN 1991 “The Crisis in Costa Rica: An Ecological Perspective.” In Environment and Development in Latin America: The Politics of Sustainability, edited by Goodman, David and Redclift, Michael, 184–204. Manchester, Engl.: Manchester University Press.Google Scholar
CASTRO, EDMUNDO, and BARRANTES, GERARDO 1999 Generación de ingresos mediante el uso sostenible de los servicios ambientales de la biodiversidad en Costa Rica. Heredia, C.R.: INBio.Google Scholar
CASTRO, RENE, and ARIAS, GUILLERMO 1998 Costa Rica: Toward the Sustainability of Its Forest Resources. San José: MINAE and FONAFIFO.Google Scholar
CENTENO, JULIO CESAR 1995 “Certificación de productos forestales: La perspectiva de América Latina.” In CORTES-SALAS 1995, 245–78.Google Scholar
CENTRO CIENTIFICO TROPICAL 1992 “Forest Policy for Costa Rica.” Report prepared for the Ministerio de Recursos Naturales, Energía y Minas, San José.Google Scholar
CHAPIN, MAC 1992 “The View from the Shore: Central America's Indians Encounter the Quincentenary.” grassroots development 16, no. 2: 2–10.Google ScholarPubMed
CORTES-SALAS, HERNAN, ed. 1995 Libro de lecturas del taller sobre reforma de las políticas de gobierno relacionadas con la conservación y el desarrollo forestal en América Latina. San José: Instituto Interamericano de Cooperación para la Agricultura.Google Scholar
DONOVAN, RICHARD 1994 “BOSCOSA: Forest Conservation and Management through Local Institutions (Costa Rica).” In Natural Connections: Perspectives in Community-Based Conservation, edited by Western, David, Wright, R. Michael, and Strum, Shirley C., 215–33. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.Google Scholar
DOUROJEANNI, MARC J. 1999 “The Future of Latin America's Natural Forests.” In KEIPI 1999, 79–92.Google Scholar
DRAKE, SUSAN P. 1991 “Local Participation in Ecotourism Projects.” In Nature Tourism: Managing for the Environment, edited by Whelan, Tensie, 132–63. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.Google Scholar
FAO (FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS) 1989 Forest and Food Security. Forestry Paper no. 90. Rome: FAO.Google Scholar
FIGUERES, JOSE MARIA 1996 “Sustainable Development: A New Challenge for Costa Rica.” SAIS Review (Winter–Spring):187–202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FONAFIFO (FONDO NACIONAL DE FINANCIAMIENTO FORESTAL) n.d. Pago de servicios ambientales e incentivos forestales. San José: FONAFIFO.Google Scholar
FORMAN, RICHARD T. T., and GODRON, MICHEL 1986 Landscape Ecology. New York: John Wiley and Sons.Google Scholar
FORSTER, NANCY, and STANFIELD, DAVID 1992 “Tenure Regimes and Forest Management in Latin America and the Caribbean.” Draft report on a workshop cosponsored by DESFIL and ACCESS II.Google Scholar
GARCIA, RANDALL 1997 Biología de la conservación y áreas silvestres protegidas: Situación actual y perspectivas en Costa Rica. Heredia, C.R.: INBio.Google Scholar
GOTTFRIED, ROBERT R. 1995 Economics, Ecology, and the Roots of Western Faith: Perspectives from the Garden. Lanham, Md.: Rowman and Littlefield.Google Scholar
GOTTFRIED, ROBERT R., BROCKETT, CHARLES, and DAVIS, WILLIAM 1994 “Models of Sustainable Development and Forest Resource Management in Costa Rica.” Ecological Economics 9, no. 2: 107–20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
GOTTFRIED, ROBERT R., WEAR, DAVID, and LEE, ROBERT 1996 “Institutional Solutions to Market Failure on the Landscape Scale.” Ecological Economics 8: 133–40.Google Scholar
GREGERSEN, H. M., LUNDGREN, A. L., and LINDELL, G. R. 1990 Contributions of Tropical Forests to Sustainable Development: The Role of Industry and the Timber Trade. Working Paper no. 6. Minneapolis: Forestry for Sustainable Development Program, Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota.Google Scholar
HALTIA, OLLI, and KEIPI, KARI 1999 “Financing Forest Investments: The Issue of Incentives.” In KEIPI 1999, 63–78.Google Scholar
HARTSHORN, GARY 1982 Costa Rica: Country Environmental Profile, A Field Study. San José: Tropical Science Center.Google Scholar
HEYWOOD, V. H., and STUART, S. N. 1992 “Extinctions in Tropical Forests.” In WHITMORE AND SAYER 1992, 91–118.Google Scholar
HONEY, MARTHA 1999 Ecotourism and Sustainable Development: Who Owns Paradise? Washington, D.C.: Island Press.Google Scholar
HOWARD, ANDREW F., and VALERIO, JUVENAL 1996 “Financial Returns from Sustainable Forest Management and Selected Agricultural Land-Use Options in Costa Rica.” Forest Ecology and Management 81, nos. 1–3:35–49.Google Scholar
HUDSON, WENDY E. 1991 Landscape Linkages and Biodiversity. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.Google Scholar
HUNTER, J. ROBERT 1994 “Is Costa Rica Truly Conservation-Minded?” Conservation Biology 8, no. 2: 592–95.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
JANZEN, DANIEL 1999 “Gardenification of Tropical Conserved Wildlands: Multitasking, Multicropping, and Multiusers.” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 96, no. 11: 5987–94.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
JARAMILLO, CARLOS F., and KELLY, THOMAS 1999 “Deforestation and Property Rights.” In KEIPI 1999, 111–34.Google Scholar
JIRON, JOSE 1998 “Un nuevo concepto de administración en áreas de conservación.” In II Simposio en Ecología, Turismo y Municipio, 1:1–11. San José: Instituto Costarricense de Turismo.Google Scholar
JOHNS, A. D. 1992 “Species Conservation in Managed Tropical Forests.” In WHITMORE AND SAYER 1992, 15–54.Google Scholar
JOHNSON, NELS, and CABARLE, BRUCE 1993 Surviving the Cut: Natural Forest Management in the Humid Tropics. Washington, D.C.: World Resources Institute.Google Scholar
JONES, JEFFREY R. 1992 “Environmental Issues and Policies in Costa Rica: Control of Deforestation.” Policy Studies Journal 20: 679–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KAIMOWITZ, DAVID 1996 “The Political Economy of Environmental Policy Reform in Latin America.” Development and Change 27, no. 3: 433–52.Google Scholar
KAIMOWITZ, DAVID 1998 “Making the Law of the Jungle: The Reform of Forestry Legislation in Bolivia, Cameroon, Costa Rica, and Indonesia.” Paper presented to the Latin American Studies Association, Chicago, Ill., 24–26 September.Google Scholar
KEIPI, KARI, ed. 1999 Forest Resource Policy in Latin America. Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank and Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
KISHOR, NALIN, and CONSTANTINO, LUIS 1993 Forest Management and Competing Land Uses: An Economic Analysis for Costa Rica. LATEN Dissemination Note no. 7. Washington, D.C.: World Bank.Google Scholar
KISHOR, NALIN, and CONSTANTINO, LUIS 1994 “Sustainable Forestry: Can It Compete?” Finance and Development 31, no. 4: 36–39.Google Scholar
KOPP, RAYMOND, and TOMAN, MICHAEL 1998 “International Emissions Trading: Primer.” Washington, D.C.: Resources for the Future. Internet document at <http://www.weathervane.rff.org/features/feature049.html>..>Google Scholar
KRAMER, RANDALL A., and SHARMA, NARENDRA 1997 “Tropical Forest Biodiversity Protection: Who Pays and Why.” In KRAMER, VAN SCHAIL, AND JOHNSON 1997, 162–86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KRAMER, RANDALL A., SCHAIL, CAREL VAN, and JOHNSON, JULIE, EDS. 1997 Last Stand: Protected Areas and the Defense of Tropical Biodiversity. New York: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LEHMANN, MARY P. 1992 “Deforestation and Changing Land-Use Patterns in Costa Rica.” In Changing Tropical Forests, edited by Steen, Harold K. and Tucker, Richard P., 58–76. Durham, N.C.: Forest History Society.Google Scholar
LEONARD, H. J. 1987 Natural Resources and Economic Development in Central America: A Regional Environmental Profile. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction.Google Scholar
LINDBERG, KREG 1991 Policies for Maximizing Nature Tourism's Ecological and Economic Benefits. Washington, D.C.: World Resources Institute.Google Scholar
LOISELLE, BETTE A., and BLAKE, JOHN G. 1992 “Population Variation in a Tropical Bird Community: Implications for Conservation.” BioScience 42, no. 11: 838–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
LOWI, THEODORE J. 1969 The End of Liberalism: Ideology, Policy, and the Crisis of Public Authority. New York: Norton.Google Scholar
LUTZ, ERNST, and DALY, HERMAN 1991 “Incentives, Regulations, and Sustainable Land Use in Costa Rica.” Environmental and Resource Economics 1: 179–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MCGAUGHEY, STEPHEN E., and GREGERSEN, H. M., EDS. 1983 Forest-Based Development in Latin America. Washington, D.C.: Inter-American Development Bank.Google Scholar
MALDONADO, TIRSO 1997 Uso de la tierra y fragmentación de bosques: Algunas áreas críticas en el Area de Conservación Osa, C.R. San José: Fundación Neotrópica.Google Scholar
MEYER, CARRIE A. 1996 “NGOs and Environmental Public Goods: Institutional Alternatives to Property Rights.” Development and Change 27, no. 3: 453–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MIDEPLAN 1998 Costa Rica: Panorama Nacional 1997. San José: Ministerio de Planificación Nacional y Política Económica.Google Scholar
MIDEPLAN 1999 Datos ambientales. San José: Ministerio de Planificación Nacional y Política Económica <http//www.mideplan.go.cr/Sides/ambiental>..>Google Scholar
MUNASINGHE, MOHAN 1994 “Economic and Policy Issues in Natural Habitats and Protected Areas.” In Protected Area Economics and Policy: Linking Conservation and Sustainable Development, edited by Munasinghe, Mohan and McNeely, Jeffrey, 15–50. Washington, D.C.: World Conservation Union and the World Bank.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
NAIMAN, R. J., ED. 1992 Watershed Management: Balancing Sustainability and Environmental Change. New York: Springer-Verlag.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
PANAYOTOU, THEODORE, and ASHTON, P. S. 1992 Not by Timber Alone: Economics and Ecology for Sustaining Tropical Forests. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.Google Scholar
PARKER, LARRY 1999 “Global Climate Change: Market-Based Strategies to Reduce Greenhouse Gases.” Washington, D.C., Congressional Research Service, Internet document at <cnie.org/nle/clim-5.html>..>Google Scholar
PLOTKIN, MARK, and FAMOLARE, LISA, EDS. 1992 Sustainable Harvest and Marketing of Rain Forest Products. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.Google Scholar
POORE, DUNCAN 1989 No Timber without Trees: Sustainability in the Tropical Forest. London: Earthscan.Google Scholar
PORRAS, ANABELLE, and VILLARREAL, B. 1985 Deforestación en Costa Rica. San José: Editorial Costa Rica.Google Scholar
REDFORD, KENT H., and PADOCH, CHRISTINE, EDS. 1992 Conservation of Neotropical Forests. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
REPETTO, ROBERT, ed. 1985 The Global Possible: Resources, Development, and the New Century. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
RICE, RICHARD E., GULLISON, RAYMOND E., and REID, JOHN W. 1997 “Can Sustainable Management Save Tropical Forests?” Scientific American 276 (Apr.):44–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SADER, STEVEN A., and JOYCE, ARMOND T. 1988 “Deforestation Rates and Trends in Costa Rica, 1940 to 1983.” Biotropica 20, no. 1: 11–19.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
SEDJO, ROGER, SOHNGEN, BRENT, and JAGGER, PAMELA 1998 “Carbon Sinks in the Post-Kyoto World, Parts I and II.” Washington, D.C.: Resources for the Future. Internet document at <http://www.weathervane.rff.org/features/feature050.html>..>Google Scholar
SEGURA, OLMAN, QUIROS, MIRIAM MIRANDA, GOTTFRIED, ROBIN, and GOMEZ, LUIS 1996 “Políticas del sector forestal en Costa Rica.” In-house report prepared for the Consejo Centroamericano de Bosques y Areas Protegidas, Heredia.Google Scholar
SILVA, EDUARDO 1997 “The Politics of Sustainable Development: Native Forest Policy in Chile, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Mexico.” Journal of Latin American Studies 29, pt. 2: 457–93.Google Scholar
SIMULA, MARKKU 1999 “Trade and Environmental Issues in Forest Production.” In KEIPI 1999, 195–235.Google Scholar
SOLORZANO, RAUL 1991 Accounts Overdue: Natural Resource Depreciation in Costa Rica. Washington, D.C.: World Resources Institute and Tropical Science Center.Google Scholar
SOUTHGATE, DOUGLAS 1997 Alternatives for Habitat Protection and Rural Income Generation. Washington, D.C.: Social Programs and Sustainable Development Department, Inter-American Development Bank.Google Scholar
SOUTHGATE, DOUGLAS, and WHITAKER, M. 1992 “Promoting Resource Degradation in Latin America: Tropical Deforestation, Soil Erosion, and Coastal Ecosystem Disturbance in Ecuador.” Economic Development and Cultural Change 40, no. 4: 787–807.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
STEDMAN-EDWARDS, PAMELA, HATHAWAY, PAMELA, MOLTKE, KONRAD VON, and CASTRO, GONZALO 1997 The Private Sector in Latin America: Implications for the Environment and Sustainable Development. Washington, D.C.: World Wildlife Fund.Google Scholar
THRUPP, LORI ANN 1990 “Environmental Initiatives in Costa Rica: A Political Ecology Perspective.” Society and Natural Resources 3: 243–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
TOLISANO, JIM, FRUMHOFF, PETER, and LAWTON, ROBERT 1993 “Environmental Assessment: Forestry Regulations for Sustainable Management Project, Costa Rica.” In-house report prepared for USAID/Costa Rica, San José.Google Scholar
UMAÑA, ALVARO, and BRANDON, K. 1992 “Inventing Institutions for Conservation: Lessons from Costa Rica.” In Poverty, Natural Resources, and Public Policy in Central America, edited by Annis, Sheldon, 85–107. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction.Google Scholar
USAID 1989 Costa Rica's Forest Resources for a Stable Environment. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Agency for International Development.Google Scholar
WATSON, VICENTE, CERVANTES, SONIA, CASTRO, CESAR, MORA, LEONARDO, SOLIS, MAGDA, PORRAS, INA T., and CORNEJO, BEATRIZ 1999 Making Space for Better Forestry: Policy That Works for Forests and People (Costa Rica). San José and London: Centro Científico Tropical and the International Institute for Environment and Development.Google Scholar
WHELAN, TENSIE, ed. 1991 Nature Tourism: Managing for the Environment. Washington, D.C.: Island Press.Google Scholar
WHITMORE, T. C., and SAYER, J. A., EDS. 1992 Tropical Deforestation and Species Extinction. New York: Chapman and Hall.Google Scholar
WORLD BANK 1993 “Costa Rica Forestry Sector Review: Discussion Draft.” Unpublished paper prepared by the Agriculture and Natural Resource Operations, Mexico and Central America, 11 June.Google Scholar