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The Green Republic: A Conservation History of Costa Rica, 1838-1996
Evans, Sterling
Evans, Sterling
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Abstract
Costa Rica is often cited as a "model" for environmental
conservation. This dissertation seeks to track the history of
conservation efforts in Costa Rica via analysis of the development
of its national parks and other protected areas. The
focus of the work will be on discussing how Costa Rica came
to establish its conservation system which today includes
over twenty-five percent of the country's terrain. It will
describe the system, discuss key leaders involved, and analyze
conservation in light of what it was in response to: rapid
destruction of tropical ecosystems due to the expansion of exportrelated
agricultural commodities. How and why were national
parks and biological reserves proposed and designated? Who has
been behind them? Why and how did these individuals become
involved in their country's conservation movement? What has been
the overall impact of conservation on the nation's environmental
well being, economy, and education? What challenges have
conservationists had to confront; what goals and dilemmas await
them? Importantly, the work will address what Costa Ricans have
said and are saying about these conservation concerns. Emphasis
will be placed on policy reactions—laws and decrees and how they
came about.
To limit the scope of this project, "conservation" here
will imply the creation of national parks, biological reserves,
national wildlife refuges, and indigenous reserves that have
been set aside for long-range preservation for future generations.
While there have been many works written about Costa
Rica's national parks, what is missing is a historical work that
links development of conservation patterns with agricultural and
political history. The intent of this dissertation is to show
how conservation policy came about, how leaders in the movement
worked to forge changes, and how conservation thought has evolved
from the early days of Costa Rican independence to 1996.
Description
The University of Kansas has long historical connections with Central America and the many Central
Americans who have earned graduate degrees at KU. This work is part of the Central American Theses
and Dissertations collection in KU ScholarWorks and is being made freely available with permission of the
author through the efforts of Professor Emeritus Charles Stansifer of the History department and the staff of
the Scholarly Communications program at the University of Kansas Libraries’ Center for Digital Scholarship.
Date
1997-07-24
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University of Kansas