Fishing Frenzy

Costa Rica eco tourism takes many forms, is enjoyed or experienced in different ways, affects people differently, and provides different societal consequences-some obvious, some not. In fact, the word "eco tourism" means different things to different people.

For many travelers, Costa Rica eco tourism is about enjoying and experiencing Costa Rica's biological diversity. This little country comprises only about 1/10,000 of the world's land surface (the size of West Virginia) yet, unbelievably, nearly one of every five species of plant and animal on the globe are found in Costa Rica. The country has more kinds of butterflies than in all of the countries on the entire African continent put together. Costa Rica has recorded almost 900 different kinds of birds, nearly as many as are in the continental United States. The world's largest Green Sea Turtle preserve has been created off the Caribbean Coast at Tortuguero National Park. 35% of the world's different species of whales and porpoises (cetaceans) are found in its offshore waters. Humpback whales from Antarctica travel thousands of miles north to Costa Rica every year while Arctic humpbacks swim thousands of miles south to the very same waters. For that reason, Costa Rica has the longest humpback viewing season anywhere. Corcovado National Park is just 20 miles long and some 8 miles wide but, according to National Geographic, is "the most biologically intense place" on the globe. Tens of thousands of persons visit Costa Rica annually to see or experience these kinds of things. I call them "vacation eco tourists."

But, Costa Rica eco tourism is more diverse than Costa Rica whale watching, or a Costa Rica photography tour, scuba diving off magnificent Cocos Island, or hiking lovely jungle trails to waterfalls. And, few places exemplify that diversity of eco tourism experience better than the Tirimbina Rainforest Center. I bet you never heard of it.

The Tirimbina Rainforest Center sits on about 345 hectares, or 850 acres, of primary rain forest. This is the original rain forest that covered 99% of Central America when Christopher Columbus explored its Caribbean coast in 1502. Indeed, when you visit primary rain forest you will literally see trees that have been around since Columbus' es time. Unfortunately, over the following five centuries, burning and logging decimated most of the Central American rain forests. Today, only vestiges of this important resource remain.

The Tirimbina Rainforest Center's story goes back to 1960 when Robert Hunter arrived in Costa Rica to work for the Inter-American Institute for Science and Agriculture. He bought the land now occupied by the Center and set about to preserve it. Hunter invited scientists to the property, one of whom was Dr. Allen Young of the Milwaukee Public Museum. Dr. Young is an internationally acclaimed expert on rain forests and cacao cultivation. He, and others like him, who have visited the Center over the last decades are what I like to think of as "research eco tourists." Their work on rain forests has proved invaluable.

Dr. Young 's fascination with Tirimbina carried over to the Milwaukee Public Museum itself. In 1986, it created a permanent exhibit about the tropical rain forest that it called "Exploring Life on Earth." Over the next several decades hundreds of thousands of children, men, and women visited the Tirimbina exhibit as "virtual eco tourists" and their increasing awareness of the importance--and fragility-of rain forests have contributed to tropical forest preservation demands by the public. The Museum bought the Tirimbina Rainforest Center and managed it until its 2006 sale to a Milwaukee nonprofit called the Pura Vida Foundation. Today, the Center belongs to a Costa Rica nonprofit organization, the Asociacion Tirimbina Para La Conservacion, Investigacion y Educacion.

If you are an eco tourist or interested in real-deal Costa Rica ecotourism, I recommend visiting the Tirimbina Rainforest Center if you are: (a) A "research eco tourist." This is a working rain forest research center and for 30 years has been used for doctorate research, graduate studies, and museum related work; (b) An undergraduate looking for a one-of-a kind study abroad opportunity. Ball State University of Indianapolis has just announced a new Study Abroad in Costa Rica program at Tirimbina Rainforest Center, starting Spring Semester 2010. This program is modeled after two very popular study abroad programs in London and Australia. If this is for you, you will be a "student eco tourist" ; or (c) Simply interested in visiting a working tropical forest research center that also hosts family activities and educational projects like hiking through primary rain forest on five miles of trails; a bird tour; a frog tour; a bat tour; even a chocolate tour. There is an aerial tram tour, boat tour, and a truly amazing number of optional activities (visit the Tirimbina web page for a list) for the "family eco tourists." Accommodations and a restaurant are on site for people who want to stay overnight or for several days.

Although it has been known to the tropical forest research community for over 40 years, Tirimbina Rainforest Center is only visited by 8,000 Costa Rica eco tourists a year. It is off the beaten path but if if you are planning to travel to Costa Rica, give the Center serious consideration if you are interested in eco tourism in Costa Rica.