gories for protected lands under government control.
Biological reserves and national parks received the
highest level of protection, followed by wildlife re-
serves and forest reserves. In the case of privately held
land, the government may mandate conservation re-
strictions if the area is declared a "protected zone."
In the late 1980s, the government under President
Oscar Arias grouped management categories into
regional administrative units surrounded by buffer
zones. These units ("conservation areas") were admin-
istered by the Ministry of Natural Resources, Energy,
and Mines (MIRENEM) with the goal of promoting
sustainable development around the areas that re-
ceived strict protection (12% of the country). In 1996,
all forms of management were consolidated under the
Ministry of the Environment and Energy (MINAE) in
the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC).
Administration was decentralized to the directors of
each of the ten conservation areas (McNeely et al.
1990, MIRENEM 1992, 1993b, Umafia and Brandon
1992, Wallace 1992, Boza 1993, MINAE 1996a, b).
Much of the Monteverde Zone has been affected
by the Arenal Hydroelectric Project, the country's
largest generator of electricity, which was inaugurated
in 1979 (Hartshorn et al. 1982). Two years earlier, the
Costa Rican government had established the Arenal
Forest Reserve to protect the watershed and to keep
the artificial lake of Arenal (Fig. 1.4) from silting due
to runoff. A large reliable supply of water was also
important for the Arenal-Tempisque Irrigation Project,
which used water that passed through the generators
to irrigate dry areas of Guanacaste. Declaration of the
Arenal Forest Reserve meant that people living in the
reserve area (which includes much of the Monteverde
Zone) were not allowed to cut their trees or change
land use. The government promised to buy them out
but did not have the funds to do so (Lober 1990).
The Arenal Conservation Area (ACA), created in
1991, includes much of the Monteverde Zone; the
privately owned MCFP and BEN are part of ACA's
Zona Protectora Arenal-Monteverde, which confers a
higher level of protection than they previously had
as forest reserves. The AC A receives major financial
assistance from the Canadian International Develop-
ment Agency (CIDA) and World Wildlife Fund-Canada
(WWF-Canada) for programs in environmental edu-
cation, government land purchases from private own-
ers, extension, protection, research, and ecotourism
(MIRENEM 1993a, b, MINAE 1996a).
Costa Rica's successes in establishing its park sys-
tem and its special political, economic, and social
features attracted large foreign contributions from
international government aid programs and conser-
vation organizations when Costa Rica was struck by
a debt crisis in the early 1980s. Many nonprofit con-
servation organizations developed in Monteverde and
elsewhere to tap into these funding sources and debt-
for-nature swaps (Abramovitz 1989, The Nature Con-
servancy 1993, Boza et al. 1995).
In the 1980s, Costa Rica became a prime destina-
tion for ecotourists. Ecotourism involves traveling to
relatively undisturbed natural areas (generally in
developing countries) to observe "exotic" plants and
animals. It can provide financial benefits to the people
living around the protected area and is thus an incen-
tive to continue to protect it. Ecotourism provided
economic benefits at the national level; by 1994, tour-
ism replaced bananas as the primary source of foreign
exchange for Costa Rica. Ecotourism can also have
negative effects. For example, too many tourists in an
area can destroy the environment, economic benefits
may not go to local people, and negative cultural in-
fluences may occur (see Chamberlain, "Pros and Cons
of Ecotourism," p. 376).
Costa Rica's success in attracting ecotourists was
due to many factors: (1) the country has a high bio-
diversity (an estimated 5% of the world's species) in
a wide range of ecosystem types contained in a small
area; (2) a worldwide interest in rain forests was grow-
ing; (3) Costa Rica was viewed as a safe, peaceful,
democratic, and welcoming place to visit ("the Swit-
zerland of Central America"); and (4) travel logistics
from North America and Europe were easy. Costa
Rica's park system and its protection of natural attrac-
tions were internationally famous and held as a model
for other Latin American countries. The Costa Rican
government actively promoted tourism, and eco-
tourism companies emerged in San Jose to provide
guided tours (Boo 1990, Rovinski 1991).10.1.3. Regional and Local Level
Settlement and development of the area. The earliest
settlers in the Monteverde Zone (Figs. 1.2, 1.4) were
indigenous people about whom relatively little is
known; their artifacts have been found in the zone (see
Timm, "Prehistoric Cultures," pp. 408-409). Specific
knowledge of people coming into the area dates to the
early 1900s. The Guacimal Land Company had a gold
mine where the current town of Guacimal is located,
and miners hiked up to the Monteverde area to hunt.
Around 1915, a family moved to San Luis and began
farming; other settlers arrived in Santa Elena in 1922.
In 1929, the first settler families arrived in Monteverde
and Cerro Piano; they sold corn, potatoes, sugarcane,
guaro (local alcohol), and pigs to miners in Guacimal
and in Las Juntas (L. Vivanco, pers. comm.). By 1940,
there were 12 farms in Monteverde and more in Santa
Elena. About 175 subsistence farmers lived in the
zone by 1950 (Gallup 1987). These early settlers prac-353 Conservation in the Monteverde Zone