Enlace Verde (see Scrimshaw et al., "Conservation
Easements," pp. 381-382), and TSC's proposed bio-
logical corridor from the MCFP to the Inter-American
Highway. Both projects are developing conservation
easements along the corridors, following the prece-
dent set by the CEC. In 1998, Bosqueterno, S.A. es-
tablished conservation easements on its land.
(4) Large scale reforestation began with MCL's re-
forestation program, which planted more than 500,000
trees as windbreaks on farms in the area. Both exotic
and native species have been planted. Windbreaks ben-
efit farmers by increasing agricultural productivity and
providing habitat for wildlife; windbreaks that link
forest patches are used as biological corridors (see Niel-
sen and DeRosier, "Windbreaks and Birds," pp. 448-
450 and Harvey, "Windbreaks and Trees," pp. 450-451).
The MCL has also pioneered watershed rehabilitation
projects.
(5) Environmental education is offered in the
Monteverde Friends School and the Adventist School
and is the focus of the curriculum in the CEC. Local
public schools, aided by MCL and MCFP, include
environmental education due to national curricular
reform by MEP. The MVI includes environmental edu-
cation in its program for foreign university students.
Ecotourists receive environmental education in the
MCFP's natural history walks, from private guides,
and through interpretative trails and visitors' centers
in the Monteverde Reserve Complex. These environ-
mental education programs demonstrate how conser-
vation organizations have moved beyond the "wall
around the park" concept.
(6) A key to the success of conservation in the
Monteverde Zone has been the emergence of organi-
zations to meet new needs. Each organization has fo-
cused on certain aspects of conservation or in a cer-
tain geographical location; there is surprisingly little
duplication of efforts. Organizations are often linked
by members of one serving on the board or a commit-
tee of another. Tensions among organizations have
forced them to resolve their difference and to recog-
nize the importance of planning for the longer term (J.
Stuckey, pers. comm.). Monteverde 2020 helped mo-
tivate local organizations to work together. Successful
examples of cooperation among organizations are the
forest guards, the environmental education programs,
and the demonstration farm and tree nurseries.
The successes of conservation organizations in these
six areas have been possible because of four develop-
ments, which are the main lessons of conservation
success in the zone:
(1) Resident and visiting scientists have provided
knowledge on the natural history and ecology of this
area, which has served as an underlying basis for pro-
grams of conservation organizations. Some scientists
have also applied their knowledge to local problems
of conservation and restoration ecology, agroecology,
sustainable development, and environmental educa-
tion. Biologists have also served as mentors for Costa
Rican field assistants and colleagues.
(2) The prosperity of the Monteverde Zone was first
based on agriculture. Ecotourism has diversified the
economic base and added to the relative prosperity
of the area, freeing the conservation organizations to
focus on conservation rather than situations of mass
poverty as is the case in many other places (J. Stuckey
pers. comm.). The growth of ecotourism has helped
support forest protection and education, providing
jobs for many local people and businesses and func-
tioning as a form of sustainable development for the
zone. Conservation organizations themselves have
provided jobs and tremendous inflows of cash for land
purchases, which have circulated in the economy.
(3) Initially, Costa Rican settlers established farms
in the area by clearing portions of forests, but they fre-
quently left patches of forests for windbreaks and pro-
tection of water sources. They were able to farm with-
out using agrochemicals and they planted trees. When
the Quakers arrived in the early 1950s, they left wind-
breaks and protected their water sources. The Quak-
ers brought with them knowledge of soil and water
conservation from the United States, and Quaker val-
ues. As more people, including biologists, arrived from
outside the area, they contributed new ideas and prac-
tices, expanding the base for conservation.
(4) The establishment of the MCFP in 1972 re-
flected the environmentalist focus on protecting en-
dangered species. By the mid-1980s, when MCL and
MVI were established, the global biodiversity crisis
had been identified, and the MCL and MVI realized
that action was needed on threatened rain forest eco-
systems and the promotion of sustainable ecosystems.
Monteverde's conservation organizations included
people who could tap into the debt-for-nature swaps
and obtain funding from North American and Euro-
pean foreign aid and private conservation organi-
zations. They were able to attract large numbers of vol-
unteers. As ecotourism boomed in the late 1980s, the
Monteverde Zone became a prime destination in
Costa Rica, and some of the zone's ecotourism money
was channeled to conservation and sustainable devel-
opment efforts. Skilled and dedicated residents and
visitors, including many biologists, have devoted
enormous amounts of time and energy to conserva-
tion organizations. Whether this "subsidy" can lead
to sustainability and whether the endeavors of local
organizations can function without the subsidy are
unknown (J. Stuckey, pers. comm.).373 Conservation in the Monteverde Zone