10.8.2. Failures or Problems
of Conservation Organizations
Disputes or tensions exist among some conservation
groups that are related to specific issues, different
visions, and different management styles. Conserva-
tion organizations share common goals and would
achieve more if they could communicate and work
together better. One resource that the area lacks is a
central library that would serve as a repository for
scientific and other publications based on research
in the zone, and for the extensive local "gray litera-
ture." A commitment from local organizations to
maintain information storage and dissemination is
needed.
Some organizations have angered members of local
communities by actions that resulted from a failure
to understand the concerns of people with different
goals and lifestyles. For example, small farmers from
San Luis feel resentment toward two of the conser-
vation organizations (see E. Vargas, "Human Voices,"
p. 385). Conservation organizations in the Monteverde
Zone stress the need to deal with this issue: "[I]f the
people who make their living from the land are not
included in the process of discovering how to con-
serve biodiversity, then the struggle to preserve be-
comes prohibitively expensive and, in the long run,
maybe lost" (MonteverdeJournal, vol. 2, no. 1,1995).
There are tensions related to economic develop-
ment that are more than a simple conflict between
conservation organizations and local communities.
The divisions are voiced in debates over whether to
pave the road from the Inter-American Highway
to Santa Elena and Monteverde (L. Vivanco, pers.
comm.), plans to expand the operations of the dairy
plant (see Chap. 11, Agriculture), and the relative mer-
its of ecotourism. Concerted efforts to deal with nega-
tive impacts of ecotourism are needed. The Santa
Elena Development Association has organized gar-
bage collection, and the MCFP has instituted recy-
cling. More studies are needed on the impact of tour-
ism on the quality of life and the socioeconomic
problems caused by seasonal and annual fluctuations
in tourism; if tourism decreases, what effects will this
have on the communities and protected areas?
All of the conservation organizations in Monte-
verde must develop solid funding bases, especially
endowments. Getting nonprofit status in the United
States is one step; the MCFP, MVI, and CEC have done
this. But the organizations need to develop more cre-
ative financing mechanisms as competition for grants
from international conservation funding sources
grows. They must also combat the sense that Costa
Rica has received a disproportionate share of foreign
conservation money (Abramovitz 1989).
10.8.3. The Monteverde Zone and Its
Conservation Organizations as Models
To what extent can the Monteverde Zone serve as
a model for others in conservation and sustainable
development? Costa Rica is atypical among develop-
ing countries. Its unique political, economic, demo-
graphic, social, and cultural factors have led to im-
pressive conservation achievements. Within Costa
Rica, the Monteverde Zone is atypical, with its multi-
cultural population, the large number of people with
high educational levels, sharp awareness of conser-
vation and sustainable development, relative prosper-
ity based on dairy farming and ecotourism, and abil-
ity to create grassroots organizations to deal with local
issues. All of the successes have the potential to be
models for other areas. However, the zone's success-
ful conservation organizations and their programs
cannot simply be copied without adaptations.
The MCFP, SER, BEN, and Bosqueterno offer four
different models for the creation and management of
protected areas by nongovernmental organizations.
Reserves similar to the MCFP and SER can be estab-
lished in areas where ecotourism can be developed
to attract tourists who will both support the reserve
and provide local people with financial benefits. The
"technical aspects" of the MCFP can serve as a model
for other private and public reserves in areas where
ecotourism is growing (Aylward et al. 1996). The SER
offers a novel approach for the management of gov-
ernment-owned land by a local organization, and it
has been adopted by at least one other school in Costa
Rica. The BEN began with the ideas and efforts of
children that were channeled to an existing conser-
vation organization (MCL) that was open to new ideas
and was able to react quickly to purchase forested land
and build on rapidly growing worldwide support. The
model of an international children's rain forest has
spread to other locations in Costa Rica, Belize, Ecua-
dor, Guatemala, and Thailand (B. Kern, pers. comm.).
Bosqueterno, S.A. can be a model wherein a group
holds land or other resources in common; the com-
mon property can be managed by an organization for
the group.
The zone's successes with ecotourism offer addi-
tional exemplars. CASEM is an excellent model for
involving women in conservation and economic de-
velopment. Monteverde's experience of beginning
with small locally owned pensions for lodging is also
applicable elsewhere. If sufficient ecotourism devel-
ops, other ecotourism businesses such as the Monte-
verde Butterfly Garden can be developed.
The Monteverde Zone's conservation organizations
may also be models. The CEC specifically aims to
serve as a model in environmental education for Costa374 Conservation in the Monteverde Zone