CRI

Costa Rica’s continental terrestrial ecosystems encompass forests, wetlands, páramos and mangroves, covering an estimated area of 28,419.32 km2. However, landscapes are largely fragmented, and the best-preserved ecosystems are usually in areas with steep slopes, heavy rain, or in floodplains and protected areas. Dry forests are highly vulnerable; forests in cold, damp soils, and cloud forests have low to moderate levels of deterioration and a high percentage of these forests are unprotected. As a result of the country’s transformation from an agriculture-based economy to an economy based more on tourism and related services, considerable investment is being made in biodiversity conservation through, for example, the establishment of a system of conservation areas and biological corridors. The main direct pressures on biodiversity identified include habitat loss, unsustainable mining, resource overexploitation, pollution and climate change. Today in Costa Rica, there are 165 Protected Areas covering around 28% of the terrestrial area and 2.6% of the marine area.