Costa Rica has 26 percent of its land area under various protection management categories.  As in many other developing countries, however, challenges and threats are great.  This is mainly due to the fact that development continues to pressure the ecological systems around terrestrial and marine protected areas.  Overfishing, legal and illegal fishing, unregulated tourism development, urbanization, logging, and water pollution, sedimentation, the degradation of coral reefs and the depletion of fisheries, are threats that affect protected areas as well as other neighboring lands and waters.  In addition, despite the enormous efforts made to date, Costa Rica’s protected area system still has conservation gaps that must be addressed if the desired ecological representation is to be achieved.  

The greatest ecological gap is in the coastal-marine environment.  Costa Rica is among the 20 most biologically diverse countries in the world. Its marine biodiversity is distributed over an area of 567,928 km2 in both the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean. It is estimated that the country’s coastal areas and marine waters are home to approximately 6,700 marine species, or 3.5% of the world’s total marine species, among which 90 are endemic. Costa Rica’s jurisdictional marine environments serve as a permanent or temporary home to a large number of species of global importance, including the West Indian manatee (Trichechus manatus); five species of sea turtles, including the leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea), the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), and the loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta); whales and dolphins (i.e., the humpback whale - Megaptera novaeangliae, the false killer whale - Pseudorca crassidens, the pantropical spotted dolphin - Stenella attenuate, and the estuarine Tucuxi dolphin - Sotalia guianensis); a large number of widely distributed and endemic fish species, the latter of which are found mostly in the Cocos Island area; and a large number of marine invertebrates, including the queen conch (Strombus gigas), the spiny lobster (Panulirus argus), the spotted spiny lobster (P. guttatus), and the piagua clam (Anadara sp.). Additionally, high productivity levels in the Pacific Ocean that result from major upwellings also sustain a regionally significant marine fishery.
Costa Rica faces resource overexploitation, habitat degradation, unregulated coastal development, pollution, invasive species and climate change as major threats to marine biodiversity. In addition, the MPAs’ managers do not possess a full range of tools needed for effective MPA management. Unlike their terrestrial counterparts, MPAs do not have a marine assessment and monitoring strategy with clearly defined indicators that would assist in the decision-making processes or help in assessing the progress towards achieving biodiversity conservation goals. Only 12 of the 21 present MPAs have a management plan and some of the existing plans may need to be updated to face new challenges for the MPAs, including climate change.
The project will help to reduce threats to terrestrial and marine biodiversity by: (1) protecting key habitats to prevent their degradation; (2) identifying MPAs that are most affected by climate change, incorporating climate change mitigation and adaptation into their management plans, and the preliminary monitoring of affected key species and ecosystems and (3) promoting sustainable fisheries and tourism. Consequently, Costa Rica’s long-term solution to the ongoing loss of biodiversity depends on consolidating its MPAs through increased ecological representation, improved management effectiveness in both terrestrial and marine PAs, and ensured financial sustainability for the entire PA system. << Read less

1)Protect key habitats to prevent their degradation; (2) Identify MPAs that are most affected by climate change, and (3) promote sustainable fisheries and tourism.

Overall, the existing terrestrial protected area system conserves 1,339,860 hectares of Costa Rica’s lands. Approximately 26 percent of the terrestrial territory of the country is within some form of conservation designation, with about half of that being in what is referred to as the most “strict” protected areas (IUCN Categories I and II).  The freshwater protected area system conserves 47 of the country’s 64 stream systems. There are 50 lake systems protected of the 92 lakes that ideally should be conserved.  The ecological gaps in the terrestrial and freshwater realms are far more modest than in the marine realm. To reach its POWPA goals, the government proposes to acquire new lands and expand the boundaries of existing terrestrial protected areas by about 24,350 hectares. Of these, 4,455 hectares would be for IUCN categories
I and II:
• expanding the boundaries of the Alberto Manuel Brenes Biological Reserve, and
• changing the management category of the Pococí Watershed Protection Zone to that of national park while also expanding its area.

Costa Rican coastal and marine ecosystems are largely under-represented in the PAS, including sandy and rocky beaches, rocky and soft sea bottoms, coral communities and seagrasses of the Pacific Ocean, upwelling zones, and congregation areas for whales, whale sharks, lobsters, and fish. New MPAs are also needed to protect coastal areas and most of the oceanic areas of biological importance. Currently, only 21 of the total number of conservation areas (i.e. 169) are MPAs, and these cover only 5,140 km2, or 1% of the country’s jurisdictional waters. The recently concluded Coastal and Marine Conservation Gap Analysis (GRUAS II) identified 34 areas (20,985 km2) that are in need of conservation, among which 12 areas (16,300 km2) are considered to be of high priority. Their management remains weak; for example, only a fraction of the MPAs have completed and updated their management plans. In addition, management skills within the PAs are weak and the financial sustainability of Costa Rica’s MPAs is far from being achieved.
Twelve MPAs will be created and/or expanded through the project to increase coverage of the MPAs and their improved ecological representation in the PAS. MPAs will be created and/or expanded in 12 prioritized sites in both the Pacific Ocean (Dominical-Sierpe, Bahía de Santa Elena, Golfo de Papagayo, Punta Gorda-Punta Pargos, Golfo Dulce, Isla del Caño, Corcovado, Chira-Tempisque  in Golfo de Nicoya, Isla del Coco and Montañas Submarinas Cocos, and Cabo Blanco) and the Caribbean Sea (Gandoca and Barra del Colorado). This action will result in an increase of MPA coverage up to 16,300 km2. By the end of the project, Costa Rica will have up to 3.8% (21,733 km2) of its jurisdictional marine waters under protection. In addition, through the project, marine ecosystem representation will be increased by up to 24% of the total area identified as marine conservation gaps. This will include an increase of 59.9% of terrestrial-coastal areas; 40.6% of marine areas 0 to 30 meters deep, 19.9 % of marine areas 30 to 200 meters deep, and 2.5% of oceanic areas >200 meters deep. Management plans will be developed for the newly created and/or expanded MPAs. Management plans will include biological monitoring mechanisms to assess conservation impacts and will incorporate a strategy to mitigate climate change. Biological indicators will be identified and developed following the guidelines set by PROMEC to guarantee that biological monitoring activities are integrated with the country’s wider monitoring efforts for PAs.
The project will provide global environmental benefits by expanding existing and/or creating new MPAs that will increase the representativeness of marine ecosystems in Costa Rica’s PAS and through the protection of reproduction, nursery, and feeding habitat and migration routes for species of global importance. The protection of pelagic zones and deep-sea areas and bottoms (> 200-meter), coral reefs, seagrass beds, rocky and sandy beaches, mangroves, coastal lagoons, and estuaries will increase ecosystem representation. Additionally, the project will protect species of global importance, including the humpback whale, the whale shark, the leatherback turtle, the green sea turtle, the loggerhead sea turtle, and the West Indian manatee. << Read less

The proposed project “Forever Costa Rica”, seeks to help Costa Rica become the first developing country to meet the goals of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Program of Work on Protected Areas (PoWPA), and in doing so creates a unique potential model for other developing countries.  Forever Costa Rica contains, as a centerpiece, the definition of stable funding to achieve the nation’s goals under the CBD and to cover recurring associated expenses. A private trust will be established with the beneficiary defined as “the public protected areas of Costa Rica”.  The trustee  will be the Asociación Costa Rica por Siempre, a civil, private, nonprofit association domiciled in Costa Rica.  This association has the objective of managing the trust and, via disbursements from the trust, providing the goods and services needed to allow Costa Rica’s implementation of its national and international commitments for the conservation of biodiversity, especially those included in the PoWPA. 
The total fundraising goal is US$50 million.  Interest income from the US$42 million (or annual flows from bilateral and multilateral funding sources) will be used to finance recurring costs originated by the project. In addition, a sinking fund of US$8 million will be used for expanding and improving the marine protected area system during the life of the project.
The Nature Conservancy, the Linden Trust for Conservation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation set a goal of US$34 million from individual donors and nonprofit foundations (US$31.5 raised to date), and and a goal of at least US$17 million from bilateral and multilateral donors (over US$20 million in proposals pending).
Detailed costing exercises is attached to this proposal and the donor list are available upon request. << Read less

The coastal human populations that use these resources will participate in biodiversity conservation through the design of the MPAs. The MPAs should have a zoning design that respond to the needs of the maintenance and improvement of wildlife and human populations.

The project is consistent with the Environment Law No. 7554 (1995) and the Biodiversity Law No. 7788 (1998), which seek the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of the country’s resources, and also promote the fair distribution of costs and benefits. In addition, the project is consistent with Costa Rica’s National Strategy for Biodiversity Conservation and Sustainable Use (1999) and the National Development Plan (2006-2010), which provide the framework for marine ecosystems conservation and sustainable use. Similarly, the project is consistent with the National Marine Strategy (2008), which highlights the need for incorporating the conservation and sustainable use of marine resources as part of Costa Rica’s development needs. << Read less

Goal 1.1: To establish and strengthen national and regional systems of protected areas integrated into a global network as a contribution to globally agreed goals
Goal 1.4: To substantially improve site-based protected area planning and management
Goal 1.5: To prevent and mitigate the negative impacts of key threats to protected areas
Goal 2.2: To enhance and secure involvement of indigenous and local communities and relevant stakeholders
Goal 3.2: To build capacity for the planning, establishment and management of protected areas
Goal 3.4: To ensure financial sustainability of protected areas and national and regional systems of protected areas
Goal 4.1 - To develop and adopt minimum standards and best practices for national and regional protected area systems
Goal 4.3: To assess and monitor protected area status and trends
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