The Cloud Forest Reserve

On a cool morning in January a group of college students accustomed to the blustery chill of Burlington Vermont trekked through a rainforest that touched the clouds. Ricardo, the trail guide, pointed out the flora and fauna giving a name to the layers of ferns, orchids, palms, vines and unfamiliar plants interlaced on the forest floor and reaching down from the tangled canopy.

 With a familiar eye, Ricardo explained his childhood experiences growing up among the jungle- “when we were kids we used to climb up that hollow part of the strangler fig all the way up to the canopy. One time there was a tree snake at the top,” Ricardo told us, grinning, as he pointed out a humungous strangler fig, its twisted roots swallowing a tree standing well above the canopy. Ricardo, like many Monteverde natives, has witnessed the community’s transformation from a place dependent upon a small cheese producing operation to a bustling tourist attraction.

The Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve was established in 1972, initially covering some 810 acres of forested lands. Today it's protection extends over 35,089 acres encompassing eight life zones at the Continental Divide. There are over 100 species of mammals, 400 species of birds, and 1,200 species of amphibians and reptiles living within it's bounds.[1] Today over 8 miles of trails are available to visitors to explore with guides like Ricardo. Attracting interest after a National Geographic article brought attention to the region, growing from around 100 visitors a year in 1975 to 250,000 in recent years, much of the economy is becoming increasingly dependent on tourism. The influx of visitors has brought a lot of change to the region- today Monteverde sports coffee farm tours, zip-lining attractions, reptile houses, and a host of gift shops, restaurants and lodging operations catering to tourists. As a student of the environment and admirer of untouched places I assumed a man like Ricardo, clearly a lover of nature, would have some interesting points to make about the development in recent years. "What do you think of all the development in Monteverde," I asked as we stood on top of the continental divide. His answer was not what I expected. 

"I think it's a good thing, it's brought so much access to the region," he said smiling. "We get top notch concerts at the performance space now." The community used to be incredibly rural, and now it provides residents with concerts, restaurants, shops, bars, nightclubs, and excitement. Things I crave back home but somehow assumed would be unwelcome developments in such a biologically rich, environmentally minded country. It's important to think about things like access when judging how development has affected a community, and even more important to ask locals how they feel about it. If there's anything I've learned from my travels in Costa Rica it's that people and communities are endlessly complex with needs, hopes, and desires I can't fathom as an outsider- reaching out to locals is the only way to get a real understanding of what it's like to live in a community.

Beyond access, Ricardo also had input regarding tourism's affects on the Cloud Forest Reserve itself.  He explained how all the nicely paved paths and signs didn't used to exist. Dirt roads and footpaths used to cut through the forest, used by villagers, oxe-carts, horseback riders, and community members as a means of transport.

He described how recently bulldozers had attempted to carve a paved road down the pacific-facing slope of the mountain, directly through the watershed- only stopped by cliffs that were steeper than expected. The influx of tourism helped define the boundaries of the reserve and protect it from outside foot traffic and use. Not to mention the increasing interest in the region contributing to the formation of the Children's Eternal Forest, helping to protect another 54,000 acres.

Tourism truly is a double-edged sword in Monteverde, difficult to classify as it has brought many positive developments as well as many undeniably harmful developments to the previously rural mountain community. Most important, is the careful and informed management that must go into the structure and future development of the region. There is a clear balance to strike that will take the combined efforts of biologists, developers, students, scientists, sociologists, and especially community members like Ricardo who have seen the effects of change. 

[1] http://www.monteverdeinfo.com/monteverdes-cloud-forests.html