Learning from an awe-inspiring immense ecosystem that has returned to life
Rewilding ecologist and author Eoghan Daltun visited Costa Rica to see first-hand how the country has managed over the last 30 years to reverse one of the worst deforestation rates in all Latin America, becoming a global leader in nature conservation and restoration
Costa Rica: Corcovado National Park, Osa Peninsula. Pictures: Eoghan Daltun
Our forests have almost all been destroyed, with only 1% natural woodland cover left, and even that is still mostly being steadily killed off by overgrazing and invasive plant species. Our bogs and other wetlands have been drained, rivers contained and straightened, wildflower grasslands replaced by ryegrass monocultures. The land has been forced from wild, diverse natural ecosystems into an endless patchwork of ‘productive’, but ever less nature-friendly, uses: primarily cattle, sheep, or Sitka spruce.
This is exclusive subscriber content. Already a subscriber? Sign in
