Creating wildlands in Costa Rica: Historical ecology of the creation of Corcovado National Park

Half of present wild land areas are found in tropical countries and were created after 1970. However, human activities have been seriously altering protected tropical wild lands and 75% of Latin American wild lands lacked effective protection, long-term management plans and economic resources to guarantee effective management. Partial blame for this is directed at how protected areas were conceived and implemented, using the U.S. preservationist model of setting aside undisturbed habitats “for the enjoyment of current and future generations” and not accounting for local people’s histories, interests or rights. The objective of this paper is to trace the historical ecology of the creation of Corcovado National Park in the Peninsula of Osa, Costa Rica. This article presents a historical reconstruction of how an area was created, actors involved and their interactions to provide insights to current outcomes of national conservation planning and management. The park is one of the most diverse ecological systems for its size on earth, but is exposed to settlement, lumber interests, hunting and goldmining. Open communication and searching for win-win situations fomented the creation of Corcovado National Park and may hold the key for its sustainability.KEY WORDSConservation, history, Costa Rican park system, Tropical conservation, Osa Peninsula.