Thanks to Pam P who found this article in the Goodnews Newsletter.
Years of unchecked logging laid waste to two-thirds of Costa Rica’s tree canopy, leaving its tropical rainforests facing an uncertain future. But the trees have returned and the resurrected forests support a thriving eco-tourism industry.
Towards the middle of the 20th century, indigenous woodland – predominantly tropical rainforest – covered all but a quarter of the country. But then the loggers arrived. The forests were cleared as crews of lumberjacks freely converted Costa Rica’s natural resources into profits.
By the early 1980s, the destruction of two-thirds of the forests had ravaged the habitats of indigenous creatures such as the golden toad and poison dart frog.
Following decades of decline, an unusual thing happened. The rate of deforestation slowed and eventually dropped to zero, and over time the trees began to return.
Branching out
What caused this dramatic reversal of fortune?