Reforestation & carbon neutrality at Costa Rica eco lodge Playa Nicuesa

Costa Rica is a small country with a big success story in reforestation.
The Central American nation was nearly devastated by deforestation by the early 1980s. Now more than 30 years later, over 52 percent of Costa Rica’s land is covered with forest between national parks, private reserves and wildlife refuges.

Costa Rica’s progressive reforestation and environmental protection earned the country the accolade of being named the third best Green Country in the World in the 2014 Global Green Economy Index™ (GGEI).

In southern Costa Rica on the Golfo Dulce (“Sweet Gulf”), eco-friendly Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge is doing its part to help reforest Costa Rica. The Costa Rica eco-lodge protects 95% of their 165-acre rainforest property in an undeveloped and natural state. They began a reforestation program in 2010 to slowly remove the cacao trees – from the former cacao plantation where the lodge is built – that were infected by the fungus Moniliophthora roreri, or “frosty pod rot”. Instead, they are planting trees native to Costa Rica and the local area.

Planting native trees helps re-establish the biological corridor for animals between the Piedras Blancas National Park and the Golfito Wildlife Refuge that border either side of Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge.
Nicuesa Lodge guests can take part in the reforestation program by planting a tree when visiting. Guests who plant a tree during their stay at the lodge receive a thank you certificate that includes a photo of the person planting the tree, their name, and the description of the tree planted with the scientific and common names.

So far, approximately 150 trees have been planted by hotel guests and staff: species like Cortez Amarillo (Tabebuia ochracea, Gold Trumpet tree), Roble de Sabana (Tabebuia rosea, Pink Trumpet tree), Cenizaro (Samanea saman, Rain Tree), Espavel (Anacardium excelsum, Wild Cashew tree), and Gallinazo (Schizolobium parahyba, Brazilian Fire tree), among others. Trees are obtained by donations and seeds harvested naturally from the forest.

“Last year, we accepted a donation of 50 Cenizaro starter trees from the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT). We also collect seeds from the forest on our property, germinate them and grow seedlings, which we then plant in an area we set aside for reforestation,” explained Natalia Solis, Sustainability Coordinator at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge. “This project invites and involves our guests to be part of a change that helps our environment and also helps offset the carbon emissions generated during their journey and visit to the lodge.”

Besides planting trees when you stay at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge, you can reduce the ecological impact on the planet generated by your trip by purchasing carbon credits that will be used to reforest land elsewhere in Costa Rica. The program supported by Nicuesa Lodge is with the Costa Rica National Forest Financing Fund (FONAFIFO).


Stay at a real Costa Rica Eco Lodge

Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge opened in April 2003 as one of the first true eco-lodges in Costa Rica. Operating now 12 years, Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge holds the highest rating in the Certification for Sustainable Tourism Program (CST) by the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT). Playa Nicuesa recently received the important Ecological Blue Flag Award for the fifth time for having one of Costa Rica’s cleanest beaches. Additionally, Nicuesa Lodge is working to be certified a Carbon Neutral Business, and the lodge supports the Osa Campaign and the Nature Conservancy that protects the Golfo Dulce and Osa Peninsula region.

Contact Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge to visit the unique nature and adventure travel destination.

Article by Shannon Farley

Protecting Golfo Dulce in Costa Rica on World Oceans Day 2015

Out on the calm, clear, jade green-blue water of the Golfo Dulce (“Sweet Gulf”) in southern Costa Rica, it is easy to think this must be one of the most pristine, beautiful places on Earth. And it is. This inner sea is a critical habitat for endangered migrating southern Pacific humpback whales, dolphins and sharks, among other marine life.

Then our boat passes a small patch of floating plastic bottles, chips bags and other random flotsam. Trash. Human trash. And we are reminded that if anything were to ruin this amazing creation, it would be humans.



World Oceans Day on June 8 reminds us to honor and protect the beauty and life of the world’s oceans. The annual event by the United Nations focuses this year on the theme “Healthy oceans, healthy planet” and especially on eradicating plastic pollution.

“The ocean and its wildlife are choking on plastic, and we need to both stop this pollution at the source, and clean it up from the coasts,” states the World Oceans Day information. “The ocean is the heart of our planet. Like your heart pumping blood to every part of your body, the ocean connects people across the Earth, no matter where we live. The ocean regulates the climate, feeds millions of people every year, produces oxygen, is the home to an incredible array of wildlife, provides us with important medicines, and so much more! In order to ensure the health and safety of our communities and future generations, it’s imperative that we take the responsibility to care for the ocean as it cares for us.”



On the inside of Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, Golfo Dulce is approximately 50 km (31 miles) long and 10-15 km (6 -9 miles) wide with a steeply sloped deep inner basin. It is this depth, bottoming out around 215 m (705 ft.), and low human impact of the remote, sheltered gulf that attracts large marine life.



Endangered Pacific humpback whales from the southern hemisphere migrate here every August to October to breed and give birth. The gulf is vital to the species’ survival, according to the Center for Cetacean Research of Costa Rica (CEIC), which is lobbying with other environmental organizations to create a Marine Protected Area within Golfo Dulce.



Dolphins – Bottlenose Dolphins, Spotted Dolphins, Spinner Dolphins, and occasionally-seen False Killer Whales – and also sharks live in these waters. You can find tiger sharks and different species of hammerhead sharks in Golfo Dulce. The area is particularly key for hammerhead sharks, which also come to the gulf to breed and give birth – usually beginning in May. Juvenile sharks then grow for four years in unprotected areas in the Golfo Dulce, according to Andrés López, investigator for the organization Misión Tiburón (Shark Mission) in Costa Rica.

“Every day we are convinced more about the importance of Golfo Dulce for sharks. Today at dawn we marked 13 hammerhead sharks and two tiger sharks,” reported Misión Tiburón on their Facebook page.



Visit Golfo Dulce in Costa Rica

See amazing marine life in the Golfo Dulce when you stay at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge in Costa Rica. Set in the rainforest on a remote beach of the Golfo Dulce, the Costa Rica eco-lodge offers boat tours in Golfo Dulce to see marine life and during whale-watching season. You also frequently can see beautiful bioluminescence in the gulf on clear nights.

Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge holds the highest Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) in Costa Rica, and recently received the Ecological Blue Flag Award for the fifth time for keeping one of the cleanest beaches in Costa Rica free of trash and pollution.
Contact Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge to visit the unique nature and adventure travel destination.

Article by Shannon Farley  

 

Costa Rica eco-lodge named cleanest beach in the country

The trash problem of the world’s oceans has reached epic proportions. However, in the small Central American nation of Costa Rica, 108 beach communities have taken a stand against litter and pollution and are working to make a difference in the world predicament.

The record number of Costa Rica beaches received Ecological Blue Flag Awards for 2014 for having good ecological practices, clean beaches, community cooperation and coastal protection. The annual awards were given out in a ceremony held in March 2015.

One of these Costa Rica beaches that are tackling the world problem of ocean pollution is Playa Nicuesa. The small beach on the Golfo Dulce in southern Costa Rica is home to Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge, a sustainable Costa Rica eco-lodge known for its pristine tropical beach, beautiful rainforest, and jade green Pacific Ocean so clear you can see to the bottom. The region is a giant conservation area that includes the world-famous Corcovado National Park on the Osa Peninsula, the Piedras Blancas National Park and three other private reserves. The unique Golfo Dulce – “Sweet Gulf” – is a critical habitat for migrating Pacific Humpback Whales, and dolphins and sea turtles.



Keeping these beaches unspoiled is important, and is a full-time job that Nicuesa Lodge staff undertakes with conviction. This is the fifth time Nicuesa Lodge has been honored with receiving the Blue Flag Award for being one of Costa Rica’s cleanest beaches.

“We are proud to say that Playa Nicuesa is a very clean beach, where our guests can enjoy it without any danger. We constantly hold beach cleanups to keep our beach clean,” said Natalia Solis, Sustainability Coordinator at Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge. “These efforts to help nature are of the utmost importance to Playa Nicuesa since it is part of the philosophy and principles that we have as a sustainable hotel.”



Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge is one of only three dozen hotels in Costa Rica that have received the highest rating in the Certification for Sustainable Tourism Program (CST) by the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT).
In addition to its participation in the 19-year-old Costa Rica Blue Flag Ecological Program (Bandera Azul Ecológica), Nicuesa Lodge is involved in many sustainable environmental projects:

• Beach cleanups every four to six weeks by staff and guests.
• Maintain five trash receptacles near the beach at Playa Nicuesa.
• Work with the Costa Rica Health Ministry campaign against dengue fever in the region.
• Hold workshops on environmental issues.
• Test the hotel’s potable water at least every three months to ensure its safe drinkability.
• Test the ocean water at Playa Nicuesa twice a year.
• Reforestation with native Costa Rican tree species to create a biological corridor.

“We know that we only have one planet and it is our home; this is why we try to improve our sustainable practices,” said Solis. “We hope that many more people join this program and that there are more beaches like Playa Nicuesa to set an example and motivate others to work together to protect our country’s precious natural resources.”



Playa Nicuesa Rainforest LodgeA true Costa Rica rainforest lodge, Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge is located on a 165-acre private rainforest preserve. Being a unique adventure travel destination, the only way to get there is by boat across the pristine waters of the Golfo Dulce from either Golfito or Puerto Jimenez. Contact Playa Nicuesa Rainforest Lodge to book your Costa Rica family vacation, honeymoon, nature and adventure vacation, or yoga retreat.

Article by Shannon Farley