The (Non) Existence of Measured Hydrological Impacts of the Payment for Environmental Services Program in Costa Rica

I plan to explore the documented hydrological impacts of the Payment for Environmental Services Program (PES) in Costa Rica. PES, introduced to Costa Rica in the 1980s by the World Bank, aims to promote a more sustainable relationship between humans and nature as users receive payments for various environmental protection programs globally. Funded by taxes, international donors, and down-stream benefactors, PES is a voluntary service that promotes poverty alleviation, carbon sequestration through forest conservation, as well as increased water quality and availability as its primary objectives. The breadth of Costa Rica’s programs, unlike other countries, implements both forest conservation and water quality provisions for human consumption and hydroelectric generation. The social and economic implications of these programs have been written about extensively justifying the theoretical and economic frameworks underlying the payments. However, the claimed environmental benefits have yet to be thoroughly reviewed. With a specific focus on the hydrologic projects of Costa Rica, I will study the extent to which there is clarity in the water quality PES objectives and the monitoring of expected results. Thus far, there has not been clarification as to what projects designed to improve water quality and availability actually entail, and subsequently attain. To address these issues, I will first look at downstream user and governmental motivations for the sites selected, and if there was prior documented degradation that fostered interest in PES participation for that particular region.[1] Second, I will explore the documented hydrological benefits, or lack thereof, in the region to determine the water and watershed effects from this program.


[1] If they are choosing ecologically sensitive areas that would most prominently benefit or if sites are chosen purely on poverty alleviation/other human factors.

History and Themes in Osa So far.

The problem is not whether people are living on the land or not—we have seen and proven that yes, people and animals can live in unison, successfully, the problem is when we are so incredibly demanding, so overtly exploitative of all the land has to offer that animals and “wildlife” and humans can not coexist. We need to be looking for a future in which such reality exists – allow farmers to cultivate complex –Agroforestry and do what they do best. Which is grow a diversity of plants that are local, seasonal, and allow for us to live locally, organically, and sustainably. I don’t understand how we can be trying to get away from that especially in a country that desires to live so strongly in unison with the environment – its external forces…fucking united states… we have to look for ways to sustain local produce – we see changes not only in land use and conservation but in humans health – they will start seeing the rapid decline in health that we have in the states and that all countries with high processed goods are seeing. That is another reason I am strongly interested in plastics and packaged goods… the constant reminders that we are a part of this beautiful world are vital to the continued life of both sides…



 

History, themes and future of the Osa Peninsula

All went down hill in the 1980s – first Latin-American country to default on international debt, which forced them into being at the limbs of the international / western community

• Quit subsidies to agriculture – neoliberalism ideologies of opening up trade to international communities to source goods from the “cheapest” places

• Killed the local farmer and eradicated the port in Puerto Jimenez in which farmers could sell their goods

• This also ruined the system in which the government provided seeds and steady market prices for the produce of farmers
• This was one of the first steps in the decline of farmers and peoples in the mountains
PROJECT TO TRACK THE DECLINE OF SCHOOLS WITHIN THE REGION

Secondly, the government, potentially through pressure from international communities, began buying (or maybe other countries bought) the land for national parks and reserves. On one hand this led the forced movement of farmers off of their land – government (or others…) bought land at very cheap prices.
PROJECT TO TRACK THE ABANDONED HOUSES IN CORCOVADO PARK

• Corcovado is one of the only established national parks that is entirely owned by the “state” or at least no private land owners, unlike Piedras Blancas that is 70% private land owners. they are basically trapped inside their land – need to research what they can actually do?
In the past the land was severely threatened by loggers and gold mining, and while these still devastate the area, palma//palm oil the plantations have a much stronger presence in the lives of farmers.

• Lots of propaganda in which they truly believe the palma is great for the animals/land/environment and a win-win situation because they are making a ton of money.

• Even if the majority of people are not living within the national park borders they are more often than not within the biological/forest reserve –what are the categorical differences between the two?

• Gold mining still exists within the national park and there is a lot of gold in the rivers of the farmer’s properties.
The properties are rich in materials to extract and profit from, but the majority of the people do not know how much all of the plants are worth and do not have any interest in extracting goods from the forest. The majority is not even taking wood from the forest. They have no desire to exploit the forest, but when companies show up and want to plant teka or molina or palma it is hard to resist the incredible profits that can be made from these materials.

PROJECT IS TO TRULY INVESTIGATE THE GOLD MINING IN THE PARK

THE POSITIVE ALTERNATIVE IS TOURISM…OR INCENTIVES…

• Problems with tourism
o Roads/promotion/establishment of tourism projects – need upfront costs/need to speak English/need to have access to promote your business/it is seasonal…

• Incentives
o Positives: allows the farmers to stay on their land within a reserve area or in an ecologically sensitive area and not feel pressured to “harm the environment” through poor agriculture practices or through hunting or extracting wood, a positive source of income, pride in the biodiversity of their land, allowing humans and animals to live in harmony and respect each other

o Negatives: farmers are not getting the money, or if they are it is hardly enough to actually sustain a healthy lifestyle, subject to exorbitant amounts of processing fees and paperwork that is truly debilitating to the continuation incentives and is an inhibiting factor to other farmers that cannot pay or complete the paperwork

If the Costa Rican government continues this process of urbanizing the population and expanding the national parks systems in which the majority of their territory is not being “used” by their people, where do they think that will get them? There is in fact a growing middle class and their population is largely urbanized, but as we are seeing in the states we cannot have a population sustained on imported and processed foods. This “neoliberal” mindset that we need to consolidate might be to the advantage of Costa Rica’s conservation objectives but harmful to the mental, political, financial, and physical health of their people. Although they do have pretty good sanitation rates, literacy rates, and general hygiene, it is mentally debilitating to feel as though you do not have the right to your land. Furthermore, several farmers do not technically have land ownership, just possession and the process of acquiring such titles also involves several years of paperwork and processing fees that they often do not complete the process.

PROJECT LAND INSECURITY AND OWNERSHIP IS A HUGE PROBLEM NOT ONLY FOR THE FARMERS BUT ALSO THE COSTA RICAN GOVERNMENT

–PARRALLES IN HOW THE COSTA RICAN GOVERNMENT IS DEFAULTING ON DEBT AND THEIR TREATMENT OF SMALL FARMERS — Farm as collateral to banks – primary forest as collateral to international community

PROJECT CHANGE IN LAND USE AND AGRICULTURE OVER TIME –land ownerships changes over time//crop changes//deforestation rates//places of high risk

PROJECT ELEVATION PROFILES OF NEW PROPOSED TRAILES IN CORCOVADO – where can we create new trails within Corcovado to feasibly expand tourism throughout?
PROJECT MAP OF WATERSHEDS AND SUBTERRANIAN WATERSHEDS—areas of high sensitivity

PROJECT MAP OF BIOMES AND THE EFFECT CHANGE IN CLIMATE WILL HAVE – projections of rain change patterns that will devastate sensitive areas

PROJECT MAPS OF PHYTOGRAPHY – SATELLITE IMAGERY

Questions within Corcovado National Park:
o Gold Mining: previous materials? Current process? Officials approach to this practice? Bribery?
o Locals have done this for 100s of years, then kicked off land but still feel attachment so continue to extract gold
o Visitation Rates? Duration of Stay? Country of Origin? Requirements for guides?
o Rates of Deforestation at park borders?
o Amount of facilities on the property? Abandoned houses included…
o Who owns Corcovado…other parks?
o Human – wildlife interactions…?
NEED TO STUDY THE LEVELS OF RESERVED LAND CLASSIFICATIONS & THE DISTRIBUTION OF SUCH PROPERTIES AND THE INHABITANT RATES…

Ultimately, people want to conserve, people are proud of their land, yet they need to sustain their own lives. International companies easily persuade people especially when campesinos have no other source of income.

It is dangerous to keep isolating humans and nature – if the end result is vast amounts of land without people living on them that means we are potentially not thinking about how to make the land we do inhabit environmentally friendly

Historia, las temas, y el futuro de la península de Osa
 
En los ochentas, Costa Rica fue la primera país en Latinoamérica “to default on international debt”, entonces “forced” a hacer que quieren las personas internacionales y “western”
 
• Se acabó los subsidios de agricultura – los ideólogos “neoliberal” como abrir el mercado internacional para recibir los precios más bajos de todos
 
• Se murió la vida campesino y el mercado local en Puerto Jiménez donde les “pueden” vender los cultivos
 
• Además, el sistema donde el gobierno vende pare? y no más era precios fijado a los campesinos
• Este proceso fue una de los primeros “steps” de el disminución/descenso de gente o campesinos en las montañas
 
UN PROYECTO LOCALIZA LAS ESCUELAS A MENOS DE ESTE REGION
Segundo, el gobierno, posiblemente con PRESSURE de las comunidades internacionales, empezó a comprar (o posiblemente las otras países compraron) la tierra para hacer parques nacionales y reservas. A un mano “forced” los campesinos no “pueden” vivir más de la tierra y el gobierno (o otras personas) se compró la tierra con bajos precios.
UN PROYECTO LOCALIZA LAS CASAS ABANDONADOS ENTRE EL PARQUE
• Corcovado es uno de los parques que “estaba establecido” con propiedad solamente del estado o al menos no hay dueños privados, “unlike” Piedres Blancas que tiene 70% dueños privados. La gente están atrapando por la tierra – necesito buscar las reglas de las categorías y que queden hacer los campesinos
En el pasado, “threatened” con la gente que quieren extraer madera o oro – todavía estos son problemas pero la palma está creciendo a un problema más grande de todos
• Hay mucho propaganda y resulta en un conocimiento que la palma es bueno para el medioambiente, especialmente para los animales, poco gente sabe que es malo para el suelo Y los campesinos también ganan mucha plata
• Ni siquiera la mayoría de la gente no están viviendo entre la parque nacional todavía están viviendo entre un reserva forestal o biológico—cual son los niveles?
• “La extrae de oro” todavía existe en el parque nacional y hay mucho oro en los ríos de las propiedades de los campesinos.
Además la tierra tiene muchas cosas muy valerosa; a los campesinos solamente son bonitas y genial pero no saben el precio de las cosas no-maderas. Entonces el MINAE quiere saber que tiene los campesinos! Los campesinos no quieren extraer plantas o aun madera o “exploit” la tierra. Pero cuando llegue las empresas de molina o teka o palma, es muy difícil a resistir los precios altos de la madera.
 
PROYECTO A INVESTIGAR “LA EXTRAE DE ORO” EN EL PARQUE
LOS ALTERNATIVOS POSITIVOS – TURISMO/INCENTIVOS
•Calles malos/como “promote”/ como hacer un proyecto turístico – los primeros costosos/es necesario a hablar ingles
 
 
 
 
• Positivos de incentivos →los campesinos pueden permanecer de la tierra entre una reserva o un lugar sensitivo de ecología y no están “harming” el medioambiente con mal practica de la agricultura o casería o de extraer madera – un fuente de ingresos a los campesinos, tienen orgullos de la biodiversidad, pueden vivir “in harmony” con los animales salvajes con respecto a todos
 
Negativos: Los campesinos no están recibiendo el dinero, y si están es precios bajos y no pueden vivir con buen salud
• “subject to” mucho tramite que es muy costoso y muchas personas no pueden completar el proceso (no pueden leer o no tienen la plata, etc)
 
–Si el gobierno sigue con esta proceso de urbanización de el populo y de “expanding” el sistema de parques nacionales “in which/donde?” no hace nada con la mayoría de la propiedad, a donde va?? Es la verdad que hay un “middle class” y mucha gente vive en la ciudad, pero como ocurre en los estados unidos no puede vivir de comida importada y procesada. (¿?) El consumiente “neoliberal” que necesitamos “consolidate” está ayudando con los objetivos de la conservación del bosque pero está malo a la salud de mental, político, financia, y físicamente. Aunque ellos tienen higiénico bueno, es “mentally debilitating” a sentir si no tiene las derachas de la tierra. Además, muchos de los campesinos no tienen el titulo/ la escritura de la propiedad, solamente posesión y el proceso para obtener la escritura es muy difícil con mucho tramite y es muy costoso. Entonces mucha gente no realiza el proceso.
 
UN PROYECTO DE LA INSEGURIDAD DE LA TIERRA Y “OWNERSHIP” NO SOLO ES UN PROBLEMA A LOS CAMPESINOS PERO EL GOBIERNO DE COSTA RICAN TAMBIEN.
 
 
 
 
–PARALLELES EN COMO EL GOBIERNO DE COSTA RICA “IS DEFAULTING ON DEBT” Y “THE TREATMENT” DE LOS FINCEROS PEQUEÑOS – la finca “es colateral” a los bancos – y el bosque primaria es colateral a la comunidad internacional
 
UN PROYECTO DEL CAMBIO DEL USO DE LA TIERRA Y AGRICULTURA “OVER” TIEMPO – los cambios en dueños y cultivos//rato de deforestación/lugares de “risk” alto
 
UN PROYECTO DE MODELES DE ELEVACION DE SENDEROS NUEVES EN CORCOVADO –donde puede construir senderos nuevos entre corcovado para “feasibly expand” el turismo “beyond the current places”
PROYECTOS DE LAS CUENCAS Y SUB CUENCAS – áreas con “high sensitivity”
 
PROYECTO DE CAMBIO DE BIOMES CON EL CAMBIO DEL CLIMA – proyección de cambios en lluvia que va a afectar áreas con “high sensitivity”
PROYECTO DE UN MODEL DE PHYTOGRAPHY – desde los imágenes de satélite
 
Preguntas sobre el parque nacional de corcovado:
• La extrae de oro: los materiales de empresas pasadas? “current” proceso? Que piensen los oficiales ya ahora? “bribery”? chorizo…
• La gente local ha extrayendo por más de cien años, “kicked off land” pero todavía tiene un conexión a la tierra y todavía quiere extraer el oro
• Cuantos personas va al parque? Por cuanto tiempo? De donde son? Los requerimientos de los guías?
• Rato de deforestación a la frontera del parque?
• Cuantos facilidades hay en el parque? Casa abandonados también…
• Quien adueñado el parque? Los otros?
• Interacción entre la gente y los animales salvajes?
NECESSITO INVESTIGAR MÁS DE LOS NIVELES DE LAS IDENITIFICACIONES DE LAS RESERVAS//PARQUES Y LA DISTRIBUCION DE ESTES TIPOS DE PROPIERDADES Y CUANTO PERSONAS VIVEN POR ALLÁ?
“ultimately” la gente quiere conservar, son orgullos, aun necesitan sostener la vida…Las empresas internacionales “persuade” la gente, especialmente cuando no hay otro fuente de ingresos…
Es peligroso a separar la gente y el medioambiente…si quiere muchas montas de tierra sin gente resulta, posiblemente, en un conocimiento sin pensando en como hacemos una vida de la ciudad en conexión del medioambiente…
 

Protected: bahia drake

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Why Costa Rica? Why this project?

Draft of quick reasons why I care about this project:

-purely for the people by the people – working as much to be a vessel through which they can voice concerns and perspectives -(puramente?) de la gente para la gente

– yo deseo estar un (medio/vessel) en donde ellos pueden hablar sobre preocupaciones y perspectivos  

-combination of academia, agriculture, governmental project, international agencies

-es la academia, la agricultura, proyectos del gobierno, y las agencias internacionales juntos

-environmental responsibility

 -de quien es la responsabilidad del medioambiente 

-really learning spanish

-estoy aprendiendo el español muy muy bien/bueno (jaja)! 

-map making – routes, locations, land space distribution

 -estamos haciendo las mapas, rutas, ubicaciones, y mirando a la distribución de la tierra y la propiedad en este region   

-at this point in my life I really feel as though I don’t have much else to contribute other than purely listening

— ahoritica yo solamente necesito escuchar, ya no sé mucho de estos temas a fuera de las clases a la universidad y  es muy importante que yo presto mucho atención en las temas que son muy importante a la gente y el medioambiente 

-learning how to drive a motorcycle

estoy aprendiendo como manejar un moto! 

-every day is a surprise, teaching flexibility, patience, understanding, how to really serve

– cada día es una sorpresa, necesito tener flexibilidad, paciencia, acuerdo?, y serve la gente

-“stuck with” mundane tasks that I really enjoy!

Yo necesito hacer todo de las cosas tedioso…pero me encantan…! 

-photography that is non-intrusive and only when they ask! and they are getting the copies

– fotografía que es sutil (?) y solamente cuando ellos quieren! Y les regalamos todas de las fotos también

-feel morally good about this overall

– me siento que es un proyecto con principios éticos que me gusta mucho.  

Field Work Costa Rica

I have recently arrived in Puerto Jiménez Costa Rica where I am assisting Greg on his project and simultaneously sorting through what my own research goals/thesis will be about. Greg is investing the Payment for Environmental Services program and gender disparities in the region.

To do so he has/we have:

– a motorcycle

-a list of names

-a road map

-raincoats

We set out on the motorcycle each day and interview the farmers of the region; when it is appropriate I will talk to the women in a separate room. This process in the last two days alone has created a wealth of opportunities to engage with and give voice to farmers outside of any political or economic motive. We are purely here to listen, learn, and try to make sense of the changing agricultural practices, perspectives on conservationism, governmental/international organization programs, with, when possible, an emphasis on the female viewpoint.

You can read more about the Payment for Environmental Services program here or here or here.

I will, as often as possible and with consent, be posting photos of our daily adventures. We have an outline of questions but allow for as much flexibility of time, interviews ranging from 30 minutes to 5 hours. We want to build trust and be a positive outlet for the farmers, anonymously, to contribute their perspectives and concerns. We will both be writing our thesis’ in english and spanish to make the material accessible and worthwhile to all parties involved.