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This paper provides a look at the social conflicts that have taken place in Costa Rica during the Covid-19 pandemic (January 2020 and December 2021). This study comes from the registered collective actions and the experiences of the "Community Observatory of Collective Actions." Based on this data, four axes of conflict were identified during this period: a) The demand for rights and defense of indigenous territories, b) Communities in defense of water and the environment, c) Draft laws that threaten common goods, d) Labor conflicts and pollution in the production of monocultives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Environmental compensation is a technical-legal instrument of environmental management used to offset damage due to non-reversible and unavoidable impacts. Usually, offset regulations are included in national environmental legislations. This paper summarizes environmental compensation legislation in Costa Rica, a country with a recognized conservation tradition and environmental awareness. Our goal is to describe how compensation is formulated in that country and identify possible regulations gaps. Methods: We carried out a systematic review of environmental legislation through the Costa Rican Legal Information System (http://www.pgrweb.go.cr/scij/avanzada_pgr.aspx), considering both regulations and pronouncements on compensation measures and mitigation. Results: The Political Constitution of Costa Rica recognizes a healthy environment as a fundamental right for all citizens. At least seven laws dealing with environmental issues and their respective regulations are currently enforced. This bulky legislation aims to protect natural resources by regulating their use and creating an assemblage of protected wild areas. However, the legislation is somewhat repetitive and open to interpretation, facilitating confusion. Actions requiring compensation are regulated in a general way, making it difficult to establish when and how to apply them. In addition, compensation is considered based on when the damage is identified and not on its level of environmental impact. Furthermore, the regulations do not make explicit the principles and goals that support the compensatory measures or how they should be carried out, briefly mentioning some actions that do not ensure that the net environmental loss is zero. Conclusions: This review reveals the need to standardize the mechanisms to determine compensatory measures at the regulatory level, also analyzing the strategies that will be followed to ensure proportionality and ecological equivalence. The legislation must emphasize the importance of compensation as a positive practice, which must be incorporated within the guidelines of the Environmental Impact Study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explores some of the many possible interactions and common areas between the so-called environmentalism of the poor, understood as an environmental current arising from the lower strata and present in diverse space-time contexts of the relationship between society and nature, or as a specific type of socio-environmental conflict and the studies of social exclusion, with a long tradition in social sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking into consideration that tourism is the main source of income for Costa Rica, this paper underscores the importance of developing this sector in accordance to its ecological aspects. It shows a summary of the progress tourism has experienced in Costa Rica and its relation to the environment. It also provides an example of how to organize a community so that it can take advantage of its natural beauty and promote tourism in the region. Lastly, it shows recommendations to improve tourism in the country in harmony with nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking into consideration that tourism is the main source of income for Costa Rica, this paper underscores the importance of developing this sector in accordance to its ecological aspects. It shows a summary of the progress tourism has experienced in Costa Rica and its relation to the environment. It also provides an example of how to organize a community so that it can take advantage of its natural beauty and promote tourism in the region. Lastly, it shows recommendations to improve tourism in the country in harmony with nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation of an index to value urban green zones: Its application and analysis with a geographic perspective in Barrio Dent and Altos del Escalante.The conservation and incorporation of nature in the urban system through the correct management of land tracts that enables the growth of vegetation has become an indispensable requirement in sensible urban planning. This paper reviews the reliability of an index (%IZV) designed to evaluate the importance of urban green zones in a local scale. The model was tested in two costarrican neighborhoods: Barrio Dent and Altos del Escalante, both incorporated to the District of Montes de Oca. Observations indicate that most values fall in the %IZV range = 50 to 80; however, values of %IZV could be found in all ranges, except %IZV ranges = 81 to 90. The results seems to indicate that %IZV can be used eficiently for selecting and discriminating land tracts for either conservancy or future urbanization. In respect to the management of green patches, only the abandoned coffee plantation category differ estatisticly (average= 95; standard deviation= 2) in comparison to the rest of the classifications. When analyzed in a spatial perspective, this patches aggregate in a green nucleus around Quebrada de los Negritos' water way. This attribute could facilitate environmental design practices and the establishment of a greenway with other important surrounding green zones. Future threats to these urban green zones are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental education is a relatively new area on the primary school curriculum of Trinidad and Tobago.Because of the close relationship between human activities and the degradation of the natural environment in Tobago,environmental education will become increasingly important to the preservation and conservation of the island ’s fragile natural resources.Current teaching methods rely heavily on text books and utilise a lecture style that does not promote student interaction. Unfortunately, these methods are not very conducive to environmental education.As such,this paper examines a pilot program in which staff from the Buccoo Reef Trust taught students from 15 primary schools about coral reefs using interactive tools and hands-on methods as described in People &Corals:an Education Package for Primary Schools (People &Corals ).The pilot program ran over an eight week period with prepared lessons being taught every two weeks and student evaluations taking place once before the first lesson and once after the last lesson.The lessons were supplemented with a field trip to a coral reef ecosystem.Despite several challenges that were faced in the implementation process,the overall outcome of the pilot program was successful.Teachers and students reacted positively to the information that was being shared,thereby reinforcing the effectiveness of using a dynamic,active method of teaching to advance environmental education.La educación ambiental es un área relativamente nueva en los currículos de las escuelas primarias de Trinidad y Tobago.Debido a la relación entre las actividades humanas y la degradación del ambiente natural,la educación ambiental va a ser cada vez más importante para la preservación y conservación de los frágiles recursos naturales de la Isla de Tobago.Los métodos de enseñanza actuales se basan principalmente en libros de texto y utilizan un estilo de lectura que no promueve la interacción de los estudiantes.Desafortunadamente,éstos métodos no son ideales para la educación ambiental.Así,este artículo examina un programa piloto en el que trabajadores del "Buccoo Reef Trust "enseñaron a estudiantes de 15 escuelas primarias acerca de los arrecifes coralinos usando herramientas interactivas y métodos manuales.Este programa piloto tuvo una duración de ocho semanas,con lecciones cada dos semanas y dos evaluaciones para los estudiantes: antes de la primera lección y después de la última.Las lecciones se complementaron con una gira de campo a un ecosistema de coral.A pesar de algunas dificultades en el proceso de implementación,en general el programa fue un éxito.Los profesores y estudiantes reaccionaron positivamente a la información compartida,reforzando así la necesidad de usar métodos dinámicos y activos para mejorar la enseñanza en educación ambiental.

El presente artículo muestra la evaluación realizada al programa “Aula al Aire Libre” de la Reserva Los Coyotes (Mata de Plátano, Goicoechea, en San José, Costa Rica), con el fin de presentarlo como una metodología innovadora y efectiva para la educación formal. Durante el 2010, se evaluó el nivel de conocimiento de los estudiantes participantes (n= 1085) antes y después del trabajo de campo utilizando pruebas cortas. El análisis de los resultados indicó que el momento de la prueba (antes/después) tiene un efecto significativo en la nota obtenida; es decir, como consecuencia de su trabajo en Los Coyotes la cantidad de respuestas correctas aumentó de manera significativa. Para comparar la eficiencia de esta metodología con la del sistema tradicional de enseñanza, las evaluaciones post-visita fueron también administradas a un grupo control (n=498). Los resultados revelaron que los estudiantes participantes tienen un mejor manejo de los temas en cuestión que los estudiantes del grupo control. Además se aplicaron encuestas a los estudiantes y docentes de las escuelas participantes; tanto docentes como estudiantes mostraron altos niveles de satisfacción y consideraron el programa como una herramienta eficiente en la enseñanza de los contenidos formales. La encuesta además permitió identificar las fortalezas y debilidades del programa, dando así al personal de Los Coyotes información importante para reformular y mejorar la práctica. This paper presents the evaluation of the program "Outdoor Classroom" of Reserva Los Coyotes (Mata de Plátano, Goicoechea, in San José, Costa Rica), in order to evince it as an innovative and effective methodology for formal education. During 2010, the level of knowledge of participating students (n = 1085) was assessed before and after the field work, using quiz-like instruments. The analysis of the results indicated that the moment of testing (before / after) has a significant effect on the grade obtained, ie as a result of their work at Los Coyotes the number of correct answers increased significantly. To compare the efficiency of this methodology to the traditional education system, post-visit assessments were also administered to a control group (n = 498). The results revealed that participating students have a better handle of the topics developed than the students in the control group. Additional surveys were applied to students and teachers from the participating schools; both teachers and students showed high levels of satisfaction and rated the program as an effective tool in the teaching of formal contents. The survey also identified the strengths and weaknesses of the program, thus giving Los Coyotes staff important information to reformulate and improve practice.