An Overview Of Our Solution
Costa Rica has become economically dependent on ecotourism due to it’s biological richness
and emphasis on natural resource and cultural conservation. This success has had
impressionable consequences with respect to waste management, and a lack of infrastructure
has contributed to negative environmental impacts and human health problems throughout
the country. The Área de Conservación Guanacaste launched a local campaign “Quiero Dejar
una Huella Verde” to implement sustainable waste management strategies and mitigate the
impact of human presence on wildlife populations within it’s protected wildlife areas. The goal
of this initiative is to reduce the ecological footprint of visitors, researchers and employees
through a process of education, infrastructure development and impact assessment, to
encourage sustainable tourism in sensitive ecosystems.
- Population Impacted: 3000
- Continent: North America
Last name
Organization type
Context Analysis
The Área de Conservación Guanacaste (ACG) conserves 163, 000 ha of sensitive ecosystems and welcomes >100, 000 visitors annually. Human presence within these protected areas comes with an unintended consequence of solid waste production. In Costa Rica, only 15% of solid waste reaches landfills and less than 10% is recycled (Ben-Haddej et al 2010). The inadequate disposal of solid waste causes environmental deterioration (Acurio et al 1997), potentially resulting in a general loss of biodiversity (Shayler et al 2009, Thompson et al 2009). Pollutants disrupt natural systems, alter wildlife behavior and biology (Hinga et al 2005), and result in a loss of species richness and abundance (Shayler et al 2009, Thompson et al 2009).
Describe the technical solution you wanted the target audience to adopt
The ACG founded a campaign “Quiero Dejar una Huella Verde”, which functions to engage local communities in the human health issues and environmental impacts associated with inadequate solid waste disposal. A clear awareness of the environmental consequences of individualistic behaviors is essential for people to take collective pro-environmental measures within their communities (Fransson and Garling 1999, Guerrero et al 2013). There is a significant disconnect between the availability of public information and effective strategies for treating solid waste, creating a substantial barrier to the development of waste management plans (Acurio et al 1997, Fransson and Garling 1999). This is compounded in developing nations because of the general public shifting blame on municipalities for the perceived absence of mandatory sanitation protocols (Acurio et al 1997).
Type of intervention
Describe your behavioral intervention
The main focus of the campaign is to provide education and raise awareness about the impact of solid waste on the environment while encouraging sustainable ecotourism and ultimately reduce the ecological footprint of tourists, researchers and employees. The ACG created 4 fundamental pillars to encourage positive behaviors related to waste management in protected wildlife areas including asking for the public’s assistance with reducing the tendency to dump garbage within it’s borders, discourage the provisioning of wildlife, encourage the separation and recycling of waste, and motivating individuals to take ownership and bring their garbage to designated waste and recycling depots. The ACG uses various platforms to diffuse this information including speaking with tourists during admission, hosting events and presentations, organizing volunteers from local communities, businesses and institutions to participate in park wide clean-ups, and actively posting on social media. In addition, the Biological Education Program (PEB) run through the ACG, works with children from local schools to teach the importance of Costa Rica’s natural resources and conservation, and has actively promoted fundamental waste management strategies that students can practise in their communities.
As needed, please explain the type of intervention in more detail
In Costa Rica, a lack of adequate infrastructure to manage solid waste has resulted in accumulations of garbage in streets, parks, shores, beaches and other natural environments (Acurio et al 1997). This limits the enjoyment of nature, can reduce recreational activities, and in protected wildlife areas, this demonstrates potential to reduce income generated from ecotourism, which is economically vital for the country (Acurio et al 1997, Alam and Ahmade 2013, Hinga et al 2005). In the ACG, the sectors do not have adequate receptacles to encourage the separation of solid waste. In cases where waste receptacles do exist, they do not have lids, which results in wildlife foraging on garbage. In addition, adequate signage is missing to inform the public about the proper handling of solid waste.
Describe your implementation
To implement an effective waste management plan, the ACG has focused on 3 key factors: 1) Education and Outreach; 2) Infrastructure Development and; 3) Impact Assessment.
Education and Outreach
An educational program was created to teach park officials, students and researchers, and the public about waste management and 2 events each month are run in various sectors within the ACG to promote the campaign. During these events, the issue of environmental impact of solid waste is tackled in the context of human-wildlife interactions and conservation, and donations are solicited from the public to assist with infrastructure development.
Infrastructure Development
The funds raised from these events have contributed to the ACG’s first recycling program, currently running as a pilot project in Santa Rosa National Park. Plans are also being defined to purchase animal proof waste receptacles and construct 2 strategic recycling depots where the park can work with local municipalities to implement scheduled waste pick-up. As a result of costs associated with infrastructure development, the ACG is currently reliant on volunteers, government and private grants, and public donations.
Impact Assessment
The impact of solid waste on wildlife within the ACG is currently understudied, however, preliminary qualitative observations have been conducted to identify problem areas and highlight important issues related to waste management with the goal of providing feasible solutions to reduce negative interactions between humans and wildlife. Park wide clean-ups, supported by various community organizations, have highlighted the importance of an effective waste management plan. A total of 10,396.5 kg of solid waste has been collected, separated and removed from the ACG since 2017.
External connections
The ACG has collaborated with various organizations to promote the campaign “Quiero Dejar una Huella Verde”. The ACG partnered with Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED) to form an ecological brigade “ACG-UNED” and assist with education and outreach events and park wide clean-ups. In addition, the ACG has also collaborated with: internal departments and employees; select Costa Rican conservation areas in the Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación (SINAC); Purdy Motors; FEMSA Costa Rica; various Costa Rican academic institutions (UNA, UCR, TEC, INA, UNED); the municipalities of Liberia and La Cruz, Guanacaste; the Ministry of Public Education (MEP); Reciclaje Liberia; Organización de Mujeres Jobo; Moya Brothers Recycling Center; Costa Rica Forever; Central American Association for Economy, Health and Environment (ACEPESA); Peñas Blancas Border Police; visiting national and international universities and public schools; local businesses; and park visitors.
The ACG is committed to improving the quality of the environment, through the promotion of positive behavioral practises that help reduce human impact in protected wildlife areas.
Who adopted the desired behaviors and to what degree?
The ACG’s campaign has been adopted at a local scale by government institutions, several businesses and various organizations. When the campaign was first launched in 2016, it was met with some resistance from the public because the initiative challenged cultural norms. However, the public, researchers and employees have accepted and implemented positive behaviours in support of the ACG’s waste management plan. Local schools have launched similar campaigns to clean up their communities and participation from the public during clean-up events has risen substantially (2016: 32 volunteers; 2018: 87 volunteers). Since the distribution of the recycling receptacles in Santa Rosa National Park, employees are now actively separating solid waste and garbage brought to the landfill in La Cruz, Guanacaste by the ACG has been reduced by 62%.
How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?
It is estimated that the waste generated by humans represents 5% of the total greenhouse gases (Hoornweg and Bhada-Tata 2012). Population growth and modernization are the main causes of increased solid waste production worldwide (Alam and Ahmade 2003). The accumulation of solid waste is not only aesthetically displeasing, but also poses a threat to human health, wildlife, the environment (Acurio et al 1997, Alam and Ahmade 2013, Hinga et al 2005, Hoornweg and Bhada-Tata 2012, Okoronkwo et al 2005, Stem et al 2003), and tourism (Hinga et al 2005, Thompson et al 2009). It is important to evaluate the impact of solid waste due to the consequences associated with inadequate management strategies (Alam and Ahmade 2013). However, the incorporation of waste minimization protocols have the potential to yield positive results (Hoornweg and Bhada- Tata 2012).
What were some of the resulting co-benefits?
Poor waste management is a human health issue. Contaminants can leak into the environment and expose residents to hazardous waste that pollutes surface and groundwater and enter the food chain (Acurio et al 1997, Hoornweg and Bhada-Tata 2012, Okoronkwo et al 2005). Solid waste also has a negative impact on the health of plants and animals (Shayler et al 2009) and the sensitivity of organisms to these products interrupts natural metabolic functions and hinders their growth and reproduction (Hinga et al 2005). Further, inadequate disposal of solid waste causes environmental deterioration (Acurio et al 1997). Living organisms interact with solid waste and the accumulation of garbage directly affects plants and animals while they use these habitats and feed on these resources for nutrition (Alam and Ahmade 2013). This can result in unintended consequences for organisms within ecosystems that the ACG aims to protect. Successfully implementing a waste management plan in the ACG will not only reduce the amount of waste that is present within the protected wildlife area, but also benefit human health in local communities and better conserve wildlife and the environment.
Sustainability
Ideally, the campaign aims to eventually become financially self-sufficient. Currently, grant funding from various NGOs, educational institutions, and support from the Government of Costa Rica is required to help sustain this initiative due to the number of initial costs associated with providing basic infrastructure throughout the ACG. In addition, funds are raised by soliciting public donations in exchange for promotional items, including t-shirts, reusable water bottles and cloth bags. These products also serve to raise environmental awareness and provide an alternative to reduce the consumption of single-use items. An estimated total of $60,000 USD is necessary for the ACG to implement basic infrastructure.
Return on investment
At the end of 2017, the campaign solicited a total of $11,657.60 USD in grant funding and private donations. After the cost of outfitting Santa Rosa National Park with recycling bins, purchasing scales and gloves to weigh solid waste, organizing the removal of solid waste, and associated education and outreach events, the campaign profited a total of $3,069.97 USD, which will be allocated to purchasing animal proof waste receptacles. However, the educational impact that has been made within the ACG and neighbouring communities has been the greatest return on investment.
How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?
Initiatives like the ACG’s “Quiero Dejar una Huella Verde” campaign can be easily replicated within Costa Rica because legislation already exists mandating all public and private organizations to comply with waste management regulations outlined by the Ministry of Health. In countries where such policy and regulation are lacking, it would be necessary to implement legislation and define regionally specific community needs prior to receiving support from governing bodies to ensure that local initiatives comply with national waste management standards. In addition, initial funding is required to begin infrastructure development and support the costs associated with education and outreach events. It is also necessary to build collaborative networks with academic institutions to provide the resources necessary to evaluate the impact of human presence on protected wildlife areas.