CategoriesBlog By ipacheco

Cities seek to green up to mitigate climate change

The Greater Metropolitan Area (GAM) agglomerates 42% of the Costa Rican population, throughout 164 districts in 31 cantons. For sure, this is the largest urban area in Costa Rica, the center of the national infrastructure and government. However, when thinking about its main characteristics, urban planning is not usually among the prominent concepts, with all that it entails.

Green spaces in cities, such as parks, not only offer recreation and scenic beauty, they also provide environmental services such as noise and pollutant damping, thermal regulation, and are even refuges for birds and insects. (Credits: Carlos Andrés Méndez / File)

 

This lack of planning contributes and intensifies the consequences of climate change, co-responsible for heat islands and resulting in problems such as the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG), reduction of green areas or air, river or soil pollution.

To contextualize the magnitude of the problem, last year it was recorded that the average temperature of the GAM reached 43°C due to the gray infrastructure, with San José, Flores, Belén, Heredia and Tibás as the hottest cantons. The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), together with the C40 Climate Leadership Group, warned about the growing trend of heat waves in cities, described as “the silent killers of change climate”.

Likewise, the University of New South Wales (UNSW) determined that urban green areas play a fundamental role in the development of microbes responsible for maintaining ecosystem functions, such as pollutant filtration or carbon dioxide treatment. carbon. In this way, parks, gardens, and even sidewalks are invaluable for their contributions as recreation areas, temperature regulators, and pollution inhibitors.

With all this in mind, Costa Rica as a country represents greater difficulties due to chaos in urban planning or a transport sector that generated 42% of national emissions in 2017, with San José, Alajuela, Heredia and Cartago leading that ranking.

“Costa Rica, for 40 years, made an investment in creating institutionality and environmental policy, but always focused on the rural area. 70% of Costa Ricans live in the GAM or in province capitals, where there is no environmental institutionality and, in a poorly planned urban space, citizens are strongly threatened. A city that does not obey a growth projection, based on urban planning studies, will be more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change,” said Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, executive director of the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

As a result of this, the GAM —as well as some provincial capital cities— are working on greening and restoring the urban landscape with three projects for the health and development of the country.

The normalized vegetation index in the GAM shows a lower average than in previous years, something that is directly associated with the rise in temperature. (Credits: Giancarlo Pucci / UNDP CR)

Interlace Project

The Interlace project: Recovering urban ecosystems is funded by the European Union and promoted by the Union of Local Governments (UNGL) with the aim of enabling and equipping cities to restore and rehabilitate their urban ecosystems.

The approach is based on the “nature-places-people” connection, which promotes the creation of green areas and the recovery of degraded ecosystems that allow that “interlace” between people and the natural environment, all with a view to August 2024, which is the date the initiative will end.

The Interlace project involves six European and Latin American cities, including the María Aguilar Interurban Biological Corridor (CBIMA), which represents 2% of the GAM with 29% of the green area and includes the cantons of Alajuelita, Curridabat, La Union, Montes de Oca and San José.

“It is a very enriching experience for everyone and at the same time a challenge because, although it is true that there are common points in environmental issues between Latin American and European cities, cities also have different governance models, as well as resources and priorities that they allow us to learn from each other and that make Interlace products personified for each city”, commented Marcela Gutiérrez, coordinator of the project and academic at the Center for General Studies of the National University (UNA).

The initiative also recognizes the impact on people’s mental health, especially in the limitation of spaces for physical activity and social interaction. For this reason, during the Latin American event “Cities for Nature”, eight Costa Rican municipalities (San José, Goicoechea, Alajuelita, La Unión, Oreamuno, Moravia, Desamparados and San Rafael de Heredia) signed the commitment letter “Sustainable and habitable cities for urban environments: promoting the restoration of urban ecosystems”, aimed at these objectives of more livable, resilient and inclusive cities.

“Studies carried out at the CBIMA indicate high temperatures in public schools in the GAM, which is a factor of green injustice. Children learning under these conditions have compromised their cognitive functions, which conditions the teaching and learning process. Green patios, orchards, gardens, urban forests, tree-lined sidewalks and boulevards, or green roofs and walls are just a few instruments,” Gutiérrez added when asked about the rising temperatures.

Tevu Project

Announced in March this year, the Transition to an Urban Green Economy and Generation of Global Environmental Benefits (TEVU) project promotes urban planning focused on adaptation to climate change. It is financed by the GEF, led by the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE), implemented by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and executed by the Organization for Tropical Studies (OET).

The project brings together 20 cantons that will receive direct investments and has a project board with representation from the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Housing and Human Settlements (MIVAH), the National Institute of Housing and Urbanism (INVU), the National Institute of Women (Inamu) and other civil society organizations.

“The current economic model does not recognize planetary limits and does not reflect all negative externalities. An example is the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measures the value and growth of the economy without reflecting that we pollute rivers, deforest forests, fill the sea with plastic, etc. It’s also a linear model: you take a resource, process it, and produce a product with lots of waste. We must move towards a system where everything is optimized, recycled and reusable. It is not a utopia, but rather an effort that the United Nations sustainable development goals aim at,” Rodríguez added.

For this task, there are three other fundamental sections within the TEVU: improving the urban landscape through greening, promoting the circular economy in businesses and reducing GHG emissions in cities. For the latter, the idea of ​​the electric train is considered the “main catalyst for better public transport, more efficient mobility and a significant reduction in emissions”.

“The Government has not buried any plan for an electric train that helps decarbonization objectives,” Rodríguez explained. “They come with a new project that will be adjusted, since there is an understanding among Costa Ricans that depending on fossil fuels from abroad generates a great economic impact and that, if we have a totally renewable electrical matrix, the logical thing is to move towards a system more efficient transport”, he concluded.

The 20 participating cantons of the GAM are: Alajuela, Alajuelita, Barva, Belén, Cartago, Curridabat, Desamparados, Flores, Goicoechea, Heredia, La Unión, Montes de Oca, Oreamuno, Paraíso, San José, San Pablo, San Rafael, Santa Barbara, Santo Domingo and Tibas.

Replacing over-mature trees or exotic species without affecting sidewalks, pipes or other infrastructure is another challenge for the projects. (Credits: Fabricio Cerna / CCECR)

 

San José: the city and the landscape

The Cultural Center of Spain in Costa Rica (CCECR), with a cultural and artistic approach to the environment, wants the capital to live up to the image of the country as a leader against climate change and to make it the first green city in Latin America. This concept would be directed by the Spanish critics and curators Ricardo Ramón Jarne and Blanca de la Torre.

The process consists of three axes and the long-term idea is to comply with Costa Rica’s Carbon Neutrality Country Program, as well as to create a Country Brand where San José becomes recognized for its communion with nature.

Jarne, also director of the CCECR, stated that: “green areas are the lungs of the city. 80% of the green of San José are private gardens, many of old houses subject to patrimonial protection. If the Heritage Law does not improve, those houses that are the history of the city will disappear and, with them, their gardens. The center of the city, which should be its historical and artistic reference, is turning into a huge parking lot”.

Also, as with other projects, the transportation sector is of special concern for this initiative. “The entire city is tailored to the car and not to the citizen. We live in jails, the car is a mobile jail that lives continuously in the dams and then we arrive at our houses full of bars that become the stable jail. Is this the life we ​​want?” Jarne asked.

Finally, as a measure to promote green architecture, the CCECR will give away two San José – Madrid – San José air tickets to whoever has the best green fence in the city, this as part of the first axis of the project where it is intended to hide the bars with species climbers or vines that improve the external image of the city and provide security with respect to pollution.

Urban restauration

In this way, Costa Rica currently has several projects aimed at urban restoration, the greening of cities and, above all, mitigation and adaptation to climate change.

These projects are joined by other similar ones, such as the Ciudad Verde initiative —launched by MINAE just over two months ago— which makes three digital tools available to citizens to guide individual efforts and thus get the most out of services ecosystems provided by nature.

Ultimately, ecosystems, biodiversity and human beings must increasingly adjust to a planet subjected to climate change.

“Costa Rica should not take steps back on these issues because it could lose world leadership and there it would lose a lot of international prestige. This country is expected to lead and generate new proposals to combat climate change from all areas in these catastrophic times that we are living in,” Jarne stated.

 

From: https://www.ucr.ac.cr/noticias/2020/11/10/fauna-silvestre-en-cautiverio-un-mal-innecesario.html

CategoriesBlog By ipacheco

Wildlife in captivity: an unnecessary evil

Whether they are exotic or native wild species, their management in captivity entails a great human responsibility to guarantee the well-being of the animals.

In the 1980s, drug trafficker Pablo Escobar imported three or four hippos from the United States for his private zoo. Today, four decades later, the Colombian authorities estimate that there are —out of control— between 65 and 80 specimens of this native African species in the country.

When Escobar died in 1993, his farm was left in ruins and some of the exotic animals that the cocaine kingpin kept in captivity had to be sought refuge. However, no Colombian zoo wanted to take care of the hippos, which can weigh up to three tons and are very aggressive.

Several cases of invasive alien species have been documented around the world, which, like hippos, can unbalance entire ecosystems. These intruders become veritable pests, consuming prey that lack defenses against them or displacing native competitors. Most are introduced by humans.

In Costa Rica, the populations of the southern Caribbean have been dealing for more than ten years with the invasion of the lionfish (Pterois volitans), native to the Indian Ocean and famous for its voracious eating habits. Its presence means a threat to marine species of commercial value that inhabit the coasts of Limón, such as lobsters, shrimps and snappers.

Recently, the public debate on the reproduction and existence of more than 300 exotic animals in an exhibition site in Liberia, Guanacaste, aroused the interest of some sectors, which were concerned about the management and risks involved in the possession of foreign species.

Specialists from different branches of biology and veterinary medicine, from the University of Costa Rica (UCR) and the National University (UNA), warned in a digital discussion that exotic species constitute a great risk for the conservation of native biodiversity .

Costa Rica, a country that lives on ecotourism, should focus on caring for native species, since they are the ones that foreign tourists come to observe. In addition, many of them are in danger of extinction. To ensure the survival of their populations, it is a priority to protect their natural habitats.

Animal Welfare

In the world, there are more and more voices that disapprove of the confinement of wild animals in zoos or other places, for commercial and exhibition purposes.

Gilbert Alvarado Barboza, a professor at the UCR School of Biology, believes that the practice of using animals as display objects should remain in the past, due to the effects that this causes them.

“The era of entertainment and selfies with animals must cease to exist,” insisted the researcher.

According to scientists, welfare and respect for the animal as an individual must prevail. The modern concept of well-being defines a series of conditions to achieve a satisfactory state (see box).

In this regard, there is still a lot of education so that humans learn to behave when we are in front of an animal, from knowing that it should not be fed to giving it its space.

Life in captivity causes a change in the natural behavior of animals, since the artificial environment deprives them of certain strategies to reproduce or even learn from their parents how to survive.

 

 

Tourists come to Costa Rica to observe native wild species and not exotic species. Therefore, the protection of our animals and their habitats must be prioritized. Photo by Laura Rodriguez. Sloth, Guápiles

 

 

“The species in a natural way, in their wild environment, can choose their partner, as we human beings do. There are a series of courtships and behaviors around reproduction, which often have to be deprived in captivity,” said Laura Porras Murillo, a biologist at UNA’s International Institute for Conservation and Management of Wildlife (Icomvis).
However, the existence of wildlife management centers created for ex situ conservation purposes (outside their natural environment) or for the rescue of animals that would otherwise die is necessary.

“Reproduction must be done with very clear objectives, there must be studies that justify it and a very well structured program with professionals who manage it,” Porras explained.

Management sites have to comply with certain guidelines established in national and international legislation to provide the best quality of life for animals. For example, feeding criteria, preventive medicine and, in general, trained personnel to be able to adequately care for these animals.

In reality this is not the case. There are places with good management and others that work without a defined purpose. Therefore, it is up to the State and its technical entities to establish standardized protocols for the treatment of animals in captivity throughout the country.

Likewise, it is urgent to set limits to the centers that exhibit exotic species, otherwise the situation can get out of hand, as happened in Colombia. This does not imply that the animals have to be euthanized, the experts emphasized.

Delicate handling

The treatment of species in captivity is a complex responsibility that encompasses many aspects, even more so when dealing with exotic species.

The first thing to keep in mind is that animals outside their natural environment cannot perform the functions for which they have evolved for millions of years. Among them, the dispersal of pollen or seeds, the control of pests and diseases, and maintaining the balance of ecosystems, among others.

Therefore, the artificial environment that is generated in captivity does not contribute to perpetuating the species over time, as has been scientifically proven.

“Animals that have remained in captivity for many years or their entire lives have cognitive difficulties that do not allow them to adapt successfully in the wild,” said veterinarian Marta Cordero Salas, manager of the Las Pumas Rescue Center, located in Cañas. , Guanacaste.

Native species: are all those that live naturally within our territory.

A second very important aspect to consider is that the lack of relationship of individuals in captivity with others of their species causes them depression and stress, which weakens them and makes them get sick and even die.

In addition, from the genetic point of view, the reproduction of wild fauna in captivity must be carried out with great care, since there could be inbreeding or reproduction between related animals. This, over many generations, causes defects and diseases.

As the UNA biologist pointed out, even in those cases in which you want to repopulate a group that is declining, you must have scientific criteria to choose certain individuals. For example, knowing where they come from, their state of health and their genetic origin, aspects that are often difficult to determine.

Gustavo Gutiérrez Espeleta, a genetics specialist at the UCR School of Biology, remarked that “the argument of reproducing in captivity to avoid extinction is not true. This does not contribute to the survival of the species, because they are reproducing among few individuals, and that implies a deterioration of their genetics in the future.”



Turtle Parque Zoológico Zoo Ave


It is the physical and mental state of an animal in relation to the conditions in which it lives and dies.

This concept includes the five freedoms, enunciated in 1965, and are the responsibility of human beings.

According to those freedoms, animals have the right to live:

-Free from hunger, thirst and malnutrition.

-Free from fear and anguish.

-Free of physical and thermal discomfort.

-Free from pain, injury and disease.

-Free to manifest their natural behavior.

Source: World Organization for Animal Health.


From: https://www.ucr.ac.cr/noticias/2020/11/10/fauna-silvestre-en-cautiverio-un-mal-innecesario.html