Development of Community-Based Environmental Education Program on Freshwater Conservation, Costa Rica

En Español

The Water for Life Environmental Outreach Program focuses on water quality and quantity issues in lowland Costa Rica. This outreach component was initiated by graduate students from the University of Georgia's (UGA) Conservation and Sustainable Development Program (Pringle 1996, 1999), in collaboration with the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Costa Rica, the Organization for Tropical Studies (OTS), and educators and leaders in local communities.  Water-for-Life was developed specifically in response to water resource problems faced by the community of Puerto Viejo de Sarapaqui (population 10,000), located ~ 5 km from La Selva Biological Station, which is owned and operated by OTS. The town experienced explosive population growth over the last decade as a result of the development of banana plantations in the region. This growth has placed extreme demands on municipal water supplies. Local surface and groundwaters are contaminated with fecal coliforms (introduced by livestock and domestic sewage). Pesticides and herbicides from the banana plantations are also a problem (e.g., Pringle and Scatena 1999).  Pringle and her students developed environmental outreach products that have been disseminated within the community. Products include:

1. a volunteer stream monitoring program (i.e., Adopt-a-Stream) that was implemented in a local high school, accompanied by the development of a manual in Spanish and English which provides details on how to initiate volunteer stream monitoring programs, sampling methodology, and data interpretation (Laidlaw 1996); 
2. three outreach posters designed to promote awareness of watershed protection, the importance of riparian buffer zones, and riverine connectivity between stream headwaters and marine ecosystems (Vargas 1995, Pohlman 1998); and
3. development of teaching materials (study guide) for local high school teachers on stream protection and water quality (Pohlman 1998). 
4. Additional projects underway or completed include: this web site on water quality and quantity issues in Costa Rica (D. Parsons) and an investigation of the location and cumulative effects of 17 hydropower projects (planned and existing) in the Sarapiqui region (B. Anderson in progress).

Impact
The Water for Life Program has played a key role in public education and outreach. The program has been so effective as an educational tool for both graduate students (in Costa Rica and the U.S.) and local communities, that OTS now offers graduate fellowship opportunities in environmental outreach on water quality problems for students in both Costa Rica and the U.S. To date, 4 Masters theses have been completed and 2 are in progress by University of Georgia students. One Masters thesis has been completed and 4 are in progress by Costa Rican students from the Universidad Nacional de Autonoma de Costa Rica. Adopt-A-Stream has been expanded into 5 additional highschools and is being implemented in local communities near other OTS field stations. The program is considered a model for environmental outreach programs that are linked to scientific research (see appended materials and Achievement I).

The Future
The goal of the Water for Life program is the empowerment of local communities to take action on behalf of their local water resources.  By educating people about these issues, they can begin to address the problems associated with the degradation of water quality in their area.  The tools on this web site will help local groups utilize outreach tools that have been successful in other parts of the world.  We also hope the web site will act as a 'great communicator' where different communities can use this web site as a starting point and also as a means to share information among themselves.  

Other information about the Water for life program

Adopt-A-Stream: Environmental Education at Las Cruces (or Changing Students' Attitudes Toward Polluted Rivers)

"Adopt-A-Stream" Program in Puerto Viejo:  Educational Outreach at La Selva Biological Station

Fellowships Keep Adopt-a-Stream Program Flowing

Collaborators in the ' Water for Life ' program, Costa Rica

PRIMARY
Dr. Claudia Charpentier (Professor, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Costa Rica, Heredia, Costa Rica)
Rodney Vargas (Assistant Development Coordinator, Organization for Tropical Studies, San Jose, Costa Rica)

OTHER COLLABORATORS
Orlando Vargas (Assistant Director, La Selva Biological Station, Organization for Tropical Studies, Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica)
Jose Barquero (Director Community Outreach, La Selva Biological Station, Organization for Tropical Studies, Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica)

GRADUATE STUDENTS
Beth Anderson (MS CESD Program, University of Georgia)
Joseph Bishop (Pennsylvania State University)
Emilse Garita (Licenciatura, Universidad Nacional Autonama de Costa Rica)
Chaves, Grace (Licenciatura, Universidad Nacional Autonama de Costa  Rica)
Adriana Figueroa (Licenciatura, Universidad Nacional Autonama de Costa Rica)
Christina Laidlaw (MS CESD Program, University of Georgia)
Giovanni Miranda (Licenciatura, Universidad Nacional Autonama de Costa Rica)
Ramos Montoya (Licenciatura, Universidad Nacional Autonama de Costa Rica)
Doug Parsons (MS CESD Program, University of Georgia)
Scott Pohlman (MS CESD Program, University of Georgia)
Alonso Ramirez (MS CESD Program, University of Georgia)
Rodney Vargas (MS CESD Program, University of Georgia)
Gerardo Vindas (Licenciatura, Universidad Nacional Autonama de Costa Rica)

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
Stacey Smith* (Senior Honors Thesis, Virginia Tech)
Miriam Ramos (University of Missouri, Saint Louis)

*Student supported by NSF-REU Research Experiences for Undergraduate Research Grant

This web page was developed by Douglas Parsons as a product of his masters thesis completed through the University of Georgia's Institute of Ecology Conservation Ecology and Sustainable Development Masters Program. He is currently the Policy Partnerships Officer with the Australian Regional Natural Resource Management Groups Collective in Brisbane, Australia. He can be reached at iguana265@hotmail.com.