Forests sustain and protect us in a myriad of ways. They absorb carbon dioxide and provide us with oxygen, they harbour more than three quarters of terrestrial biodiversity, and they support the livelihoods of millions of people worldwide. But the world has lost 420 million hectares of forest since 1990. …
SAN JOSE – The Turrialba volcano in central Costa Rica continued to emit gas and ash on Tuesday, forcing the airport that serves the capital city of San Jose to remain closed. Aeris, the company that manages Juan Santamaria International Airport, was expected to announce later Tuesday whether the terminal …
Eruptive activity at Turrialba Volcano (Costa Rica) has escalated significantly since 2014, causing airport and school closures in the capital city of San José. Whether or not new magma is involved in the current unrest seems probable but remains a matter of debate as ash deposits are dominated by hydrothermal …
Researchers developed an affordable way to monitor rivers and stream flow, 24/7, using open source products. Communities around the world are familiar with the devastation brought on by floods and droughts. Scientists are concerned that, in light of global climate change, these events will only become more frequent and intense. …
A new study by researchers at Stanford University shows the effects of deforestation and climate change are amplified into a one-two punch that pushes vulnerable rainforest species towards extinction, while dry-climate species persist. The findings, published in Ecology Letters, could help guide decisions about where land can be converted to …
Costa Rica becomes the 5th country in the world to approve the Sanofi Pasteur's tetravalent dengue vaccine after witnessing a 500% increase in dengue incidence in 2016 compared to last year's numbers. The approval in Costa Rica is the fourth registration of the dengue vaccine in Latin America, and the …
This report looks at concrete results of green growth in Costa Rica, rather than listing policies and projects. It examines the root causes of under-performance, the synergies between the country’s economy and environment and prospects for future progress in both domains. It concentrates on four primary recommendations for change as …
Tropical mountain regions contain the main headwaters of important rivers in Central America. We selected 2 contrasting catchments located in a mountainous region to evaluate the precision of daily flow estimates based on the Hydrological Land Use Change (HYLUC) and Nedbør-Afstrømnings Model (NAM) hydrological models. A second objective was to …
Life on Earth is in trouble. That much we know. But how bad have things become – and how fast are events moving? How soon, indeed, before the Earth’s biological treasures are trashed, in what will be the sixth great mass extinction event? This is what Gerardo Caballos of the …
Costa Rica wants information from Nicaragua about the potential environmental impact of a planned $50 billion canal project that would rival the Panama Canal, Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera said on Tuesday. The canal construction plan entails dredging Lake Nicaragua to almost twice its current depth. This could …
A Minnesota scientist in Costa Rica has discovered a new species of glass frog. Brian Kubicki said the small, semi-translucent specimen is delicate and "is a good indicator of the general health of the eco-system." Kubicki named the frog "Hyalinobatrachium dianae" in honor of the senior author's mom Janet Diane …
Using the case of Costa Rica, this paper examines how 'carbon' became an identifiable problem for that state. We trace how, during the 1980s, rationalities of financialisation and security arose in this country that allowed for Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) to emerge as an economic and political mechanism. Our …
Costa Rica has achieved a clean energy milestone by using 100% renewable energy for a record 75 days in a row. The feat was achieved thanks to heavy rainfall, which powered our hydroelectric plants in the irst three months of the year, the state-run Costa Rican Electricity Institute said. No …
Costa Rica has achieved a clean energy milestone by using 100 per cent renewable energy for a record 75 days in a row. The feat was achieved thanks to heavy rainfall, which powered four hydroelectric plants in the first three months of the year, the state-run Costa Rican Electricity Institute …
Costa Rica's Turrialba volcano belched a column of gas and ash up to 3,280 feet (1 km) into the air on Thursday in its most powerful eruption in two decades, and local authorities started to evacuate residents from the surrounding area. Four explosions emanated from the volcano in central Costa …
Mancozeb and its main metabolite ethylene thiourea (ETU) may alter thyroid function; thyroid hormones are essential for fetal brain development. In Costa Rica, mancozeb is aerially sprayed at large-scale banana plantations on a weekly basis. The objective of the study was to evaluate urinary ETU concentrations in pregnant women living …
Rainfall improving in Latin America, with dryness ongoing in parts of West Africa and Ethiopia according to Global Weather Hazards Summary (September 26 - October 2, 2014).
Poor countries will be paid to stop chopping down forests, UK announces, as it signs major UN declaration on deforestation at New York climate summit The UK has committed in excess of £200m to tackle deforestation in poor countries, under plans to stem the loss of forests that are being …
The high spatio-temporal variability of aboveground biomass (AGB) in tropical forests is a large source of uncertainty in forest carbon stock estimation. Due to their spatial distribution and sampling intensity, pre-felling inventories are a potential source of ground level data that could help reduce this uncertainty at larger spatial scales. …
Working with the Rainforest Alliance, Chiquita’s active biodiversity program goes beyond the boundaries of its banana farms. The program has opened doors to productive partnerships with customers, governments and organizations, protecting biodiversity on and around its farms and neighboring banana and cattle farms as well as land that is not …
