National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC, es, Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Conservación) is part of the

Ministry of Environment and Energy The Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE, es, Ministerio de Ambiente y Energía) is a ministry or department of the government of Costa Rica. Agencies *SINAC National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC, es, Sistema Nacional de Áreas de Co ...

(MINAE) of Costa Rica. It is the administrator for the nation's national parks, conservation areas, and other protected natural areas. Created in 1994, it combined three previously separate organisations that had managed laws relating to

national parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...

wildlife Wildlife refers to undomesticated animal species, but has come to include all organisms that grow or live wild in an area without being introduced by humans. Wildlife was also synonymous to game: those birds and mammals that were hunted f ...

, and

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

Scope

SINAC oversees over 160 protected areas, of which 26 are designated National Parks. Other areas are designated wildlife refuges, biological reserves, national monuments, forest reserves, national wetlands, and protected zones. The entire country of 12,596,690 acres (50,977 km²) is under the jurisdiction of eleven large Conservation Areas which were created in 1998, overseen by divisions of SINAC. Over 25% of the national territory, i.e. 3,221,636 acres (13,037 km²) is included in the national parks, refuges, and protected zones within these eleven Conservation Areas. Costa Rica's progressive policies on environmental protection and sustainable

eco-tourism Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people. Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide fund ...

in the National Parks System have been lauded as a model for other countries. The

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfo ...

s, tropical forests, marine areas and

wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free ( anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...

of Costa Rica are the subject of many university and scientific organization studies. The enrichment of the world's knowledge of these important

habitats In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is an invaluable contribution from the conservation efforts of the various organisations involved.

Conservation areas

* Arenal Huetar Norte (ACAHN):

Arenal Volcano Arenal Volcano ( es, Volcán Arenal) is an active andesitic stratovolcano in north-western Costa Rica around northwest of San José, in the province of Alajuela, canton of San Carlos, and district of La Fortuna. The Arenal volcano measure ...

Juan Castro Blanco National Park Juan Castro Blanco National Park is a National Park, part of the Arenal Huetar Norte Conservation Area, in the northern part of Costa Rica. Location Located about 100 km north of San José, to the east of Ciudad Quesada in Alajuela Pro ...

, Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Mixto Caño Negro, Refugio Nacional de Vida Silvestre Maquenque. * Arenal Tempisque (ACAT):

Tenorio Volcano Tenorio Volcano ( es, Volcán Tenorio) is an inactive andesitic stratovolcano in north-western Costa Rica. It is the main geographical feature of the eponymous Tenorio Volcano National Park. Toponymy The name comes from the Chorotega legen ...

, Palo Verde *

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

(ACC): Guayabo National Monument, Braulio Carrillo, La Cangreja, Los Quetzales, Tapantí, Irazú Volcano,

Poás Volcano The Poás Volcano, ( es, Volcán Poás), is an active stratovolcano in central Costa Rica and is located within Poas Volcano National Park. It has erupted 40 times since 1828, including April 2017 when visitors and residents were evacuated. The ...

, Turrialba Volcano. Reserva Biológica Alberto Manuel Brenes, Reserva Forestal Grecia (Bosque del Niño). * Guanacaste (ACG): Rincón de la Vieja, Santa Rosa, Guanacaste National Park. * La Amistad Caribe (ACLAC):

Cahuita Cahuita is a district of the Talamanca canton, in the Limón province of Costa Rica. It is located on the Caribbean coast. History Cahuita was created on 19 February 1970 by Decreto Ejecutivo 13. Geography Cahuita has an area of km² and an ...

, Barbilla * La Amistad-Pacífico (ACLAP): La Amistad International Park which is shared with

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

, Chirripó * Cocos Marine (ACMC):

Cocos Island National Park Cocos Island ( es, Isla del Coco) is an island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 13 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Province of Puntarenas ...

Osa Osa or OSA may refer to: Places * Osa Peninsula, a peninsula in Costa Rica * Osa (canton), a canton in the province of Puntarenas in Costa Rica * Osa Conservation Area, an administrative area in Costa Rica * Osa, India, a village in Allahabad, I ...

(ACOSA):

Corcovado Corcovado (korcovádo) which means "hunchback" in Portuguese, is a mountain in central Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is a 710-metre (2,329 ft) granite peak located in the Tijuca Forest, a national park. Corcovado hill lies just west of the ...

Ballena National Marine Park Ballena Marine National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Marino Ballena), is a National Park of Costa Rica, part of the Osa Conservation Area created as a safe area for humpback whale migration, hence its name, as is the Spanish word for whale. The na ...

Piedras Blancas Piedras Blancas is the capital town of the municipality of Castrillón, in the province of Asturias, Spain. It is west of Avilés, west of Gijón, northwest of Oviedo and east of Asturias Airport. Piedras Blancas is a singular entity of pop ...

. * Pacífico Central (ACOPAC): Carara,

Manuel Antonio Manuel Antonio Pérez Sánchez (July 12, 1900 – January 28, 1930), better known as Manuel Antonio, was a Galician poet. He was honoured on Galician Literature Day in 1979. External links * {{Authority control 1900 births 1930 deaths ...

. * Tempisque (ACT): Barra Honda, Las Baulas, Diriá National Park * Tortuguero (ACTo):

Tortuguero National Park Tortuguero National Park is a national park in the Limón Province of Costa Rica. It is situated within the Tortuguero Conservation Area of the northeastern part of the country. Despite its remote location, reachable only by airplane or boat, ...

, Refugio de Vida Silvestre Barra del Colorado

References

External links

* {{National parks of Costa Rica Institutions of Costa Rica National park administrators * Protected areas of Costa Rica

Scope

Conservation areas

See also

References

External links