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Port of Call |
LAST UPDATE July 12, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| August 20, 2003 |
Puntarenas, Costa Rica – Overnight stay and cloud forest hike at Villa Blanca |
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| Former President of Costa Rica, Rodrigo Carazo, emphasising the importance of conservation in the world today |
Walking to the sounds of singing birds and views of green hills shrouded in mist, members of the study tour made they way from the lodge to listen to the former President of Costa Rica (1978 - 1982), Rodrigo Carazo, give a special presentation on Peace and the Environment, highlighting the importance of protecting the environment and the human race's responsibility "to declare peace on earth."
Costa Rica is a small country, "yet it has millions of different species," says Carazo, adding how conservation of the environment became an important practice when the over-logging of the 1950s threatened to destroy the forests entirely. Since the borders were closed to the logging companies in 1968, an amazing political achievement for its time, "The forests have not just been kept, but have grown."
Carazo says that it takes courage and education to achieve this level of conservation, arguing that the "most terrible weapon to destroy the environment is ignorance. If we don't pay attention to the world we live in it will disappear." He also denounced the principle that often seems to guide US policy, saying the best way to finance this education is by not spending money preparing for war, "If you want peace, prepare for peace." |
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| Flora and fauna in the cloud forests of Villa Blanca |
As Carazo had mentioned in his speech earlier in the morning, the Costa Rican cloud forests are home to millions of different species of plant life and wildlife, from humming birds to pigs and ants to orchids. Peace Boat participants walked a trail through the dripping moss clad trees, stopping to listen to the expert guide or take photos of the teeming insect life that makes its home in the verdant habitat. Along the way, participants were amazed to come across venomous coral snakes and wild pigs snuffling through the undergrowth. One fallen tree that the guide pointed out had fallen from the weight of moss clinging to its branches, while another had been stripped of its bark by hungry insects. The short hike enabled participants to appreciate the huge array of species that made up the habitat of a cloud forest, and also understand the importance of conserving this unique environment for the future generations to come. |
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| Planting a tree to become "the mother and father of all life that will visit it" |
Heeding the advice of Rodrigo Carazo - "If we want to be a partner with creation, plant a tree" - Peace Boat participants concluded their visit to the cloud forest by writing their names on tags and tying them to native saplings, which they planted on a hillside within the private reserve that Carazo has established here, that had once fallen victim to logging. "When we plant a tree, we become the mother and father of all life that will visit it." |
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