Program: Sustainable Development Studies

Program Description
Costa Rica is currently undergoing a period of great economic and social change. As this resource-rich, wonderfully biodiverse country continues along a path of rapid development, it is becoming increasingly influenced by global policy such as the Central American Fair Trade Act (CAFTA) and foreign markets. Costa Rica's economy has shifted from one predominately based on agriculture to one driven by ecotourism and technology exports. At the same time, brisk population growth is straining natural and developed resources. The country now faces a critical juncture as resource management decisions are being made in an effort to keep pace with competitive global markets. Our goal is to study different sustainable management models that protect the biodiversity of Costa Rica's ecosystems while promoting socioeconomic benefits for its people.

Students will examine the effects of globalization on classic sustainability issues such as agro-ecology, national park protection, economic development, urban sprawl, population growth, trash management, and air quality. Students focus on evaluating the success of Costa Rica's world-renowned management systems as well as developing alternative strategies, such as sustainable practices and organic agriculture as an alternative to poaching around national parks, that conserve biodiversity and protect natural resources. Visits to cloud forests, dry forests, volcanic parks, lowland rainforests, and plantations offer opportunities to examine management schemes, identify the benefits of protected areas, and determine which systems offer the best option for economic development, the maintenance of cultural norms, and the preservation of biodiversity. Understanding the forces that are driving Costa Rica's policies as well as those driving change, will be key as students analyze potential natural resource solutions for Costa Rica, and hopefully, beyond.

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Program Details

Credits	18 environmental studies credits
Dates	Spring 2008: Feb 4 - May 8 Fall 2008: Sept 8 - Dec 11 Spring 2009: Feb 2 – May 6
Location/Base	SFS Center for Sustainable Development Studies, Atenas, Costa Rica. Tour the field station.
Program Fees	Fall 2008 / Spring 2009: $15,625 (includes all tuition, room, board, local travel. Fee excludes airfare).
Prerequisites	One semester of college level ecology or environmental science; one college-level Spanish course; 18 years of age
Financial Aid	Need-based scholarships and loans available. Visit our financial aid section for more information.
Field Research, Lectures, & Exercises	The interdisciplinary approach to our research teaches students about tropical ecology, agro-ecology, socioeconomics, sustainability, park management, natural resource management, ecological economics, and Costa Rican history, culture, and the Spanish language. Possible field trips, lectures, and exercises include: Nicaragua: extended field expedition to compare and contrast development and resource use issues between the two countries. Palo Verde National Park: camping trip to explore a rare and threatened tropical dry forest ecosystem, site of one of the most sustainable management models for protected areas in Latin America. Volcan Poas National Park: investigate parks and people relations and park facility and visitor information needs. Learn about cloud forest ecology. Braulio Carrillo National Park: learn about bio-indicators of ecosystem health and rainforest ecology. Carara National Park: see the reintroduction of bird species in the park and learn about forest dynamics and food webs. Volcan Arenal National Park: examine the pressures that ecotourism places on small communities. Monteverde protected zone: visit the largest private reserve in Latin America initiated by donations to explore the difficult dynamics of private and public preservation policies and the impact of heavy tourism. Rincon de La Vieja National Park: camping trip to the cloud forest and volcanic mud piles.
Sample Directed Research	Development of an agroforestry system to plant Euterpe precatoria in small forest patches with communities surrounding the national parks. Development of certification programs for the sustainable or organic cultivation of Euterpe precatoria by small communities. Impact of illegal extraction of heart of palm on the population growth of Euterpe precatoria and development of sustainable use alternatives. Long-term monitoring program of the avifauna of Volcan Poas National Park. Analysis of the impact of poaching on bird diversity and distribution. Long term monitoring of the effects of international policies on agro-ecology systems. Impact of seasonal changes in the abundance and diversity of aquatic macroinvertebrates as indicators of water quality in two pristine streams of Braulio Carrillo National Park. Evaluation of the socioeconomic benefits between Costa Rica's national parks and its surrounding communities. Evaluation of the socioeconomic benefits between Guayabo National Park and its surrounding communities.
Community Focus	Community needs are the impetus behind our research goals. Conversations and collaborations with local residents, small business owners, and farmers to better understand their perspectives and needs provide the framework for SFS research plans. Activities might include: Monitoring and maintaining trail infrastructure at the Municipal Forest and Cacao watershed with the local high school, ministry of agriculture, and municipality. A full Spanish presentation of the results of the research conducted during the semester to government agencies. Long-term community projects: U.S. culture and English taught in the elementary school, fighting diseases in Atenas, and trail management and construction in the Municipal Forest. Soccer games, community festivals, and short home stays.

Language of Instruction
English

Application Deadline
Rolling admissions. Early application submissions encouraged for acceptance into your program of choice.

Housing
The Center for Sustainable Development Studies is a small farm on a hillside with spectacular views overlooking the Rio Grande River in the fertile Central Valley. The field station includes a large house, an outdoor classroom, an organic garden, a patio, and pool. Students live in a dormitory (up to four to a room) with bathrooms. There is a classroom, small laboratory, and a library/computer room with internet access. The field station is part of the small neighborhood of La Presa/Los Angeles. The friendly town of Atenas is a short walk from the field station while Costa Rica's tropical forests, beaches, mountains, and volcanoes are within a day's travel. Tour the field station.

Courses
Semester students are registered in five academic courses accredited through Boston University:
EE(NS) 377 Tropical Ecology and Sustainable Development (4 credits)
EE(SS) 303 Economic & Ethical Issues and Sustainable Development (4 credits)
EE(NS) 374 Principles of Resource Management (4 credits)
EE 491 or 492 Directed Research (4 credits)
(LS) 205E Language, Culture and Society of Costa Rica (2 credits)

See our course description page for more details.

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