Dominical Costa Rica

    To sustain is to nourish, prolong or support. It is the act of supporting. Sustainable development refers to how we use land. It can be defined as, the use of land in such a manner that the resources will be sustained at a given level indefinitely. It means that we don’t take away more each year and never put anything back. For example, it would be considered sustainable to buy old pasture land, plant trees and restore wildlife habitat on part of it while growing crops on part of it and later, cutting a few of the trees to build a house. It doesn’t mean to buy pristine beach frontage, cut down all the trees, replace native vegetation with exotic, fill in wetlands and build a hotel. We can apply the concept of sustainable development to a large area involving many property owners, such as a neighborhood, community or region. For community level sustainable development to function, the entire area in question needs to be governed by some type of zoning law, or agreement to limit development.
     In recent years the central Pacific coast of Costa Rica has seen a rash of over development. Thirty years ago Puntarenas was considered to be the tropical paradise of the Pacific. My family and I lived in San Jose at that time and would often drive to Puntarenas on the weekends to enjoy the beach and natural beauty. By the early 1970s Puntarenas was showing signs of over development. Developers had subdivided too much land, built too many hotels, cabins, restaurants, bars and discos, left too much trash on the beaches, streets and road sides, and polluted too many water ways. The community was in a state of decline which was reflected by falling real estate prices. An unforgiving public abandoned Puntarenas. Jacó became the new hot spot. A few years later, by the time the costanera reached Quepos, that same public shifted their focus to Manuel Antonio. That was about 20 years ago. There was only one really nice hotel in Manuel Antonio then, The Mariposa. How many are there now, 150, 200? In my opinion, Manuel Antonio is, today, at the same stage of over development as was Puntarenas in 1970. Dominical is now comparable in its level of development to Manuel Antoino 15 years ago.
     I know lots of people in Manuel Antonio who are very concerned about the development situation there, and are trying to do something about it. For them, it is an uphill battle. In Dominical, we have a head start. I have aerial photos of Dominical in 1972, when all the surrounding land was overgrazed cattle pasture and rice fields, and I have aerial photos of Dominical today. We are gaining ecologically. There is more secondary forest and tropical vegetation, more wildlife, more natural beauty today than in 1972.
     Dominical has another advantage. Guapil Beach, Barú Beach, Dominical Beach, Dominicalito Beach, Escondidas Beach, Puertocito and Punta Achote are already regulated by zoning laws. That may not seem like much, but it is a big advantage. Manuel Antonio didn’t even begin trying to regulate its beach development until it was already overdeveloped. Dominical is a giant step ahead. Zoning laws aren’t perfect and most aren’t sustainable. So far, they apply only to first 200 meters inland from the beaches, and they can be modified. But they are a good start. They offer one level of protection.
     A master plan for zoning and regulating development in the entire area would be helpful, but it would take a number of years to implement. We don’t have that much time. The costanera is coming soon. With it will come hoards of developers, all with ideas for large hotels, shopping centers, subdivisions, etc. I call these people the “bottom liners.” All they want is quick profits; buy, subdivide, sell and get out. Where does that leave those of us who want to stay here? I want to live here. I want to leave something nice to my children. I want something better. What about you? I think most of us agree. The point is, we need protection now, before the costanera is built.
     Those of us who live and own property in and around Dominical have a unique opportunity to create a sustainable paradise. Don’t ask me for an example of a sustainable paradise, because I’m not sure that one exists anywhere in the world. But we can do it here. How, you ask? My answer is that we already have paradise. We must now take steps to limit our development and make it sustainable. We have a window of opportunity to create a community with a high quality of living at a level that can be maintained forever. It will be a place where, 30 years from now, our grandchildren will be proud to live.
     What are the resources in the Dominical area that we need to protect? That’s as easy as asking you why you live here or why you are visiting here. What attracted you to Dominical? The beach certainly has something to do with it. But let’s be brutally honest. Compared to Manuel Antonio, Guanacaste, Honduras or the Caribbean our beaches are mediocre. They’re dangerous too! But we like them and they are an asset, even if they’re not the main attraction. We have Nauyaca Falls and other beautiful cascades. Just across the river, we have Hacienda Barú National Wildlife Refuge, our equivalent of a national park. We have numerous unofficial reserves and protected areas, many of which border each other or are connected to each other. We have wildlife and forests all around us. We have the Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor, a project of ASANA, which is striving to connect all these protected areas together. This will facilitate the movement and proliferation of the birds and animals that everyone enjoys seeing. The south has been called “The land of large parks and small hotels.” Dominical has been called “The gateway to the southern zone.” This reputation is certainly an asset.
     Steve Stroud and I are taking steps to limit development on and around Hacienda Barú National Wildlife Refuge, in perpetuity. That doesn’t mean for a few years, for my lifetime or for 200 years. Perpetuity means forever. We are creating an environmental easement that will guarantee that 300 hectares and three kilometers of beach remain in their natural state forever. Under the same easement, we are severely limiting development on the other 30 hectares of our land. Why do Steve and I want to give up the right to develop our land? What do we get out of it? For one thing the other 30 hectares become much more valuable because they are situated adjacent to an internationally known and respected Wildlife Refuge, and because the status of the refuge is secure. Anyone who buys a home site or commercial lot there will have absolute assurance of the future of their neighborhood. Where else will you be able to find 300 hectares of jungle and three kilometers of pristine beach 20 years from now. My grandchildren and great grandchildren will be able to enjoy a Hacienda Barú that is in better condition ecologically that it was when I found it 29 years ago. Hacienda Barú will continue, forever, to be an asset to the community.
     My son lives in Boulder, Colorado. People who live there brag about it. The county of Boulder learned the value of limiting development. They purchase thousands of acres of land around the city and declare it “open space.” Nobody can build there. They do other weird things too, like making it difficult to drive and easy to walk or cycle. They don’t synchronize their stop lights and make lots of bicycle and walking paths. They make it easy to park bicycles and difficult to park cars. They even have public buses with bicycle racks. Property that goes on the market in Boulder usually sells within hours. Boulder is one of a kind. We can’t expect our government to become suddenly enlightened and do something similar for us. We have to take steps to protect our own community, create our own open space, and increase our own quality of living.
How could environmental easements work to protect the many assets within our region? Let’s imagine that Don Lulu and all his neighbors decide that Nauyaca Falls is such a treasure that it should be protected forever. So they all get together and create a covenant to use environmental easements to protect the land around Nauyaca Falls. The question of how much to limit development would be up to the land owners. Maybe they would want to keep it as is, no hotels, no paved roads, limited access and pristine. Maybe they would decide that a little low impact development would work better. They could protect a great regional attraction in perpetuity (there’s that word again,) and, in so doing, increase the value of the rest of their land. Then imagine that the people around Pozo Azul do the same. Imagine that the property owners in Escaleras decide their land will be more valuable and their quality of living greater if they get together and agree to limit development. Imagine that the people in Lagunas do the same, and then those in Dominical, Dominicalito, San Martin, Barú and Hatillo follow. Are you getting the picture?
     That’s how a sustainable paradise could happen, right here in our area. And, we, you and I, can make it happen. It‘s within our grasp. But we must do it now. The time for procrastination is over. I challenge the property owners of Dominical to take an historic step, to work together, to make decisions that will affect our lives and those of our descendants. I challenge the community to come together to make legal agreements to limit development forever, to become a model for other communities that wish to follow our example. I challenge Dominical to become the first sustainable paradise ever.
     I realize that all of this probably brings up more questions than it answers. But, we have to start somewhere. If you are interested or want more information, call me at 787 0001 or e-mail me at jeewing@racsa.co.cr. Depending on the response I will take the steps to get the ball rolling.

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Hacienda Baru in 1972

Hacienda Baru now