The protection of the rainforest and the wildlife of Costa Rica did not become an issue for the Costa Rica government until 1950 when a married couple from Europe started contacting international conservation organizations around the world to inform them that precious natural habitats were being cut down and destroyed in a Central America country and that awareness on the importance of the protection of these areas needed to be raised. It was after 1950 that the first protected area was established in Costa Rica thanks to the organized pressure and funds raised by this European couple, the protected area was Cabo Blanco Strict Natural Reserve. After 1950 the current Costa Rica National Park protection system and its laws were established but it took many more years, decades actually, for the inhabitants of Costa Rica to see the value of protecting Costa Rica nature. Let us explain the social, political, and economical scenario where conservation awareness takes time to reach the minds of people. Since the early establishment of Costa Rica the dense rainforests and any other natural habitats were viewed as obstacles for development (probably most other countries around the world have had this mentality at some point in their early development and some might still have). Worldwide natural environments were not seen as the unlimited resource for medicines and cures for many incurable diseases, nor did anyone think or even cared if wildlife species were becoming extinct because of the irresponsible use and destruction of the natural resources. It was not until conservationist and nature lovers along with biologists and other scientists started calling out and spreading out the word that it was fundamental for continuation of life on Earth to protect nature, the wildlife, the rainforest, and any other natural environment.

The protection of the Costa Rica wildlife and worldwide wildlife has been hard to achieve. First, we have large and powerful companies that do not want to use greener and usually less profitable methods to produce their goods or subtract or get the resources to produce their goods from the environment. Second, you have a government that does not care for the wildlife or natural resources because they all hold on to the myth that natural resources grow back and are unlimited. Third, you have a group of citizens that have lived many generations from logging, hunting, or practicing any other environmentally harmful money earning practices. And last, no programs or environmental education because those who establish what needs to be taught at schools do not yet think that the protection of the environment is important.

Thankfully this careless mentality has changed over the years and many laws for the conservation of Costa Rica wildlife have been established. In schools the conservation of the precious Costa Rica environment is taught along with practices on how we can all help to with simple steps to protect the wildlife in Costa Rica. But there was still a missing link for the conservation awareness to be raised in the living practices of the inhabitants of Costa Rica, especially on those that lived in rural areas close to protected areas of wildlife. Environmentally sustainable development was not established. Costa Rica was sold as a one of the best natural destinations in the world but there were few regulations on the development of hotels, resorts, towns, and any other tourist profit related activities. And when the laws for the protection of the wildlife in Costa Rica were dutifully applied none considered negative impacts on the ways of earning a living of the surrounding communities.

It was due to this problematic scenery that Costa Rica Government decided that something needed to be done in order for the natural resources to be protected, tourist to be able to enjoy the natural resources Costa Rica had to offer, and communities to achieve develop in a harmonious way that enabled them to profit from the protection of the natural environment. This was when the department of Development of Sustainable Tourism was founded. The Department of Development of Sustainable Tourism created a program designed to certify companies, enterprises, hotels, restaurants, and the sort to reward them if they practiced management policies that protected the environment, aroused environmental awareness on its clients, and worked with the surrounding communities for the well being of the wildlife in Costa Rica, the well being of the community, and the well being of the enterprise. Currently, the certification for sustainable development is only applied to hotels but plans to spread the certification to other tourist enterprises are on future plans. Just like the quality of hotels is categorized with five stars for perfect performance or achievement, five stars are granted to those hotels that comply to a 95% degree in the four areas the certification measures. The four areas include the interaction of the company with the surrounding natural habitats, the management policies and the operational systems within the company and its infrastructure, how much the company allows and invites the client to be an active contributor to the company’s policies of sustainability, and finally the interaction of the company with the local communities and population in general. // Currently there are only three Costa Rica hotels that have the five stars one of these is Hotel Si Como No in Manuel Antonio Beach, around five other that have fours stars one of these is Almonds and Corals in Manzanillo, Limon, and many other that have tree, two, and one stars for sustainable tourism development. Every year the department of Sustainable Tourism diagnoses each of the applying hotels to either maintain last years granted level or increase it if they have improved their services since the last check. The higher levels of sustainability are rewarded by the Costa Rican Ministry of Tourism and each high sustainable ranking hotel is promoted for free as a hotel that has high standards of protection of the wildlife in Costa Rica and cooperates with the sustainable development of the surrounding communities.