Developing the Bioliteracy of School Children for 24 Years: A Fundamental Tool for Ecological Restoration and Conservation in Perpetuity of the Area de Conservacion Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Abstract

The Area de Conservacion Guanacaste (ACG, Guanacaste Conservation Area) in northwestern Costa Rica in Central America was created to protect in perpetuity the rich natural diversity found there. The ACG contains an entire range of interconnected ecosystems from the Pacific coastal-marine zone, through dry and cloud forests, to the Caribbean rain forest. Generations of human pressures on the area, including ranching, agriculture, fires, timber extraction, and hunting, have degraded these ecosystems, which are now in a process of regeneration through protection from destructive human use. Although protection is an important part of conservation, the ACG's most potent tool for the long-term conservation of its natural resources is the biocultural restoration of its neighbors. The ACG's Programa de Educacion Biologica (PEB, Biological Education Program) promotes the bioliteracy of local students, parents, and teachers through field-oriented workshops in its different ecosystems. Through the education of the surrounding community about its natural resources, PEB is restoring the biological understanding of its neighbors with the aim of creating a community that can make better-informed environmental decisions in the future.