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2012 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

2. Education, Environment, Development and the Costa Rican State

Author : Nicole Blum

Published in: Education, Community Engagement and Sustainable Development

Publisher: Springer Netherlands

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Abstract

Environmental education is often claimed to be at the centre of efforts to achieve sustainable development. Since the 1980s, Costa Rica has been one of the acknowledged international leaders in efforts to promote environmental learning, and national policy includes a three-fold national development strategy which simultaneously promotes education, conservation and ecotourism. As of yet, however, what is happening ‘on the ground’ has not been examined in much detail. This chapter addresses this gap in the literature by providing an overview of the diverse programmes and actors involved in environmental education in Costa Rica, as well as analysing the politics which surround its implementation.

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previous chapter Introduction

next chapter Environmental Education in Schools

There is, for example, an extensive literature on these issues in the UK (cf. Huckle and Sterling 1996; Sterling 2001; McKeown and Hopkins 2003; Lavery and Smyth 2003).

This was the Universidad de Santo Tomás, founded in 1821 to provide secondary and professional education (Booth 1998: 93). Although officially a state institution, it was largely dominated by Catholic clergy until the reforms of the 1880s (Biesanz et al. 1999: 25).

For further details, see the MEP website (http://www.mep.go.cr/index.aspx) or documentation by the Organización de Estados Iberoamericanos para la Educación, la Ciencia y la Cultura (OEI; http://www.oei.es/quipu/costarica/#sis).

This is the commonly used name for the large urban region located in the middle of the country, and in which are sited the capital, San José, and the two other largest urban cities in the country (Heredia and Cartago, both of which are also provincial capitals).

Biesanz et al. (1999) cite example questions such as: ‘Who was Gaspar’s sweetheart?’ (in a subplot of Don Quixote), ‘What are the Pope’s parents’ names?’, or ‘What was Braulio Carrillo’s most identifiable characteristic on his strolls in San José’ (Carrillo is a famous figure in the history of Costa Rica; the answer is ‘his ebony cane’) (1999: 207).

This was not actually the first environmental legislation in the country, but it is commonly referred to by observers inside and outside of the country as the beginning of modern environmental legislation. For more on environmental management and legislation prior to this, see Fournier (1991) and Evans (1999).

The concept of quedar bien is multi-faceted, and defies simple translation. Literally, it means ‘to maintain good relationships’, but it is more generally used to describe the effort to make a good impression, to avoid conflict, and to appear polite and amiable in social relationships.

More recently renamed the Ministry of Environment, Energy and Telecommunications (Ministerio del Ambiente, Energía y Telecomunicaciones; MINAET).

According to the Ecotourism Society, the concept of ecotourism denotes, ‘Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people’. Also see Honey (1999).

The nation’s 21 recognised indigenous groups, for example, are both geographically isolated and overwhelmingly marginalized in national politics, although they have received some attention from international environmental organisations (cf. Mayorga et al. 2004; Vargas et al. 1999: 135).

The idea of promoting specific topics or themes in a transversal manner originated as part of educational reforms in Spain in 1990, and is also often discussed in other Spanish-speaking countries (cf. Lencastre 2000; Luzzi 2000; Garcia Gómez 2000; González Gaudiano 2000; Reigota 2000; Roth 2000).

The original Spanish reads: ‘En cualquier lugar del mundo, el diálogo es el mejor camino para alcanzar la Paz’.

For instance, the Ministry has also actively promoted a national values education programme for several years (cf. Martinez 1998; MEP 2004; Castillo 2006).

Historically, the Presidency has tended to oscillate between the two main political parties – the ‘social democratic’ National Liberation Party (Partido Liberación Nacional or PLN) and the Social Christian Unity Party (Partido Unidad Social Cristiana or PUSC), a coalition of liberal opposition.

The war in Iraq has also had implications for the availability of funding. In 2004, DFID closed all but one (Nicaragua) of its country programmes in Latin America in order to re-channel funds to the Middle East.

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Title: Education, Environment, Development and the Costa Rican State
Author: Nicole Blum
Publisher: Springer Netherlands
Book: Education, Community Engagement and Sustainable Development
Print ISBN: 978-94-007-2526-3

Electronic ISBN: 978-94-007-2527-0

Copyright Year: 2012
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-2527-0_2

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