The Las Catalinas Environmental Program is aiming to enhance a harmonious relationship between planned development and the environment, under the light of sustainability and quality of life. This relationship is approached by giving thought to every action by a multidisciplinary team in a multidimensional and multicultural scenario. This process is enriched by the local knowledge of construction techniques and materials, the valuable ecosystems that we are trying to restore, the groundbreaking ideas in design and sustainability, and especially the nature-based consciousness of the outdoor importance for quality of life improvement.
In order to accomplish our goals we have established following 6 themes:
1. Forest Restoration
Las Catalinas is located in a life zone known as Dry Forest, in Costa Rica’s North Pacific. The dry forest ecosystem is one of the most endangered ecosystems in the Neotropics. That is why of the 469 hectares of Las Catalinas, the development will only use 20% leaving 375 hectares to be protected and restored in a natural state, promoting environmental services such as carbon fixation, outdoors sports, nature appreciation and watershed protection.
Las Catalinas is actively restoring this habitat through a systematic reforestation process. For over 4 years we have planted more than 5000 trees of 13 native dry forest evergreen species such as Cocobolo (Rose wood), Espavel, Tempisque, Aceituno, Ojoche, Guapinol (Stinkytoes), Zapote, Ceiba, and Lorito, among others. Our survival rate is 85% which is among the highest in this difficult type of ecosystem. In order to accomplish this we have received the help an expert forestry engineer as an advisor and we do irrigate each tree by hand for water efficient use.
The trees we have planted have been purchased in plant nurseries in Guanacaste, promoting local economy and guaranteeing we get trees well adapted to our conditions. Also, all the trees have been planted in ravines and watersheds to promote water conservation.
One of the highlights of 2010 was our celebration on the Environment Day on June 5th, as we were one of the selected spots for planting in 30 countries of the world for the EARTH University “Siembra el Futuro” (Plant the future) campaign. The goal of this initiative was to simultaneously plant 1 million trees worldwide. This was the first opportunity for Las Catalinas and to be present in an environmental effort of international scale in a joint initiative with Bahia del Sol Hotel. We planted 1,800 trees that day, with the help of 100 participants that included the local school and high school kids, community members, Flor Villagio Hotel representatives and many more friends.
On the other hand, the main threat to the dry forest and its biodiversity is wild fire. In 2010, Santa Cruz de Guanacaste (where Las Catalinas is located) had the highest incidence of forest fire in Costa Rica alone. That is the reason why we have put together a forest fire brigade since 2009, trained by the National Forest Fire Prevention and Control Commission (CONIFOR) of the Ministry of Environment (MINAET). Through this brigade we have been able to establish over 80 km of inner fire brakes, stop at least 30 fires in the buffer area of the project and protect over 2000 hectares in our site and its neighboring properties during 2010 and 2011.
2. Trail Building and Landscaping
One of the most important ideas of Las Catalinas is the improvement of quality of life by the outdoor living and connecting with nature. Beautiful inclusive social spaces where people can interact and safe and open well-designed areas where people can interact with nature or just exercise are fundamental to our philosophy.
That is why since 2009 we have been training part of our staff to build nice trails for everyone to enjoy the views at Las Catalinas or simply to appreciate its nature. Up to date we have over 20 km of basic hiking trails and 5 km of high quality Mountain Bike trail (IMBA standards) that hopefully will turn into 20 km by the end of 2011.
Our method is that of the “sustainable trails” and we use only materials on-site and we do all by hand, reducing the impact on the land, better controlling erosion, drainage and biodiversity conservation.
On the other hand, we have learned the importance of beautification of the open spaces, by using native plants, recycled or local materials, building traditional Guanacaste walls, wooden bridges and stoned water ways to manage storm water. Our open spaces look organic, natural, familiar and welcoming, perfect for the enjoyment of all and as useful tools for the inclusiveness we are promoting.
3. Solid Waste Management
At this moment we are putting together a recycling education campaign for the community and the visitors and future inhabitants of Las Catalinas and “recycling” our old campsite building to make it our solid waste management facility. We are working together with the local government (Municipalidad de Santa Cruz) to develop the basis of the future recycling system for the whole region.
4. Wastewater Management
The most important resource is the water, which is why we have invested in a state-of-the-art water treatment plant that generates an outflow with standards as high as Costa Rica’s potable water. We use our water twice, and this plant guarantees that the water we use for irrigation and forest fire control is clean and safe.
A byproduct of our treatment plant is the sludge that can be used mix with vegetal soil to produce a natural fertilizer high in phosphorus and other nutrients for the plants.
5. Environmental Management Regency
As part of the legal and moral responsibilities of Las Catalinas, we follow up regularly on our Declaration of Environmental Commitments to SETENA (the Costa Rican EPA equivalent). This is a document that describes our environmental goals, rules and methods. We have an advisor (a regent) that oversees our development along with an environmental professional that that leads our crew in this process onsite. We work daily on construction mitigation techniques and their constant improvement under the adaptive management paradigm.
We also emphasize promoting a safe and secure working environment. We enforce Costa Rican law and a proactive prevention culture, in order to have an efficient and safe construction process and to be an example of best practices in this area.
6. Wildlife Management and Conservation
One aspect of being a project with a lot of green spaces is the permanent interactions with nature. Although, most of those interactions are positive there are some that can conflict with human presence such as raccoons and garbage cans, monkeys and electric cables, deer and hunters, among others.
In order to manage these interactions proactively, we are training a crew in wildlife management and conservation on a daily basis. They have removed raccoons from the construction area safe and sound to the forested parts of the project. They’ve built stone waterholes for animals to drink during the dry season. Besides they have also built monkey bridges that prevent electrocutions and promote monkey troops’ movement between forest patches, complementing the on going reforestation process. This crew deals with all wildlife related issues in the best way possible from the conservation point of view.
