The National Resource Defense Council (NRDC) has recognized the entire country of Costa Rica as a BioGem.  The NRDC is an organization based in the U.S. whose mission is to protect the biodiversity of the planet.  While there are 12 other “BioGems” located in this hemisphere, from Alaska to Patagonia, Costa Rica is the first country to be designated as such (on other occasions only specific sites located within countries have been chosen).  Costa Rica was chosen because of its action to protect its some 500,000 species of flora and fauna and also for its dedication to become “carbon neutral” within the next 20 years.  Below is an excerpt from the NRDC web site on Costa Rica…..

Located at the convergence of the northern and southern hemispheres — with two coastlines, lush tropical forests, mountains and volcanoes all squeezed into an area smaller than West Virginia — Costa Rica packs a wallop of biodiversity.

Spider monkeys, macaws, jaguars and ocelots are at home in its jungles, while migrating whales and sea turtles find refuge along both coasts. Despite a successful track record in protecting many of its natural riches, Costa Rica is facing growing pressure to open its coastlines to oil and gas drilling, clear forests for agro-industry, and recklessly grow its tourism infrastructure on the Pacific Coast, including the Osa Peninsula, the crown jewel of Costa Rica’s biodiversity.

In 2002, our BioGems Defenders helped save Costa Rica’s Talamanca Coast from offshore oil drilling. Today, NRDC is working on a series of measures to help advance Costa Rica’s goal of becoming the world’s first carbon-neutral nation. We’re also collaborating with a local group to revive a rainforest, by planting 20,000 trees in a bare field that will once again become a vibrant sanctuary for monkeys, toucans and other threatened wildlife. The rejuvenated forest, sponsored by our online activists — more than 1,800 have already paid to plant trees — will also help fight global warming by capturing carbon pollution.

For more information and to get involved in action to preserve Costa Rica’s biodiversity, visit the NRDC’s web page for Costa Rica.