Costa Rica has been awarded the distinction of being the 5th cleanest country in the world.  Only ahead of Costa Rica are the countries of Switzerland, Sweden, Norway and Finland.  The results of a study conducted by the prestigious U.S. universities of Yale and Columbia appeared in the publication Forbes.  The results are based on environmental practices, air and water quality, and natural vitality, among other factors.  The study evaluated 149 countries and is called the Study of Environmental Performance for the year 2008.  Forbes indicated that the Costa Rican economy is based on a robust eco-tourism industry that benefits from governmental and private enterprise actions that protect its rich biodiversity.  Also noted was the possibility of future advances should Costa Rica be able to achieve its declaration to be completely carbon neutral by the year 2021.  Forbes stated that Costa Rica, as opposed to other countries in Latin America, has been able to avoid increases in deforestation, achieving a score of 97 (out of 100) in the area of forestry, air pollution and climate change.  However, it was noted that Costa Rica is lacking somewhat in the protection of its coastal areas, scoring less in that regard than in other categories (90.5 out of 100).  Overall Costa Rica scored 90.5 and was surpassed only by Switzerland (95.5), Sweden (93.1), Norway (93.1) and Finland (91.4).  Costa Rica was first in Latin America, followed by Colombia, which placed 9th.  The U.S. did not make it in the top ten.

Link to Forbes Article