Rodolfo Vargas inspects suspended Pocillopora sp. coral being grown for use in a reef-restoration project off Costa Rica’s Tortuga Island. (Photo courtesy of the National Learning Institute, INA)
With coral reefs increasingly threatened by climate change, pollution and more, Costa Rica is engaged in a new community-based coral-propagation initiative aimed at bolstering coastal marine life and, in the process, sustainable tourism and economic growth. Since getting underway in August 2024, the fully Costa Rican-funded project has focused on the popular tourist destination of Tortuga Island in the Pacific-coast Gulf of Nicoya, thus far planting 2,150 corals there. Underpinning it is a collaboration of the National Learning Institute (INA), a publicly run vocational- and technical-training agency, Costa Rica’s State Distance University (UNED), and Bay Island Cruises, a coastal marine day-tour company providing transport for the project. Rodolfo Vargas, a member of the INA faculty who has worked on coral restoration in various locations of Costa Rica since 2013, says such work, if done correctly, can make an enormous difference. “When you dive in... [Log in to read more]
