Costa Rica News - Jul 10, 2005

Arias Wants More Foreign Investment

Nobel-prize winning politician, Oscar Arias Sánchez, told Guanacaste voters last weekend under his presidency the government would seek to treble and even quadruple foreign investment in the country. "We can't have tourists arriving at five star hotels on one-star roads," he told a student body at the Universidad Latina, in Santa Cruz. "The problem of abandoning the infrastructure has been so great that there is no other option but private investment."

Costa Rica Most Stable Country in Latin America

A World Bank study released in May aims to provide a "set of governance indicators that can help depoliticize efforts to track the quality of institutions, support capacity building, improve governance and address corruption." The index, which analyzed 209 countries between 1996 to 2004, focuses on six components of good governance: political, civil and human rights; political stability and violence; government effectiveness; the incidence of unfriendly market policies; rule of law; and control of corruption.

Innovative Uses for Renewable Resources

A pioneer in ecotourism and sustainable development practices, Costa Rica Nature Adventures recently began a pilot project at its Pacuare Jungle Lodge in Costa Rica which involves substituting the relatively scarce palm branches used on the bungalow roofs for the ubiquitous Typha domingensis, more commonly known as the cattail plant. The brainchild of Roberto Fernandez and Daniel Peyer, the owners of the lodge, this unique initiative aims to develop innovative uses for renewable resources, as well as provide an environmentally friendly alternative for disposing of the prolific cattail plant. The only one of its kind in Costa Rica, the Pacuare Lodge Cattail Project seeks to emphasize conservation of resources, elimination of wasteful practices, and environmentally friendly (low-impact) technologies.

Alert For Effects of Hurricane Emily

An alert has been declared by the Comisión Nacional de Emergencias (CNE) for two areas in Costa Rica that may be affected Emily, the hurricane in the Caribbena sea. The hurricane may affect Costa Rica indirectly today (Saturday) and Sunday as the Caribbean Coast and the Central Valley may see more than normal rain and strong winds.

NASA's Tropical Cloud Systems and Processes Mission in Costa Rica

NASA's ER-2 airplane departs the San Juan Santa Maria airport in San José, on July 6, 2005. As Hurricane Dennis collapses along the southern shores of the United States, and millions of coastal residents breathe a sigh of relief, NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are busy studying data gathered during the early days of the hurricane that threatened much of the southern Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

Expo Osa Promotes Southern Zone Tourism

Deserted beaches, virgin forests, "intense" biodiversity - the many attractive qualities of Costa Rica's final frontier, the remote Osa Peninsula on the southern Pacific coast, were promoted yesterday at the Expo Osa conference held at the Radisson Hotel in San José. Approximately 40 businesses and organizations had booths at the event, said Luis Centeno, president of the Osa Chamber of Tourism, which put on the event.

Ostional's Hotel Luna Azul: Once in a Blue Moon

Legions of people fall in love with Costa Rica on their first visit and dream about opening a restaurant or small hotel and making a new life in a tropical paradise. And once in a blue moon, the dream actually comes true.

Costa Rica Real Estate Condo Resales
Nativa Premiun Resort in The Central Pacific