Volunteer Placement Profile Park and Reserve Assistant Volunteer

ASVO Tortuguero National Park,

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Placement ID: 289 Country: Costa Rica Location: Tortuguero National Park Placement Category: Wildlife and the Environment Placement Type: Conservation Organization Type: Conservation Minimum Duration: 1 week Language Skill: Basic Placement Fee: 50 USD Accommodation: Host Family Only Months Not Available: Available all year

www.volunteerbasecamp.com Quick Facts: Placement ID: IND-289 Location: Tortuguero National Park, Costa Rica Sector: Wildlife and the Environment Category: Min Duration: 1 week Lodging: Language: Basic Placement Fee: 50 USD Job Description

For the first time in its existence, Tortuguero seems to have a future full of promise. In the past, people have endured economic cycles of timber, hunting, fishing and agriculture. Tortuguero National Park offers an alternative to that life, which was so unstable. In recent years efforts have been made to organize and educate the people for the increase in tourism and to protect the area's natural resources. Volunteering has an important role in helping to monitor and maintain the natural resources in the park, as well as to help with environmental educational projects for the people. Tortuguero National Park is the third most visited park in Costa Rica, despite the fact that it can only be reached by aeroplane or boat. The exceptionally high rainfall and rich environment, where the freshwater meets the sea makes the beaches, canals, and wetlands of Tortuguero, areas of exceptional biodiversity. Many tourists come during the turtle season and the rangers need help to be able to take care of the many demands at the park. Over 25% of the land in Costa Rica has been designated as protected areas. The Costa Rican Government can not afford to provide enough staff and resources at the parks, as the demand and costs are too high. National park volunteer assistants are greatly appreciated at Tortuguero because of the large number of visitors the park receives and therefore the need for extra assistance to help maintain the park, as well as to ensure that endangered sea turtles are monitored and provided a safe place to lay their eggs. In addition volunteers are important to ensure that there is adequate staff available to: guide, complete daily tasks and do patrols of the park to prevent illegal poaching and/or logging. Volunteers play an important role in the protection of the biodiversity of this park and assisting the rangers to help make the park always accessible and clean. National park volunteer assistants do not need specialized studies or work experience in conservation at Tourtuguero National Park but they should have a keen interest in conservation issues and the protection of the flora and fauna that are within. Volunteers must be able to do manual labour and work outdoors in the climatic weather of Costa Rica.

Volunteer Tasks Required

Maintenance & Construction

With the regular influx of visitors all year, trails need constant maintenance in order to keep them clear and clean. A national park volunteer assistant would be expected to help in this never ending task. These trails are made to keep visitors in areas where they can walk safely and not interrupt the natural of wildlife.

Control Walks

The park protects the vital nestling grounds for green sea turtles (June-October), giant leatherback turtles (Mid February-July), and female hawksbill turtles (July-October). The Coast has traded in the illegal sale of turtle meat and eggs for many years and the egg extraction levels on some unprotected beaches of Costa Rica are still extremely high -- up to 100% in some of the unprotected areas, showing that

www.volunteerbasecamp.com there is still a demanding market in many countries for turtles, eggs and their by-products. Rangers may request the help of volunteers with the control patrols in this park.

Visitors Reception Area

Usually rangers have not had the opportunity to learn a second language and 75% of the visitors to the park are not Spanish speaking. English is the common language. A national park volunteer assistant may be asked to help the rangers in providing information to visitors to the park. This would include the rules and regulations of the park, the various trails and highlights they may see, as well as any other pertinent data.

General Infrastructure Maintenance

The humidity causes quick deterioration of structures thus buildings need constant maintenance. A national park volunteer assistant may be asked to help with general maintenance activities in the park which may include basic repairs on buildings, painting and other minor repairs as deemed necessary.

www.volunteerbasecamp.com Organization Details About the Organization

ASVO (Association of Volunteers for Service in Protected Areas)is a non-profit and non-governmental organization that is dedicated to maintaining and preserving national parks, communities and beaches throughout Costa Rica. ASVO's mission is to promote the importance of preserving the environment by operating a number of grass-root conservation projects and conducting a variety of educational workshops throughout the country. Over the years environmental issues such as deforestation, species extinction, forest fires, and climate change have been addressed by the members of ASVO as they have worked to expand their programs to different regions in the country. The organization was founded on January 27, 1989 in the response to the growing realization that although Costa Rica is renowned for their natural resources and biodiversity, there was very little awareness around environmental protection by many people who lived in Costa Rica. Originally, ASVO focused on the preservation of national parks but as the program grew they expanded to include projects such as conservation, community education and habitat identification. For over 20 years, ASVO has been striving to call the people throughout Costa Rica to work together to stop the devastating environmental problems. In an attempt to address some of these issues, the members of ASVO have partnered with different Costa Rican schools, government agencies, community groups, local and international volunteer organizations and other environmental agencies. Through these partnerships the members of ASVO hope to raise awareness and encourage people to get involved to help solve these pressing issues. The issues that ASVO are trying to address are very important for a number of reasons. In Costa Rica the government has allocated more than 25% of the countries land as National Parks or areas where ecosystems should be protected. The challenge is that the Costa Rican Government is unable to fund all the jobs, resources and supplies required to ensure that each area is constantly maintained, monitored and that required data that is needed to be collected from each park is conducted and kept up to date. Therefore organizations like ASVO play an important part in helping to achieve environmental objectives set out by the Costa Rican Government. Although ASVO initiatives comprise of a number of different goals the three dominant ones include deforestation, illegal hunting or poaching of endangered species and promoting educational seminars to a wide range of people. Each of the above are important to address. During the 1990's Costa Rica had one of the worst deforestation rates in Latin America. According to reports issued by "State of the World's Forests" at the beginning of the century they had approximately 99 percent of rain forest coverage that diminished quickly to 88 percent and by the 1940's the rain forest coverage was down to 35 percent. Now with the help of government initiatives and organizations like ASVO the current rain forest coverage is at about 50 percent. The reason that forests where being cut down at such alarming rates were for two primary reasons: a) increased demand for cattle b) lush wood that could be exported to other countries who were wanting that commodity and it provide increased revenue for the country to improve things like infrastructure. There was a high demand from the United States for beef exported from Costa Rica which provided incentives for people to increase agricultural output and start cattle farms. Many historians believe that the increase demand for exported cattle was the the number one cause of the rapid decline in the cutting down of massive areas of rain forests. Although deforestation has stopped dramatically, the existing forests are still under threat by illegal logging in protected zones, agricultural development in protected zones, and the need for increased environmental awareness projects to stop people from continuing to impact protected land areas. www.volunteerbasecamp.com stop people from continuing to impact protected land areas. The increase of deforestation has put a huge amount of pressure on existing ecosystems in Costa Rica. As trees were cut down the natural for so many species became inhabitable. This causes growing concern and challenges because of Costa Rica's vast variety of wildlife that is found throughout the country. As a result the number of flora and fauna that are on the list of possibility of becoming distinct continually grows. In recent reports from the Costa Rican Ministry of the Environment and Energy have stated that more than 500,000 species live within the country. This represents 4 % of the total number of species estimated worldwide. As a result, Costa Rica is listed in the top 20 countries with the highest biodiversity in the world. Therefore, organizations like ASVO have an important role to help preserve the natural wonders of Costa Rica. ASVO has been very successful at setting up grass-root initiatives that are designed to help increase patrolling of park grounds to ensure the park lands are kept safe; that endangered species like the leather-back turtle have a safe place to lay their eggs and a hatchery to monitor them when they are young plus creating educational seminars to various demographics. However, perhaps one of their greatest achievements is providing educational seminars to people whose livelihoods depend on illegal poaching or cutting down trees on protected land, by explaining the impacts this type of activity has on the ecosystems of Costa Rica. In many cases they have not only provided education but demonstrated alternative ways to make money so that they would not have to depend on poaching endangered animals as a way to make a sustainable income.

When the Organization was Founded

This organization was started on January 27th 1989 by a group of concerned Costa Rica citizens which included several retired civil servants. The group believed that they needed to start actively promoting the importance of preserving the bio-diversity of their country to help ensure that the increase in pollution and population did not have drastic effect on the environment. Many of the original members remain on the board in advisory positions.

How the Organization is Funded

ASVO is currently funded by donations, government grants and private donations. They are always looking for new ways to generate money to improve ranger stations, equipment and data collection materials.

Role of Religion Within This Organization

ASVO does not have any religious affiliations and does not discriminate against individuals who do affiliate themselves with a particular religious sector.

www.volunteerbasecamp.com Placement Location Information

Tortuguero National Park is located at one of the most remote areas in the Caribbean side of Costa Rica but also it is one of the most visited national parks. The only way to get to town is by boat through the canal or from Limon downtown by the coast. Volunteers will be shown how to get to the area. The station is located at Robles-Kaufman town which is 400 meter before the entrance to the national park and walking distance to the beach. The town has only one little convenience store but there is a internet cafe in Tortuguero downtown. The house has a capacity for six people only at a shared accommodation. There is a little kitchen where one ranger prepares the meals.

City Description

Tortuguero National Park, is located in the Humedal Caribe Noreste region on the Caribbean coast, about 84 km northwest of Limon. Praised for its natural beauty and rich biodiversity, Tortuguero National Park, is the third most visited conservation park in Costa Rica, despite the fact that one must take a plane or boat to get there. Tortuguero National Park was created in 1972 and over the years as they developed the trails within the park, learned about the various wildlife that live in the protected park and developed amenities for visitors; it has become a major attraction for visitors to Costa Rica to come and explore. As a result the economy in the area has become more stable and more job opportunities have been created as facilities such as hotels and restaurants opened to cater to different tourists. Visitors to the park are amazed at the incredible biological diversity, the seemingly endless beach and the coastal rain forest. The park boasts eleven different habitats, including , swamps, beaches, and lagoons. The park is comprised of over 46,900 acres, including 35km of protected beach from the mouth of the Tortuguero River south to Parisimina. The protected beach is a very important part of this park because sea turtles and other animals come to this beach to lay eggs or to live during certain times of the year. The park, and the Barra del Colorado Wildlife Refuge to the north, comprise the largest remaining adjoining tract of lowland wet tropical forest on Costa Rica's Atlantic Coast. Tortuguero National Park, provides shelter to an array of wildlife including the endangered sea turtles such as the leatherback, loggerhead and green turtles. There are more than three hundred different type of , fifty-seven species of amphibians, over one hundred species of reptiles, and sixty species which comprise thirteen of Costa Rica's sixteen endangered species including , , , tapires, river otters, and . The wide-open canals make viewing easier than at many other parks - superb for spotting crocodiles, giant iguanas, basilisk lizards basking atop the branches, swallow-tailed hawks and vultures swooping over the treetops, and caimans luxuriating on the fallen raffia palm branches at the side of the river. Today tourism is Tortuguero's main industry and is increasing. That has facilitated the construction of several hotels, and many of the families rent booths and offer meals to tourists. There are over 100 local guides who offer visitors tours of the area.

Points of Interest

The first inhabitants of Tortuguero resembled the Maya in Mexico. They lived by hunting small animals and wild birds,

www.volunteerbasecamp.com fished in rivers, and caught the tortugasque that came to spawn. They ate cassava roots grown and harvested there and the abundant peach. The rooms were spacious, conical, thatched with straw or palm trees, and often housed two or three families. In Costa Rica, the northern coast to the shores of the Atlantic was part of the Maya trade route that stretched from Mexico throughout Central America. The Mayan Emperor sent scouts to and Costa Rica in search of gold. Most of the gold stopped in Mexico, although the Indians here used a portion to make figurines and ornaments. The first Spanish settlement in the region was San Juan de la Cruz, at the mouth of the San Juan River about 40 miles north of Tortuguero. Founded in 1541, to facilitate trade between Panama and Nicaragua. The twenty inhabitants remained there only two years, moving to other more populated areas. A series of short-lived Spanish populations existed until the mid 18th century. Cocoa plantations were established near Matina, 56 km south of Tortuguero. The indigenous as well as the Afro-Caribbean blacks, (brought to Costa Rica by the Spanish for slave labour), worked the cocoa farms. Zambo-Miskito bands, sailing the low coastal waters of Honduras and Nicaragua, repeatedly stole the harvest. At that time, this powerful and armed tribe, composed of Miskito Indians and shipwrecked African slaves, controlled almost the entire Caribbean coast. The cultivation of cocoa was interrupted in 1848 and the last plantation was abandoned. In the 18th century, sailors and traders knew of Tortuguero by the thousands of turtles that spawned there. The Europeans traded for turtle meat, oil, and their shells, with Zambo-Miskito Indians (who were working turtle fishermen). In 1871, began the immigration of hundreds of blacks from the Caribbean, mainly from Jamaica to work on the railroad. They brought their own culture based on their African roots. In 1890, the railroad from Limon to San Jose was completed. Before that transportation from the Atlantic coast to the central plateau was very difficult. Thus began a period of large-scale export of the green turtle. In 1912, a vessel of 18 tons, the "Vanguard", began making trips from Limon and placed turtles in small cages or pens in the river until loading them onto merchant ships bound for the United States and Europe. Some of the inhabitants of Tortuguero remember when the first saw mill opened in the 40's. It transformed the village, quadrupled the population, improved transportation, established a school, brought another doctor to the area and provided medical insurance to farmers who had previously had none. However, it did not work out as logging companies in Tortuguero all failed, leaving the village crowded and face to face with an agonizing economic situation. The "Atlantic Trading Company" was the first of the companies who built a saw mill. It employed 250 workers and involved the cutting of cedar male golden fruit, laurel, cedar and kativo. The "Slip Lumbre Company" followed and suffered many complications and changes in ownership. The mills were located where the landing is today. When operating the mills, the logs were floated from the forest to that point, and there they were sawed into boards, then transported by sea to markets in Limon, Costa Rica and abroad. Today, near the village center, rusty machinery can be seen left by the timber companies. Travel the channels that they built; which today are part of the Tortuguero National Park and visited by thousands of people every year. With the cessation of work by the last sawmill in 1972, most of the workers disappeared. The old people stayed with families, and the people returned to the old way of life; farming, hunting and fishing. A change that later facilitated the progress in Tortuguero, was the construction of canals to connect the natural waterways between Limon, Tortuguero and Barra Colorado. The voyage was dangerous because of the region's fickle weather, and hazards in the mouth of the Tortuguero. The inland route was through a system of lagoons and waterways and less dangerous. In 1972, a pay phone was installed and in 1979 the government set up transportation twice a week by boat to Tortuguero. The first generator started working in 1982. www.volunteerbasecamp.com Tortuguero. The first generator started working in 1982.

Weather in the Area

Tortuguero is warm and humid. Daily temperatures average 26 degrees C (79 F) and annual average rainfall is over 5,000mm (200+ inches). Warm days are tempered by trade winds and cool nights. The typical day will start with a clear morning with afternoon thunder showers. At night it most likely will rain.

Transportation From BaseCamp

From the BaseCamp house, take a bus to San Jose and get off at the last bus stop. From there, turn to the right and walk four blocks until you find the Caribeños Bus Station. Buy the bus ticket to Cariari. The bus leaves at 9am and it takes 2 1/2 hours to get to Cariari. In Cariari, take the bus to La Pavona/La Geest, the bus station is located 300 meters north from the San José station, ask for the old terminal. Go to the last stop and take the public boat in the route La Geest – Tortuguero. Before you get in tell the captain that you are going to get off at Tortuguero National Park. There you will meet the field coordinator who will take you to the installations.

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