This February, the Master of International Forestry program shook up their usual field component with a trip to Costa Rica. Program Lecturer and Coordinator, Peter Wood, shares more about the experience.
The pride in the eyes of the man leading us through the lush tropical forest is evident. Over the past 40 years, Rodriguez Paniagua has restored what was previously degraded pasture into a thriving ecosystem, now alive with the sounds of birds and insects, and he takes great joy in showing it off. The students are enthralled by the story of how he secured the support of the local community to restore the watershed, and in the process, reduce drought and flooding events.
This was but one of several stops featured in the Master of International Forestry (MIF) field trip to Costa Rica this February, hosted by the Center for Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education (CATIE). Costa Rica presents an excellent opportunity to explore many of the questions tackled by the MIF program, including: What makes forests (and forestry) an international issue? How can countries learn from each other’s mistakes and best practices? What exactly is “sustainable forest management,” and what role can this play in achieving Sustainable Development Goals?
Costa Rica offers many conservation success stories, including bringing back its forest cover from 25% in the 1980s, to 60% today, standing in stark contrast to its neighbours.
This is in part due to strict legal protections that were established for primary forests, and payment-for-ecosystem-services schemes, all designed to meet obligations under the Convention on Biological Diversity and other international agreements. It was fascinating to hear the MIF students reflect on how tensions between conservation and development are playing out in their own countries, including Canada.
Other highlights of the trip included a boat tour of a mangrove ecosystem, a visit to a teak plantation, a hike through a high-altitude cloud forest, and making chocolate from raw cacao pods. The CATIE campus, a bustling hub of research nestled within a forest southeast of San Jose, provided an excellent base and allowed us to interact with many researchers working on some of these issues.
We are looking forward to returning to Costa Rica with the new cohort of the MIF, which is a one-year course-based master’s program that prepares students for a career in international forestry. Prospective students are encouraged to follow us on LinkedIn and check out the MIF website, which includes a short video about the field trip.
