Hello!
We had a pretty busy day today.
First, we got to explore the national museum of Costa Rica. We spent about two hours checking out all the museum had to offer, it was really interesting. My favorite exhibit featured the megafauna of the area. What was surprising to me was that at one time, Costa Rica was home to a giant sloth which could get up to 3-5 meters tall!!
We also got to check out the central market downtown. Each person split off into groups of two and were given tasks to complete. One task was to venture out and order your own food (which was surprisingly tough due to language barriers) and another task was to find fruit and vegetables native to the region within the market (also difficult).
After we returned back to our hotel we met a representative of the REDD+ framework here in Costa Rica. It was very interesting to hear about how the framework could impact the management of natural resources in the nation and mitigate climate change globally. It was also interesting to hear about the public attitudes of Costa Ricans towards climate change mitigation efforts and policies. According to our guest lecturer, Costa Ricans are very accepting of climate change and are willing to pay market prices that reflect the true costs of activities that lead to increased emissions. This is something that you definitely don't hear of (especially in the US). It was really cool to hear that Costa Rican is a global leader in carbon neutrality!
Pura Vida!
We had a pretty busy day today.
First, we got to explore the national museum of Costa Rica. We spent about two hours checking out all the museum had to offer, it was really interesting. My favorite exhibit featured the megafauna of the area. What was surprising to me was that at one time, Costa Rica was home to a giant sloth which could get up to 3-5 meters tall!!
We also got to check out the central market downtown. Each person split off into groups of two and were given tasks to complete. One task was to venture out and order your own food (which was surprisingly tough due to language barriers) and another task was to find fruit and vegetables native to the region within the market (also difficult).
After we returned back to our hotel we met a representative of the REDD+ framework here in Costa Rica. It was very interesting to hear about how the framework could impact the management of natural resources in the nation and mitigate climate change globally. It was also interesting to hear about the public attitudes of Costa Ricans towards climate change mitigation efforts and policies. According to our guest lecturer, Costa Ricans are very accepting of climate change and are willing to pay market prices that reflect the true costs of activities that lead to increased emissions. This is something that you definitely don't hear of (especially in the US). It was really cool to hear that Costa Rican is a global leader in carbon neutrality!
Pura Vida!