STATUS AND TRENDS IN MANGROVE AREA EXTENT WORLDWIDE

Costa Rica

Vegetation description

Mangroves are found on the Pacific coast around the Nicoya Gulf, the mouths of the Río Grande de Merrabá and Sierpe Rivers and East of Quipos, and on the Atlantic coast in the North-east (Chirripó River), with a small area North of Limón. Some of the species that form the mangrove forests are: Avicennia bicolor, Laguncularia racemosa, Pelliciera rhizophorae and Rhizophora racemosa.

FAO, UNEP. 1978. Desarrollo integral de los recursos forestales, Costa Rica. Los bosques del pais y su distribución por provincias. By Boson Sylvander, R. Report PNUD/FAO - COS/72/013, Working document 15,. FAO, Rome Italy 72 pp.
Spalding, M.D., Blasco, F. & Field, C.D., eds. 1997 World Mangrove Atlas. The International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems, Okinawa, Japan. 178 pp.

National level mangrove area estimates

Year

Area
(ha)

Source

Trend

Methodology/Comments

1975

39 200

FAO,UNEP. 1978. Los bosques del Pais y su Distribución por Provincias. Costa Rica, Desarollo Integral de los Recursos Forestales. Report PNUD/FAO - COS/72/013

X

Cited in: FAO, UNEP. 1981. Los Recursos Forestales de la America Tropical Proyecto de Evaluación de los Recursos Forestales Tropicales (en el marco de SINUVIMA) FAO, UNEP, Rome 349 pp.

1979

64 452

Instituto Mereorologico Nacional. 1996.

Cited in: CATIE. 1999. Taller sobre Evualución de los Recursos Forestales en Once Países Latinoamericanos. Memoria del taller. Catie, Turrialba Costa Rica.

No information on methodology or definition are provided.

1983

39 000

Saenger, P., Hegerl E.J. and J.D.S., Davie. 1983. Global status of mangrove ecosystems. Commission on Ecology Papers No.3. IUCN. Gland, Switzerland. 88 pp.

Secondary reference, no primary source provided. The "Year" is the publication year. It could be based on FAO, UNEP, 1978 (see above)

1985

40 844

Herrera Wilbert. 1985. Tipo de clima de Costa Rica

X

Remote sensing

1988

41 000

FAO. 1988. Proposed integrated forest management planning and utilization of mangrove resources in the Terraba-Sierpe reserve. Based on the work of Chong P.W. Technical report No. 2. Costa Rica Manejo integral de un area de manglar. TCP/COS/6652:FAO-DGF. 196 pp.

Secondary reference, no primary source provided. The "Year" is the publication year. The figure could be a rough estimate of Herrera Wilbert, 1985 (see above).

1988

37 000

Spalding, M.D., Blasco, F. and Field, C.D., eds. 1997. World Mangrove Atlas. The International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems, Okinawa, Japan. 178 pp.

Map analysis. Scale 1:200 000. The majority of the maps were prepared in 1970 and revised in 1988. The year is uncertain.

1990

30 000

Furley, P.A. and Munro, D.M. 1993. The wetlands of Belize: ecology, environment and utilisation. Department of Geography, Edinburgh University, Edinburgh(15) 102pp.

Secondary reference, no primary source provided.

1991

41 289

Solarzano, R., R. De Camino, R. Woodword, J. Tosi, V. Watson, A., Vásquez, C. Villalobos, J. Jimenez, R. Repetto, and W. Cruz. 1991. Account Overdue: Natural Resource Depreciation in Costa Rica. World Resources Institute. Washinghton, D.C., 110 pp.

X

Cited in: Polanía, J. 1993. Mangroves of Costa Rica. In: Lacerda, L.D. 1993. Conservation and sustainable utilization of mangrove forests in Latin America and Africa regions. Vol. 2 Part I- Latin America. p. 129-138. Mangrove Ecosystems technical reports ITTO/ISME Project PD114/90 (F). Okinawa, Japan. 272 pp. The reference is also cited in Fisher, P and Spalding, M.D. 1993. Protected areas with mangrove habitat. Draft Report World Conservation Centre, Cambridge, UK. 60

1992

41 330

Jimenez. 1992. Mangrove forest of the Pacific Coast of Central America. In: U. Seelinger, ed. 1992. Coastal Plant Communities of Latin America. p. 259-267. Academic Press, San Diego, 392 pp.

X

Secondary reference. No primary source provided.

1992

51 361

Arcia Dimas. 2001. Análisis del impacto de los programas forestales nacionales en siete países de América Central en el desarrollo económico global 1990/2000. Oficina Regional de la FAO para América Latina y el Caribe Santiago, Chile.

Secondary reference, no primary source provided.

Trends in mangrove area extent over time

No major changes appear to have occurred in this country over the last twenty years.

Year	Area (ha)	Source	Trend	Methodology/Comments
1975	39 200	FAO,UNEP. 1978. Los bosques del Pais y su Distribución por Provincias. Costa Rica, Desarollo Integral de los Recursos Forestales. Report PNUD/FAO - COS/72/013	X	Cited in: FAO, UNEP. 1981. Los Recursos Forestales de la America Tropical Proyecto de Evaluación de los Recursos Forestales Tropicales (en el marco de SINUVIMA) FAO, UNEP, Rome 349 pp.
1979	64 452	Instituto Mereorologico Nacional. 1996.		Cited in: CATIE. 1999. Taller sobre Evualución de los Recursos Forestales en Once Países Latinoamericanos. Memoria del taller. Catie, Turrialba Costa Rica. No information on methodology or definition are provided.
1983	39 000	Saenger, P., Hegerl E.J. and J.D.S., Davie. 1983. Global status of mangrove ecosystems. Commission on Ecology Papers No.3. IUCN. Gland, Switzerland. 88 pp.		Secondary reference, no primary source provided. The "Year" is the publication year. It could be based on FAO, UNEP, 1978 (see above)
1985	40 844	Herrera Wilbert. 1985. Tipo de clima de Costa Rica	X	Remote sensing
1988	41 000	FAO. 1988. Proposed integrated forest management planning and utilization of mangrove resources in the Terraba-Sierpe reserve. Based on the work of Chong P.W. Technical report No. 2. Costa Rica Manejo integral de un area de manglar. TCP/COS/6652:FAO-DGF. 196 pp.		Secondary reference, no primary source provided. The "Year" is the publication year. The figure could be a rough estimate of Herrera Wilbert, 1985 (see above).
1988	37 000	Spalding, M.D., Blasco, F. and Field, C.D., eds. 1997. World Mangrove Atlas. The International Society for Mangrove Ecosystems, Okinawa, Japan. 178 pp.		Map analysis. Scale 1:200 000. The majority of the maps were prepared in 1970 and revised in 1988. The year is uncertain.
1990	30 000	Furley, P.A. and Munro, D.M. 1993. The wetlands of Belize: ecology, environment and utilisation. Department of Geography, Edinburgh University, Edinburgh(15) 102pp.		Secondary reference, no primary source provided.
1991	41 289	Solarzano, R., R. De Camino, R. Woodword, J. Tosi, V. Watson, A., Vásquez, C. Villalobos, J. Jimenez, R. Repetto, and W. Cruz. 1991. Account Overdue: Natural Resource Depreciation in Costa Rica. World Resources Institute. Washinghton, D.C., 110 pp.	X	Cited in: Polanía, J. 1993. Mangroves of Costa Rica. In: Lacerda, L.D. 1993. Conservation and sustainable utilization of mangrove forests in Latin America and Africa regions. Vol. 2 Part I- Latin America. p. 129-138. Mangrove Ecosystems technical reports ITTO/ISME Project PD114/90 (F). Okinawa, Japan. 272 pp. The reference is also cited in Fisher, P and Spalding, M.D. 1993. Protected areas with mangrove habitat. Draft Report World Conservation Centre, Cambridge, UK. 60
1992	41 330	Jimenez. 1992. Mangrove forest of the Pacific Coast of Central America. In: U. Seelinger, ed. 1992. Coastal Plant Communities of Latin America. p. 259-267. Academic Press, San Diego, 392 pp.	X	Secondary reference. No primary source provided.
1992	51 361	Arcia Dimas. 2001. Análisis del impacto de los programas forestales nacionales en siete países de América Central en el desarrollo económico global 1990/2000. Oficina Regional de la FAO para América Latina y el Caribe Santiago, Chile.		Secondary reference, no primary source provided.