The Río San Juan

Abstract

Situated between two oceans and two countries in Central America, the Rio San Juan is both a transisthmian route and a transborder region. As a corridor between the Caribbean and the Pacific, the river has attracted foreign geopolitical designs. As a transborder region between Nicaragua and Costa Rica, the river's watershed served the development of a distinct social and economic network that supported two recent wars. Nevertheless, several Rio Sanjuan environments remain little disturbed, especially the western and eastern wetlands and the tropical forest on the northern side of the river. A large transborder protected area-SIAPAZis being developed as a joint Costa Rica-Nicaragua effort to conserve the largest rain forest north of the Amazon. SIAPAZ will provide alternative economic opportunities for people who otherwise would be felling the forest for timber and farms. The project will test the strategy of protecting environments as a principal means of promoting peaceful development.