The Impact Of Global Warming In Costa Rica

Costa Rica is an island country in North America. Although it is not a very big country, it
is blessed with pristine natural beauty and rich biodiversity. Sadly, the impacts of global
warming are also being felt in Costa Rica. The fact that Costa Rica is an island country puts it
at even greater risk.

The heating up of oceans and melting of glaciers and polar ice sheets is predicted to
raise the average sea level by about half a meter over the next century. Coastal areas and
small islands such as Costa Rica will be at maximum risk because of the rise in sea level.
This would result in loss of land due to inundation and erosion, increased flooding, and salt-
water intrusion. All this would adversely affect coastal agriculture, freshwater resources,
fisheries and aquaculture, human settlements and health.

Particularly vulnerable are the species inhabiting the forest systems on remote islands
like Costa Rica, since these species have no opportunity for migration. The harlequin frog
(Atelopus varius) of Costa Rica has already disappeared because of its inability to adapt to
climate

changes. In the Monteverde cloud forest in the Tileran Mountains of northern Costa Rica,
disappearances of twenty species of frogs and toads has been observed. There are several
other species that are being affected such as the cloud forest bats, lizards, wild orchids, and
mountain birds, which are either responding by a decline in population or by an upward shift
to be able to adapt to climate change.

Apart from these impacts, an increase in fungal growth and decline in tree growth has
also been observed in this region, which is attributed to global warming.