Central American Institute for Biological Research and Conservation

National Park Background

Barbilla National Park is placed in Costa Rica’s Atlantic versant, in the Talamanca chain. It started as a protected wild area with the executive decree #13392-A 16-Mar-1982 under the Biological Reserve category. The executive decree #13587-A 18-May-1982 changed its regimen to Barbilla Protecting Zone, twelve years later the executive decree #23235-MIRENEM 19-May-1994 transformed it into Biological Reserve and through the decree #26561-MINAE 14-Ene-1998 its actual category is established to National Park. The National Park has an altitudinal variation from 600 masl to 1600 masl, which helps the protection of different life zones.  

The Barbilla National Park is surrounded by indigenous reserves and one forest reserve. They convert Barbilla National Park in a protected area with a high connectivity. The result of this position makes of the National Park an important part of the Mesoamerican Corridor and Indigenous Logistic Corridor of Central America.

No extensive inventories of floret and fauna have been made in Barbilla National Park. At the present time, the preliminary listings made in early zones, count 38 species of mammalians, 211 species of birds, 20 species of amphibians and 40 species of reptilians. His floret has been estimated by at least 88 species. The National Park could shelter the populations of 8 mammalians species endangered 4 bird species and one species of reptile and amphibian.  

The Barbilla National Park is located up in the Talamanca chain. This is an important regional hot spot in Mesoamerica. The geographical and altitudinal position of the Park turn it into a zone of high potential of endemism for Costa Rica.

The components projects of the Program are:

 

• Diagnosis about Socio-economical, cultural, organizational and perceptions of Barbilla National Park nearby communities.

This diagnosis will evaluate the socio-economical, cultural, organizational status of the Barbilla National Park nearby communities. At the same time, it will determine the kind of use that these communities make with the natural resources of the Park and the impact that this use brings on. This diagnosis will identify the incidence of Barbilla National Park in the communities, the profit and disadvantages of the interaction between the National Park and the communities, and the development level of their existing social organizations.

The first setters arrived to this zone in the 60’s decade. They settled around what would be the National Park, in Las Brisas de Pacuarito town. But this zone was inhabited by Cabecar communities. At the present time, Cabecars are living in the Yayní, Telire, Nairi-Awari and Chirrido reserves, around the National Park.

All old indigenous communities established relationships with the zone’s natural resources. This is the beginning of the diagnosis. It will try to explain the current status of these relationships.

• Setting the limits of the different zones of Barbilla National Park.

This project pretends to establish –starting with the current and cultural uses of the natural resources- the different ground uses, in relation with the ecosystem charge capacity and the biological criteria that allow the balance between the development of the communities and the conservation of the biodiversity.

The process to set the limits of the different zones and the allowed activities will establish the kind of relationship between National Park nearby communities and the protected area’s resources. This will allow the active integration of the communities in the biological conservation of nature.

• Evaluation of the natural resource’s status and Barbilla National Park ecosystems.

At the present time, the Barbilla National Park doesn’t have a regulating plan that allows correct management of this protected area. The preliminary facts show an area with a high diversity potential. The National Park could shelter 13 species endangered to Costa Rica. In this context, the developing of a project of natural resources evaluation is very important given its diversity.

The generated information will allow a more adequate zones distribution of the National Park, which will reflect its biological composition in order to preserve its natural resources.