This year was no exception. In fact, the Goldman Prize recipients were even more elated and enthusiastic than usual after their late afternoon meeting at the White House with President Obama.   I was moved by the accomplishments of the all of the winners this year, including Lynn Hemming, a family farmer in Michigan who is fighting pollution from industrial cattle operations, and Malgorzata Gorska, who stopped a highway which would have degraded one of Poland’s biological gems.    I was really thrilled to greet winner Randall Arauz in Costa Rica who was recognized for his daring efforts to challenge the shark-fining industry. 

I first met Randall (on the right in the picture above with me last night) about 15 years ago in Brunswick, Georgia.  I had traveled there as part of our advocacy for more sustainable production of what is now America’s most popular seafood – shrimp.  I got a chance to go out on a shrimp boat equipped with a Turtle Excluder Device or “TED” invented by a local shrimper and later required by law for use on all trawlers in the United States and in other countries exporting shrimp to the U.S.  (As my colleague Ani Youatt blogged, the U.S. just banned imports of wild-caught shrimp from Mexico due to the failure of trawlers there to use TEDs.)  Randall, a marine biologist already working on sea turtle conservation in Costa Rica, was in Brunswick to help develop a certification program for “sea turtle-safe” shrimp.  

Now Randall’s organization Pretoma  is one of our main partners in Costa Rica.  We are working with Pretoma  and the Salvemos Baulas campaign to oppose an effort to downgrade the Las Baulas National Marine Park, which is home to nesting beaches of leatherback turtles.  Randall and I spoke about the need for concerned citizens to take action right now to let Costa Rican officials know that there is concern worldwide about Las Baulas.  Carolina Herrera and I write more about the Las Baulas controversy here.

In his remarks last night at the Smithsonian, Randall reflected on the huge challenge of taking on the shark-fining industry in Costa Rica.  He made the point that you have to keep “hanging in there”.   Randall has been in there for the long haul for the sharks, the sea turtles and other marine creatures.  So have the other Goldman Prize winners in winning or making progress in their battles.  They are a reminder this Earth Day that all of us, no matter how busy we are, can do something in our own lives to protect the Earth or our little piece of it. 

But even in what is considered by many to be a green paradise, there are still growing pressures including mining, excessive coastal development and expanding pineapple cultivation.  That is why last year NRDC designated the entire country as a BioGem.   In recent months, my colleague Carolina Herrera has taken the lead for NRDC in focussing on the dangers to one of Costa Rica’s marine species, the critically endangered leather back turtle.   

 (Photo Credit: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA)

The leatherbacks, or baulas as they are known in Costa Rica, are the world’s largest marine turtles weighing up to 1,100 pounds. Every year they swim across the vast Pacific Ocean and between the months of October and February, the females lumber onto the beaches of Costa Rica’s Las Baulas National Marine Park to lay their eggs. These extraordinary creatures have been swimming in the ocean for more than100 million years.

Development near nesting beaches can be deadly for marine turtles. When young turtles hatch they must dash to the safety of the water guided by only instinct and the reflection of the moon.   Nearby lights and sounds are disturbing and can lead them astray, making them easy prey for predators.  Adult turtles trying to navigate to the nesting beaches are also at risk of becoming disoriented. 

Last summer we learned of a looming threat to Costa Rica’s leatherbacks.  The Environment Commission of the Legislative Assembly was considering legislation to downgrade the Baulas Park.  The proposed bill would allow development on the sensitive lands near the nesting beaches --- endangering the future of the leatherbacks whose numbers in the eastern Pacific Ocean have plummeted by 90%.

 (Photo credit: David Palange)

In response to the proposed bill NRDC’s BioGem Defenders sent the Environment Commission more than 16,000 messages in opposition to the plan to downgrade the Baulas.   Many other environmental groups and concerned citizens also wrote to voice their deep concern.    Late last year it appeared that support for the bill was waning.   Yet the current Administration, which is leaving office in two weeks, recently listed the bill as a priority for a special session of the legislature.  Alarmingly, some legislators have come out in support of the bill.

So NRDC is once more asking our BioGems Defenders to call on the Environment Commission to reject once and for all the downgrading of the park.

Down grading the park is contrary to the advice of Costa Rican public institutions, scientists, and community associations. International and  Costa Rican environmental NGOs, including Randall’s group Pretoma, the Salvemos Baulas campaign, and many others have spoken out against this bill.  Thousands of concerned citizens in Costa Rica have also voiced their concern, including former Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco who today will be at the next session of the Environment Commission to oppose this bill

Downgrading the Last Baulas National Marine Park would have dire consequences for the leatherbacks.  It would also be the first time Costa Rica lowered the status of any of its national parks. This could open the door to further weakening of the park system and place even greater pressure on Costa Rica’s prized biodiversity.  This action would damage Costa Rica’s reputation as one of the world’s environmental leaders. 

Instead of reducing protections for the leatherbacks, the current and future Costa Rican government must work with local stakeholders to strengthen the park lands.  Conserving biodiversity is no easy job, but Costa Rica has shown in the past that with enough political will and perseverance it can be done. Now is the time for Costa Rica to once more demonstrate it is a true environmental leader and act to save the leatherbacks. 

Last year, NRDC launched its Revive a Rainforest campaign to restore forests in Costa Rica - known around the world for its impressive biodiversity. With the help and generosity of our many online supporters, the first stage of our Revive a Rainforest campaign was a true success. This past summer our  partner, CATIE, finished planting 30,000 young trees on their land in Costa Rica's lush Central Valley.  Following Peter Lehner's trip to plant the first trees,  I also visited our new forest in June and --despite some tropical rain -- was happy to see how the young trees are taking root.

The trees are restoring degraded land that was used as cattle pastures and will help bring back some of Costa Rica's unique wildlife. During my visit I met one of CATIE's scientists who explained how as the trees grow we'll be able to see bird-life increase and change, until the site is once more habitat for colorful forest species.  Our members' forest will help connect other forested areas on CATIE's land and as the trees mature we hope that small cats like ocelots will also increase their habitats by passing through our forest.

Recently, NRDC identified yet another area in Costa Rica in need of protection and restoration. The Osa Peninsula, the most biodiverse region in the country, is home to half of Cost Rica's approximately 500,000 plant and animal species.  Unfortunately, the Osa's incredible wildlife is under pressure from expanding development.

In partnership with Friends of the Osa, another local group committed to preserving Costa Rica's natural resources, NRDC is moving forward with a new reforestation project.  With the continued help of our members and online supporters we plan to plant 25,000 native trees to revive land in the Osa that was degraded as cattle pasture and exotic species plantations. The land is owned by our partners and forms a critical part of a conservation corridor and buffer zone connected to Corcovado's National Park. This new reforestation project will recreate habitat for the Osa's endangered wildlife, including howler monkeys, scarlett macaws and jaguars. The project will also help renew the water supply for downstream communities.

Like our first reforestation project with CATIE, this project will also help fight global warming by sequestering carbon emissions. Tropical forests play a key role in fighting global warming by absorbing carbon dioxide   NRDC has been working with Costa Rica to help it achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2021. The trees our supporters help us plant will play a role in reducing Costa Rica's overall emissions in a manner that also enhances biodiversity. 

You can learn more about our new project here and about how you too can help Revive a Rainforest.

Photos by Jacob Scherr

Here are photos of my colleagues in our offices across the United States taking a stand for 350 and the protection of our ultimate biological gem - the Earth:

New York

Washington DC

Montana (where they are really worried about Yellowstone and grizzly bears)

San Francisco

Los Angeles

Reaching back to our earliest days, NRDC has worked to shield this special place from oil and gas development.  Our focus on stopping repeated efforts to open up the Arctic Refuge has expanded to include protecting the Western Arctic and the Polar Bear Seas - the Beaufort and Chukchi. 

This pristine landscape and its rare wildlife now also face the damages of climate change.  Infact, the Arctic is more sensitive to temperature variations than any other region of the globe.  Scientists say that the entire Arctic ice-cap could melt by mid-century.  Our BioGem is already feeling the impact of climate change:

• The polar bear, so dependent on ice-sheets for its survival, would lose this crucial platform to hunt seals, and may consequently be driven to extinction.
• Similarly, the Pacific walrus, which cannot swim long distances, needs ice-sheets to rest and recover energy. Without them, walruses have to expend a great amount of energy to swim the way back to shore. In both 2007 and 2009, thousands of walruses died in stampedes as they were increased crowded together on-shore colonies.
• The Arctic marine habitat is so intimately tied to and dependent on sea-ice dynamics that the melting ice-cap affects the underlying communities as well. Abundant algae growing under the ice usually sinks to the bottom of the shallow waters, nurturing the vibrant communities there, such as crabs and clams. As the ice melts, fewer algae will be available to feed these communities, changing the balance of the entire ecosystem.
• Without these crabs, clams and other shallow-water organisms to feed on, seal and walrus populations will lose an important food source. Walruses will be forced to swim greater distances to find food, becoming separated from their calves which are left helpless on the shore.
• Ice dependent seals, such as the ringed seal, need enough ice to hide their newborns from predators. With the ice melting earlier each year, these seals are at risk of losing that necessary ice cover. The pups will be exposed before they can defend themselves, leading to a higher death rate of these baby seals.
• The Arctic fox is uniquely adapted to the cold conditions. As temperatures increase, more temperate species will move toward the poles, consuming the Arctic fox's already-limited food sources and compromising its very survival.
• As rivers thaw earlier each year, their rapids become more and more powerful. This affects the caribou populations as they migrate along their historic routes, and are now forced to forge these rapids with their newborn calves. These calves are too weak to cross the rushing rivers and so thousands are swept downstream, leaving the cows to continue to the fertile calving grounds alone.

Our BioGems Defenders and thousands of other concerned citizens have joined us in our long struggle to preserve America's Arctic.  Please join NRDC and 350.org to tell political leaders that action on climate change is necessary now to save this place and to secure a sustainable future.  There is no time to lose.  Act now!  Act on October 24!