Costa Rica’s ‘cloud forest’ under threat

Climate change is threatening unique ecosystems in Central America and beyond, writes Alberto Pena

The “cloud forest” of Monteverde, in the centre of Costa Rica, will soon no longer be worthy of the name: climate change threatens this unique ecosystem, and its fauna and flora face an unclear future under a brilliant blue sky.

In the forest, what a visitor should hear is the constant drip of moisture falling from the trees. Instead, it is the sound of dead branches snapping underfoot that breaks the silence on the dry trails.

The high-altitude forest is still clinging to life, and it delights walkers with an infinite variety of greens under an uncomfortably bright sun: the fog which reigned supreme here only a short time ago dissipates as the temperature rises, explained 24-year-old forest guide Andrey Castrillo.

“The forest should be cool,” he said. “You should hear the drops falling all over the forest, but that only happens during the wettest and windiest days of the rainy season.”

“Here there was no sun... We had about 30 days of sunshine a year. Now we have more than 130,” he said.

At 1,400 metres above sea level and 140 kilometres northwest of the capital San Jose, the private nature reserve extends over 14,200 hectares and is home to a hundred species of mammals, 440 bird species and 1,200 types of amphibians.

This exceptional type of altitude forest represents only one percent of the world’s tropical and subtropical areas.

“Near-ground cloud cover forms when the humidity saturation is above 90% with temperatures between 14C and 18C,” researcher Ana Maria Duran, of the University of Costa Rica, told AFP.

The researcher said she had been coming here regularly for more than 20 years.

Normally, the “almost permanent” fog gives the impression of “practically walking in the middle of the clouds,” with visibility down to barely a metre.

As she spoke, she stared into the forest where the temperature had risen to more than 25C, under a blue sky where only a few clouds crowned the peaks.

“Coming to Monteverde to find such dry conditions and not being in the clouds like it was 20 years ago when I started coming is obviously very sad,” said Ms Duran.

Rising temperatures mean lower humidity and more sun. The mosses have dried on the tree trunks, the rivers are no more than streams, and the amphibians here have been the first victims of climate change.

“The decline of amphibians in cloud forests may serve as a wake-up call,” warned biologist Andrea Vincent, who teaches at the University of Costa Rica.

Already, the species Incilius periglenes, known as the golden frog, has been considered extinct since 2019 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

“A cloudless cloud forest, it will disappear, it has to,” said Mr Vincent.

But this “dispiriting scenario” can still be avoided, she said. “If we make efforts to stop climate change it is possible that cloud forests will recover... not during our lifetime but perhaps for the next generations.”

‘‘ If we make efforts to stop climate change it is possible that cloud forests will recover... not during our lifetime but perhaps for the next generations.

ANDREA VINCENT UNIVERSITY OF COSTA RICA