Local Education

Web Resources

Hydropower

Publications

    Co P.I.:  Rodney J. Vargas. Organization for Tropical Studies, San José, Costa Rica.
 

    The "Water For Life" program has played a key role in public education and outreach.  The program has been so effective as an educational tool for both graduate students (in Costa Rica and the U.S.) and local communities, that OTS  offers graduate fellowship opportunities in environmental outreach on water quality problems for students in both Costa Rica and the U.S. (contact Barbara Lewis for more information).  To date, 4 masters theses have been completed  by University of Georgia students.  Six masters theses have been completed by Costa Rican students from the Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Costa Rica.  The program is considered a model for environmental outreach programs that are linked to scientific research.  For more information click here.
 

    The concept is based on Georgia's Adopt-A-Stream Program and requires that volunteers commit to monthly monitoring of a local stream. Students in an upper-level agroecology class at the Puerto Viejo high school participate in the program and monitored the Quebrada Grande, a second-order stream originating near Cristo Rey and passing directly through the town of Puerto Viejo.  Students monitored four stream components in order to evaluate the water quality:  1) physical parameters; 2) habitat parameters; 3) chemical parameters; and 4) biological monitoring.  Through their participation in the study, students have learned about:  1) the variety of organisms inhabiting the stream; 2) pollution sources affecting water quality; and 3) how they can work to improve and protect their streams and rivers.  Based on the success of Adopt-A-Stream, plans are developing to implement the program in several other local school systems. In addition, a 60-page manual was developed that provides details on how to initiate an Adopt-A-Stream program, sampling methodology, and data interpretation.  The manual was developed and implemented by UGA student K. Laidlaw.  A 79-page teaching manual (study guide) for local high school teachers was created by UGA student S. Pohlman.  Manuals are available through OTS or C. Pringle at UGA.
 

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    As a result of the increasing demand for materials and resources related to the Water for Life program, we decided a web site would be a valuable tool for those interested in participating in the program.  The web site can be used not only in the communities near other OTS field stations, but in Spanish-speaking countries throughout the world.  The web site includes various outreach products:  1) conservation posters; 2) an Adopt-a-Stream manual; 3) classroom activities; 4) and links to other freshwater conservation resources on the Internet.  The goal of the web site is to provide a centralizing resource for those people participating in the program and to bridge communication between the participants and other people with similar interests connected to the Internet.  The web site was designed by UGA graduate student D. Parsons.
 

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    In Costa Rica, hydropower currently serves as the primary source of energy, accounting for roughly 82% of the country's electricity in 1998.  Increasing demands for electricity led the country to investigate new sites for hydropower plants.  The potential for hydroelectric development is currently under evaluation in the Sarapiquí River watershed on Costa Rica's Caribbean slope. Since the early 1990's, eight hydropower projects have been constructed on the Sarapiquí River and its tributaries. A substantial number of additional projects are also currently being considered for the watershed. While environmental impact assessment reports have evaluated the potential effects of individual hydropower projects, no study has assessed the potential cumulative impacts of multiple projects on the Sarapiquí River watershed as a whole. This study was conducted by UGA Ph.D. student E. Anderson.
 

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Almeda, F. and C. M. Pringle (eds.)  1988. Tropical rainforests: Diversity and conservation. Allen Press, Lawrence, KA, 306 p.

Anderson Olivas, E., Freeman, M, and Pringle, C.M. In press. Ecological consequences of hydropower development in Central America: impacts of small dams and water diversion on neotropical fish assemblages. River Research and Application 00:00-00.

Bjorkland, R. and C.M. Pringle. 2001. Educating ourselves and our communities about conservation of aquatic resources through environmental education outreach programs. BioScience 51:135-138.

Pringle, C. M.  1988.  History of conservation efforts and initial exploration of the lower extension of Parque Nacional Braulio Carrillo, pp. 225-241. In: F. Almeda and C. M. Pringle (eds.) Tropical rainforests: Diversity and conservation. Allen Press, Lawrence, KA, 306 p.

Pringle, C. M.  1997.  Expanding scientific research programs to address conservation challenges in freshwater ecosystems, pp.305-319. In: Pickett, S. T. A.,  R. S. Ostfeld, M. Shachak, and G. E. Likens (eds.) Enhancing the ecological basis of conservation: Heterogeneity, ecosystem function and biodiversity. Proceedings of the Sixth Cary Conference, Institute of Ecosystem  Studies. Chapman and Hall, New York.

Pringle, C. M.  1999.  Changing academic culture: Interdisciplinary, science-based graduate programs to meet environmental challenges in freshwater ecosystems. Aquatic Conservation  9: 615-620.

Pringle, C. M. In press. Hydrological connectivity: A neglected dimension of conservation biology. In: K Crooks and M sanjayan (eds). Connectivity in conservation. Blackwell Scientific Press.

Pringle, C. M.  2000.  River conservation in tropical versus temperate latitudes. In: P. J. Boon, B. Davies, and G.E. Petts (Eds) Global Perspectives on River  Conservation: Science, Policy and Practice. John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Pp 371-383.

Pringle, C. M. 2000.  Managing riverine connectivity in complex landscapes to protect 'remnant natural areas'. Verhandlungen Internationale Verin. Limnol. 27:1149-1164.

Pringle, C. M., I. Chacon, M. H. Grayum, H. W. Greene, G. S. Hartshorn, G. E. Schartz, F. G. Stiles, C. Gomez, and M. Rodriguez. 1984. Natural history observations and ecological evaluation of the La Selva Protected Zone, Costa Rica. Brenesia 22: 189-206.

Pringle, C.M., M. Freeman, and B. Freeman. 2000. Regional effects of hydrologic alterations on riverine macrobiota in the New World: Tropical-temperate comparisons. BioScience 50:807-823.

Pringle, C. M. and F. N. Scatena.  1998.  Factors affecting aquatic ecosystem deterioration in Latin America and the Caribbean. In: U. Hatch and M. E. Swisher (eds.) Tropical managed ecosystems: New perspectives on sustainability. Oxford University Press.

Pringle, C. M. and F. N. Scatena.  1999.  Freshwater resource development:Case studies from Puerto Rico and Costa Rica, pp. 114-121. In: U. Hatch and M. E. Swisher (eds.) Managed ecosystems: The mesoamerican experience. Oxford University Press.

Pringle, C. M., F. Scatena, P. Paaby-Hansen, and M. Nunez-Ferrera.  2000. River Conservation in Latin America and the Caribbean. In: P. J. Boon, B.R. Davies, and G.E.Petts (Eds) Global Perspectives on River Conservation: Science, Policy and Practice. John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Pp 41-77.

Pringle, C.M., F.J. Triska, D. Genereux, A. Ramirez, E. Anderson, and D. Parsons. 2001. Stream research in Costa Rica: Linking Freshwater Programs to Environmental Outreach. SIL News. 32:1-4.

Dissertations

Anderson Olivas,  E. 2004. Ecological and social implications of hydropower development on a neotropical river system, Costa Rica. University of Georgia, Athens, GA.

Master's Theses

Laidlaw, K. L. 1996. The implementation of a volunteer stream monitoring program in Costa Rica. University of Georgia, Athens, GA.

Parsons, D. 2000. The development of the Water-For-Life web page: An environmental outreach tool on water resource issues for Costa Rica and Latin America. University of Georgia, Athens, GA.

Pohlman, S.M. 1998. Towards implementation of community-led conservation in lowland rainforest: The Water for Life program in Puerto Viejo de Sarapiquí, Costa Rica. University of Georgia, Athens, GA.

Vargas, R. J. 1995. History of municipal water resources in Puerto Viejo, Sarapiquí, Costa Rica: a socio-political perspective. University of Georgia, Athens, GA.
 

Environmental Outreach Posters

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Last up-date: April 2005.