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The Children’s Eternal Rainforest

Clean Water Resources

The protection of clean water resources is invaluable for the health of society as a whole, and especially in those cases where the forest protects those water resources which are utilized for human and animal consumption as well as the generation of hydroelectric energy. In terms of the alterations produced by climate change, some of the strongest are the progressive loss of available water, the decrease in the wealth of watersheds, and majorly the instability in the natural processes that strengthen clean water resources. This is a situation that calls for a prioritization of the protection and rehabilitation of the forest in regard to watersheds.

This situation is strongly represented in the Children’s Eternal Rainforest, and due to conditions of geographical location, topography, climate, and principally forest cover, the BEN permits a higher richness in the clean water resources within it. The principle watersheds located in the area are: the Peñas Blancas River, the Esperanza River, the San Lorenzo River, the Aranjuez River, the Caño Negro River, and the Guacimal River. Each watershed has its own composition of different rivers and permanent and temporal streams, as well as innumerable amounts of springs and natural lagoons. It is important to point out that the different populations located around the protected area receive their water for human as well as agricultural consumption from the BEN, in addition to the large amount of hydroelectric projects that have been developed in the region. The principle examples are: the Arenal Hydroelectric Project (the Costa Rican Electricity Institute- ICE), the Peñas Blancas Hydroelectric Project (ICE), the San Lorenzo Hydroelectric Project (Consorcio de Cooperativas de Electrificación Rural-CONELECTRICAS), La Esperanza Hydroelectric Project (Private business, Inversiones la Mangera), the Pocosol Hydroelectric Project (CONELECTRICAS), and El Encanto Hydroelectric Project (Campaña Nacional de Fuerza y Luz). The last two projects are in process of being constructed.

It is easy to see the importance that the BEN plays for the country, and that approximately 50% of the production of electricity originates from this protected area.