COSTA Rica’s aggressive conservation policy may not be enough to protect its
rare and celebrated cloud forests.
The mountain rainforests are ring-fenced in protected parks. But a new study
reveals that they are being damaged by lowland deforestation further down the
hill.
Cloud forests such as those at Monteverde contain some of the richest
assortments of tropical plants and animals in the world. The clouds form when
warm lowland winds blow up against steep mountains, causing the air to rise and
shed moisture as clouds.
In 1999, scientists noticed that Monteverde’s cloud bank was gaining altitude
and failing to blanket…
