Costa Rica has two major forest types that currently cover almost half of the countries life zones, tropical moist and tropical wet. Originally Costa Rica was covered by a 99.8% natural forest and by 1977 was reduced to just 31%. Most of this deforestation had occurred since the 1950?s (Hartshorn, et al.1982). A study done by the Center on Sustainable Development (CIEDES,1998) indicates the rate of deforestation between 1986 and 97 had declined to an average of just 1% a year (…showed first 75 words of 802 total…

…showed last 75 words of 802 total…clear enough land to maintain, and cut a larger boundary strip around the land to claim it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography** Work Cited Baker, Randall. Environmental Management in the Tropics. Boca Raton: Lewis, 2000. Clay, W. Jason. Indigenous Peoples and Tropical Forests. Cambridge: Cultural Survival, Inc. 1988. Hall, A.S. Charles, et al. Quantifying Sustainable Development. New York: Academic Press, 2000. (Sanches-Azofeifa, 2000) Hartshorn, Gary et al. Costa Rica: Country Environmental Profile: A Field Study. San Jose:Tropical Science Center, 1984. (Seligson, 1980)