Water shed conservation in Guanacaste

The Nandamojo watershed is located on Costa Rica’s northwest coast in the province of Guanacaste. The watershed encompasses 29,000 acres, from the community of 27 de abril to Playa Junquillal, where the river empties into the sea.
More than any other factor, it is climate that defines the challenges and opportunities in this part of Costa Rica. Temperatures can climb over 100 degrees and there are two distinct seasons: wet and dry. The winter dry season, which starts in November, is caused by trade winds that blow in from the Caribbean. As this air moves west across the country it loses moisture, reaching Guanacaste as a gusty dry wind that desecrates the landscape. In May, the trade winds shift and allow offshore weather from the Pacific to bring afternoon showers and humidity. For the next six months, rivers and lowlands areas are filled with water and the landscape is a jungle of green. This “tropical dry forest” supports a unique ecosystem of flora and fauna.

Geography as well as climate has influenced human activity in this region. Guanacaste was sparsely settled until the 1900s, and the agricultural communities in the Nandamojo River Valley were largely isolated from the rest of the country. Fertile lowlands, ample drinking water in the dry season and nearby forests teeming with wildlife sustained a self-sufficient rural population that actually exported grains, livestock and timber to the country’s metropolitan areas.