Environment

While Costa Rica is a very small country, it features greater biodiversity than Europe or North America! This is the result of a combination of factors:

• The country's location as a natural bridge between North and South America
• Costa Rica's warm tropical climate
• The presence of many different topographical features, especially our high mountains, lakes, rivers, forested swamps, etc., create a wide range of habitats

The country’s conservation policy, which has protected a significant portion of its territory

Maybe you `ve heard that Costa Rica is characterized by a great Biodiversity. But what exactly is Biodiversity? We give you a brief explanation:

• The variety of life on our planet, measurable as the variety within species, between species, and the variety of ecosystems.
• The relative abundance and variety of plant and animal s and ecosystems within particular habitats. 
• The number and variety of different organisms in the ecological complexes in which they naturally occur. Organisms are organized at many levels, ranging from complete ecosystems to the biochemical structures that are the molecular basis of heredity. Thus, the term encompasses different ecosystems, species, and genes that must be present for a healthy environment. A large number of species must characterize the food chain, representing multiple predator-prey relationships.
• The diversity, or variety, of plants, animals and other living things in a particular area or region. It encompasses habitat diversity, species diversity and genetic diversity.