How Sabalo Lodge Is Protecting The Environment

Sabalo Lodge is committed to the principles of sustainability and eco responsible practices. This includes managing 10 acres of protected primary rain forest that is a part of Sablo Lodge. We have also expanded our role to include doing what we can to protect other fragile environments and various ecosystems around our lodge and within the Osa Peninsula.

Primary Rain Forest

Sabalo Lodge is located on 8 open acres of trimmed grass with shade and fruit trees. Adjacent to the lodge and as part of the property are 10 acres of protected primary rain forest. We are actively protecting this area from illegal logging, poaching and unauthorized access. The area is fenced off on one side to keep cattle and trespassers out of this protected area. Sabalo Lodge is also fenced and the property of the lodge acts as another barrier to prevent access to the rain forest. We have a trail that goes alongside the rain forest for guests to see this wondrous area while limiting access to the actual forest. Nothing goes on in this area without our knowledge.

Mangroves

Access into Sabalo Lodge is by boat. The final leg of the journey is through one of Central Americas largest mangrove preserves where some of the tallest mangrove trees in the world are located. Mangroves are a very fragile ecosystem and are slowly being damaged by erosion. The erosion is being caused by tour and fishing boats that have large boat engines. These engines cause big wakes behind them which are slowly washing out the loose soil of the mangroves. The Sierpe river channel from the town of Sierpe to Drake Bay was once nothing but a narrow mangrove channel itself. Now it is a wide river. You can see areas where trees are falling into the river from the sides of the river banks as you take this boat trip.

Fiberglass boats are the preferred mode of transportation in this area. Boat builders in Sierpe traditionally take an existing boat and use it as a mold to make a new boat laying fiberglass over one boat to create another. These boats are heavy and thick with fiberglass making a bigger boat engine necessary for the boat to function decently.

An enterprising Tico realized that the boats did not need that much fiberglass on the sides and was able to make a structurally sound boat with 30% less fiberglass. This makes the boat weigh a lot less and allows for smaller boat engines to be used. The older boat styles needed anywhere from a 25 - 40 horsepower engine to push the boats.

Sabalo Lodge has purchased one of these newer styled lighter fiberglass boats. We can run the boat with a 9.8 horsepower engine reducing our wake size and limiting the effects of erosion. We also have a zodiac boat for quick trips into Sierpe for supplies. Additionally we have a boat that is made of technologically advanced materials called a port-a-boat. The material is stronger than fiberglass yet weighs a 1/4 of the fiberglass boat of the same size. We use this boat for tours of the mangroves and mangrove fishing trips. All 3 boats use our 9.8 horsepower motor.

We also practice trash pick up whenever we see floating garbage on any excursions through the mangroves.

Beaches

Sabalo Lodge has a day trip to one of the prettiest beaches on the planet. Playa Blanco is where the mouth of the Sierpe River meets Drake Bay and the entry point for tourists as they travel from Sierpe to Drake by boat. This beach is tropical cove rich with scenery and wildlife including the occasional Scarlet Macaws. This is one of the few beaches in Costa Rica that is very safe for swimming as there are no rip currents close to shore.

Whenever we visit Playa Blanco for personal time or as a tour we always spend time picking up any trash we come across. We transport the trash out with us by boat and make sure it is disposed of properly.

Sabalo and Surrounding Areas

There are many areas to hike around Sabalo Lodge both lowland flat trails and for the adventurous mountainous jungle trails. We always encourage our guests and guides to pick up and trash they may come across during their hikes. Small trash bags are provided and the trash collected is disposed of properly by the staff of Sabalo Lodge.

Legal Actions by Sabalo Lodge to Protect the Environment

Sabalo Lodge has worked with the health department and Munae to file legal actions against violations that were harmful to the local environment of Sabalo the town. Munae is responsible for the protection of the forest of Costa Rica. Illegal logging is still a big problem throughout Costa Rica and Munae is under staffed and under funded to stop the illegal logging. The town of Sabalo and surrounding areas have been economically poor for many years and illegal logging can be a lucrative business.

It is legal to harvest trees that have fallen naturally as long as the person cutting the downed tree has paid for the proper permits though Munae to do so. This allows Munae to manage the number of downed trees harvested for building materials. Fallen trees break down over time and enrich the soil of the forests. Cutting live trees for building materials is forbidden. Many of the violations in the area are from fallen trees being cut for building materials where permits were never issued.

Sabalo is only accessible by boat so it is difficult for inspectors to police this area making it easy for these types of violations and other infractions to exist.

There was a farm owned by a foreigner in the area that was being used to raise pigs and chickens for the owner's restaurant in the nearby town of Palmar Norte. It is legal to own one pig as long as it is going to be slaughtered for food. It is not legal to raise pigs as they are very harmful to the environment. This farm owner had over 50 pigs and 200 chickens on his property. The waste from these animals was not being managed properly and his farm was near a stream that emptied out into the mangroves. The smell in the area was horrible.

A foreigner near Sabalo Lodge was polluting the environment by illegally keeping over 50 pigs for his restaurant in a nearby town. Dan Pesta of Sabalo Lodge was instrumental in shutting him down.

The pigs’ waste was not being disposed of properly and was emptied directly into the mangroves.

He also illegally kept over 200 chickens for his restaurants without proper waste management.

We arranged to have three members of the health department come out to Sabalo to inspect this property and shut the farm down. The inspectors did not have any means to get to the area so we picked them up in our boat and provided them with lunch as well. Normally this process would take six months to a year to file all the paperwork before any action could be taken. This is just the nature of the backlogs in the system.

We paid the expenses for the inspector to go directly to San Jose and spend the night so he could meet with the government attorney the next day to expedite the paperwork. We were able to shut down the farm in three weeks, a timeline that was unheard of previously.

The health inspector has committed to many more regular inspections to the area and we will assist him with transportation, food and lodging so that the area will be in compliance and the environment protected.

Dan Pesta and local members of the health department who shut the operation down.

There is a small piece of land in the area that another foreigner has tried to claim as his own. This area runs alongside a small stream which is a protected area as all undeveloped land near water is protected. He began to have his worker clear the area of low brush and small trees. The cut brush was left and had the potential to be washed away into the stream and out to the mangroves. It also left the area open to erosion now that it was cleared. The property in question also had three trees of valuable hardwood on it that he cut down for his own benefit. We took pictures of the damage he caused and filed what is called a denucia against him. This is like a legal complaint. The punishment for a second violation will be jail time for this individual if he tries to do any more harm to this protected area.

Another foreigner was illegally cutting trees in a protected area next to Sabalo Lodge. The owners
of Sabalo Lodge filed a denuncia to legally halt any more cutting of trees.

Several trees were cut and a whole are was cleared. The owners of Sabalo Lodge are keeping
a close eye on this foreigner's activities and reporting anything illegal.

We will continue to work with the government branches to assist them in policing the area. This will include filing the proper paperwork at the government branches, providing transportation and lodging to officials and educating the children of the local school about conservation.

 

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