Costa Rica partnership
Nestled between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, Costa Rica is a country of endless natural beauty and ecological significance with tropical dry forests, rainforests, volcanic mountain ranges, national parks and white-sand beaches.
The protection of Costa Rica's wildlife and diverse natural environment is at the heart of the country's world-leading model for sustainable tourism, and we've partnered with Costa Rica Tourism to help promote this beautifully biodiverse country.
If you're visiting Eden Project in Cornwall this summer, there are plenty of ways to experience Costa Rica. Explore the Eco Lodge exhibit in our Rainforest Biome, join one of our guided Rainforest Tours to discover more about the country's inspiring story of transformation, and sample the flavours of Costa Rica during a chocolate tasting session.
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In Costa Rica, you can find your sanctuary – a place to slow down, reconnect with nature, and immerse yourself in a rich and diverse landscape.
Experience Costa Rica in the Rainforest Biome
Working with Costa Rica Tourism, we're taking visitors on a journey through the Rainforest Biome to discover the work we're doing in Costa Rica, alongside the country's remarkable biodiversity, rich culture and commitment to sustainability.
You'll discover cacao – the chocolate plant – and how it can be grown sustainably, as well as how everyone can support these practices. The planting scheme highlights shade-grown cacao, showing how farmers in Costa Rica are creating agroforestry cropping systems that produce more sustainable chocolate while caring for the land and wildlife. The cacao exhibit features a representation of an iconic traditional Costa Rican ox-cart, used since the 1800s to transport precious cargo such as cacao pods and adorned with intricate, colourful artwork often used to represent the region the farmer came from.
The cacao exhibit is complemented by the Costa Rican Eco Lodge – a sanctuary within the Rainforest Biome that brings to life the country's commitment to eco-tourism and showcases its approach to sustainability. Designed as a simple, relaxed lodge-style building using natural materials, it sits among native Costa Rican plants, including heliconia, brugmansia and anthurium, inviting visitors to discover more about this beautifully biodiverse country.
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Costa Rica: a global leader in sustainability and conservation
Costa Rica’s incredible biodiversity wasn’t always like it is today. In the 1980s, deforestation was rife, but over the past 30 years, Costa Rica has become a global pioneer in the protection and regeneration of its natural resources and has demonstrated that it is possible to reverse ecological loss to the benefit of its people.
Costa Rica is home to over 500,000 species of flora and fauna, including 900 bird species, and five of the seven sea turtle species, making it one of the most biologically rich nations on Earth. Over 25% of its territory is now protected, reflecting the deep national commitment to conservation.
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Eden Project in Costa Rica
Since 2018 the Eden Project has been supporting this transformation through a project on Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula. Known for surfing, ecotourism and being one of the world’s five “Blue Zones” - places where people tend to live longer, healthier lives, the peninsula is also amongst the last areas of tropical dry forest, one of the most endangered habitats in the world.
In a 65,000-hectare protected area on the peninsula, we’re supporting a range of initiatives that involve local communities, farmers and organisations, all with the aim of securing a sustainable future for the forest, the people and the wildlife. The work includes a cacao agroforestry programme where cacao crops are grown amongst other indigenous trees. The cacao benefits from the extra shade and the farmers benefit from selling the cacao pods (the source of chocolate) as well as other crops from the trees, such as banana and timber.
We've provided farmers in the area with thousands of cacao plants, training for their cultivation and production connections for buyers. Through this regenerative way of farming, the forest is re-growing, the wildlife is returning and the farmers have agency and stability after years of logging and ranching in the area that has devastated their land. The work continues, towards building long-term environmental and social sustainability on the peninsula.
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Pura Vida Pledge
