Ranger Station in Cocos Island

Several pronouncements have placed Cocos Island as a protected area such as the 1967 declaration by UNESCO as a Natural Heritage Site of Humanity, the 1998 declaration by RAMSAR’s International Convention as an International Important Wetland and the 2002 Cultural Historic Site by the Costa Rican Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport. For the case of the UNESCO declaration, Cocos Island was inscribed under the natural criteria (ix) and (x) which describes an existing critical habitat that provides marine wildlife refuge especially for large pelagic species such as sharks.

With all this legislative protection and being an offshore island, the only way to implement and enforce the law is the establishment of a Ranger Station in Cocos Island headed by a Funcionario (or an Official) and manned by guardaparque (or park rangers).

 

 

 

Living in the Ranger Station is not like living a Tourist Life

Many tourist have dream of visiting Cocos Island where some have wished to become a resident. But sad to say, only Park Rangers are allowed by the Costa Rican Government to live in Cocos Island. Of course, setting foot on the island and visiting the Ranger station is not prohibited. In fact, it is one of your itinerary when you visit Cocos Island where you will pay a $25 National Park Fee while Park Rangers will be very glad to see your presence and giving you a short orientation about the Island and share their experience of living from a far-off distant settlement.

Yes, they are not thriving in a liveaboard kind of life like the one you will be experiencing when going to Cocos Island. But nonetheless, they are thriving in the Ranger Station which has a modest living and equipped with the basic necessities for human existence. There are 2 ranger stations in Cocos Island: one located in Catham Bay and the other in Wafer bay where both of these stations offers a safe anchorage for visiting boats. The station’s facilities include a living quarter, dormitory style cabins for volunteers, electricity powered by solar and hydro-electric machines installed near the waterfalls, greenhouse, cafeteria, outdoor gym and a telephone tower that offers wireless internet and a payphone. The ranger station even has a direct communication’s line using satellite communication where you can speak to a park ranger by dialing 0087 – 468712 – 0010. But despite these facilities, an overnight stay for the general public is strictly prohibited where most visitors just spend a few hours on the island and go back to their liveaboard vessel.

Duties of a Park Ranger

If you think the presence of Park Rangers are just there to collect the national park fee and spend the rest of the day with their personal life, then you are absolutely wrong. In relation to the Sustainable Tourism Program, here are some duties and responsibilities of a Cocos Island Park Ranger:

• Coordinate and supervise tourist activity in the island
• Collect National Park Fee from tourist
• Render introductory presentation to visiting tourist
• Dive site and other marine ecosystem monitoring
• Maintenance of mooring system, patrol boat and other equipment and infrastructure
• Assist visitors during hiking trails
• And the least enjoyable: the report writing and other paperworks (as said by the park rangers themselves)

Well, definitely, this is not a relaxing job. But as the Funcionario and guardaparque said, their work is primarily focused on promoting the least impact a visiting tourist can have on this pristine and wild marine ecosystem around Cocos island.

Illegal Fishing: A Great Challenge for Cocos Island

There is no doubt that diving tourism can have the least impact to the fragile marine ecosystem which the park rangers have no problem dealing with. But as the real treasure can be found underwater, and fishing especially shark harvesting can be a lucrative business, illegal fishers (just like the story of tempted pirates) always has this temptation to lower down their nets and harvest what could be extracted in this paradise. And this is where park rangers are having a hard time.

But contrary to the belief and challenge that a few park rangers guarding an immense jurisdiction can be ineffective, you will surely appreciate the efforts made by park rangers in performance of their duty. On your way to the station, you will traverse a hanging bridge that is made out of confiscated fishing lines and buoys. As you hold and walk over the hanging bridge, you cannot help but imagine the damage this fishing line could do to our precious playground: the coral reefs of Cocos Island.

 

False Accusations on the Alleged Treasure found by Park Rangers

There was a breaking news that the Great Treasure of Lima has already been found, not by treasure hunters but by park rangers. This hoax has led to the disappointment of park rangers where they were falsely accused of engaging in treasure hunting, which is strictly prohibited in Cocos island, and not doing their job.

These kinds of false accusation are the works of stupid and obscured minded person hurting the passion of these park rangers who are just doing their job in protecting this precious ecosystem. We think that their plan is to use the park ranger as the main subject in finding the treasure since they are the most logical entity to find the treasure and the only person authorized to live in Cocos Island, causing others to lost interest in this great treasure thereby monopolizing the interest by themselves. For us, it’s a great plan. But not good enough.

At the end of the day, what can be surely stated for the park rangers in Cocos Island is that they are guarding and protecting a treasure. A treasure of immense value that no treasure hoard or looted gold can match its worth. What we are talking is about the bounty of nature in Cocos Island. We hope that this false accusation will stop and instead, encourage our beloved park rangers to continue their highly honored and respected jobs. After all, our job is no match for them as theirs are considered as one of the best jobs in the world.

Reference

Costa Rica Highways: www.costaricahighways.com

Pacific Trade Winds: www.entercostarica.com

National Geographic: www.nationalgeographic.com

Video courtesy from elbarbanegra