Community, Conservation, & News

Continuing the vision Mr. Fowlie set in motion over thirty years ago

When Daniel Fowlie, one of the first surfing foreigners to visit Pavones, moved his family to Pavones in 1974, he united the region in economic, environmental, and social prosperity for over a decade. Parque Pavones wants to build upon that community’s decade of accomplishment.

From 1974 to 1985, Fowlie employed over eighty percent of the region’s population in agriculture and development. Together they studied agriculture and planted hundreds of thousands of plants—including coco, cocoa, pine, balsa, bananas, avocadoes, and different rice species. Together they built all the roads and bridges in Pavones, including the road to the Red Road to Conte. They also built the churches, two airstrips, soccer field, medical center, and several schools.

In Fowlie’s absence, the past’s united effort to develop Pavones in a manner prosperous to the whole community and environment has dissipated greatly. Residents fend for themselves economically on precarious land possessions and legal battles while roads deteriorate, public improvements dwindle, and random construction strips Pavones’s forests from each fence line to the next. Collaboration between Parque Pavones and Daniel Fowlie provides immediate support and long-term advantages to the Pavones region with the following strategies: 1. committing land to permanent conservation for future generations to enjoy; 2. committing land to reforestation programs for the repopulation of forests with precious hardwoods on the verge of extinction; 3. committing land for community agriculture cooperatives; 4. committing funds and resources necessary to the study and realization of sustainable ecotourism/community models that will bring much needed jobs and industry to the area; 5. committing to preserving the ocean from all ecological harms; and 6. committing to making Pavones a better and safer place for all. Whether it’s providing critical financial support to the legal battle to stop tuna farming off the coast of Punta Banco, providing momentum to the movement for amicable land-possession resolutions, providing donations of food, clothing, and toys to families of the Guaymi Indian reservations, or providing school and art supplies to the local after-school program (Biblio Team)—Parque Pavones strives to make a difference in Costa Rica. The opening of our new office in Pavones and the expansion of our legal team in Costa Rica will further assist projects like these.

Tuna-farming project halted

Dan Fowlie’s and Parque Pavones’s financial support to the legal battle against the Granjas Atuneras tuna-farming project helped stop the project—thereby saving Golfo Dulce, one of the most diverse biospheres in the world, from an environmental disaster. Parque Pavones del Pacifico joined forces with PRETOMA, VidaMarina, Tiskita Lodge, and a coalition of businesses and individuals in the Golfo Dulce region to halt the development of tuna farms off the coast of Punta Banco. For more information, visit:
http://www.tortugamarina.org/content/view/201/1/lang,en/.

“PRETOMA is pleased to have Parque Pavones del Pacifico as a partner in our efforts to halt the construction of the Granjas Atuneras project off the coast of Punta Banco,” stated Randall Arauz, President of PRETOMA. “Their contributions and shared vision to protect the delicate biodiversity of the Golfo Dulce region is very much appreciated."

For more information on how to join the coalition, please contact Denise Echeverria at denise@vidamarina.org or visit PRETOMA at www.tortugamarina.org.

Land-possession resolutions

The community of Langostino and Parque Pavones del Pacifico recently held a promising town-hall meeting to initiate land-possession resolutions between all title disputants; we look forward to achieving amicable agreements between everyone soon.

Desarrollo Integral del Pacifico S.A. (DISPA) joins the Parque Pavones team


DIPSA has entered into a multi-year agreement with Parque Pavones del Pacifico to manage all aspects of the conservation and development of Parque Pavones's interests. DIPSA looks forward to the challenge of delivering on Parque Pavones's commitment to create a brighter environmental, economic, and social future for Pavones.

Parque Pavones and DIPSA give back for Christmas

Parque Pavones and DIPSA received donations of food, clothing and toys from businesses and families in San Jose and delivered the goods to families of the Guaymi’s Alta Mira reservation near Pavones. “The smiles on the faces of the kids made the trip very special for me,” said Joaquin Arias of DIPSA. “The Guaymi are such beautiful people, and being able to share the Christmas spirit with them was a great experience. DIPSA and Parque Pavones plan to make this an annual event, and we hope to bring many more needed items next year.”

If you would like to contribute or make donations to the local Guaymi, please contact Parque Pavones at info@parquepavones.com.

Helping the macaws

Most who visit Pavones leave their trips amazed by the perfect waves, warm water, and lush tropical setting. But many also leave with the luck of having seen numerous scarlet macaws flying around Pavones and Punta Banco. One doesn’t have to be a bird watcher to recognize just how special it is to encounter these beautiful creatures in the wild.

Thanks to Amigos de las Aves and macaw-release-site sponsor Tiskita Lodge, now over twenty scarlet macaws call Pavones and Punta Banco home. None of these birds are native to the Pavones area; they were all born and bread in captivity and released in Punta Banco by the non-profit organization Amigos de las Aves (www.hatchedtoflyfree.org). Parque Pavones was recently contacted by Amigos de las Aves’s head keeper Chris Castles, who was looking for additional release sites in the Pavones area. After visiting Amigo de las Aves’s hatchery and aviary in Alajuela and spending time with the wonderful people who keep this demanding program alive, Parque Pavones has committed to be an active participant in Aves’s release program.

"I have never seen such dedication and commitment in my life,” says Greg Ezzell of DIPSA/Parque Pavones.“ One cannot imagine the work and dedication that goes into keeping this program and their facilities operational. The people at Amigos de las Aves are absolutely amazing and beyond passionate for these macaws. They provide an incredible service for these endangered birds and their release areas. Within five minutes of visiting with their program, I was convinced that Parque Pavones would do everything it could to support their program."

In addition to providing release sites for the program, Parque Pavones is committing funds and assistance for the expansion of the main macaw aviary. Besides breeding scarlet macaws, which reside in central and southern Costa Rica, Amigos de las Aves also breeds, hatches, and releases great green macaws, which are more endangered than scarlet macaws. Amigos de las Aves houses the largest population of great green macaws in the world, birds which await future release.

For more information on how you can support Amigo de las Aves, please visit the organization’s website at www.hatchedtoflyfree.org.

Public health and safety

Please support Daniel Fowlie in his legal attempt to return to Costa Rica. His donations of land and funding to Parque Pavones/DISPA sustain our attempts to benefit the region through the establishment of nature preserves, land resolutions, and community-outreach programs. Fowlie’s donations also support our hope of establishing future medical facilities, schools, government-certified park rangers, and adequate sewer-treatment- and water-treatment facilities for the populated area near Rio Claro. Locals who remember this benevolent pioneer of Pavones remember his rapid improvement of the Pavones community. We believe that Pavones must learn from its prosperous past in order to improve its future. When Fowlie lived in Pavones, its community, economy, and environment flourished for over a decade. Fowlie’s current collaboration with Parque Pavones is indispensable to our efforts to profit the beach communities, forests, and oceans with much-needed social, economic, and environmental relief. To join Pavones locals in winning Fowlie back to Pavones, sign a petition by contacting us at info@parquepavones.com. Learn more about Fowlie’s exile and other Pavones issues at www.thefactsaboutdanfowlieandpavones.com.

How can you help make a difference today?

Pretoma www.pretoma.org
Vida Marina www.vidamarina.org
Tiskita Lodge www.tiskita-lodge.co.cr
Osa Conservancy www.osaconservation.org
Pavones School Biblio Team ranbarkan@hotmail.com
Petition for Fowlie’s return to Pavones info@parquepavones.com
Learn more about Fowlie and Pavones at
http://www.thefactsaboutdanfowlieandpavones.com