We are delighted to announce that the Citizen Water Observatory Rio Pacuare Turrialba-Siquirres has been officially accepted into the National Network of Citizen Water Observatories of the National Alliance of Rivers and Watersheds of Costa Rica.
Our OCA (using the acronym in Spanish) is the 94th in Costa Rica! It was formed under RAFA’s Guardians of the Pacuare program.
OCAs unite citizen volunteers to protect, preserve, and restore their community’s water resources, which in our case is the Pacuare River watershed. Usually, OCAs are formed in a specific town to protect their section of a river or creek. The OCA Rio Pacuare Turrialba-Siquirres is unique because it creates a community of five tourism businesses spanning two counties and linking two provinces to protect a 10-kilometer section of the middle of the Pacuare River.
In geographical order from upstream to downstream, the OCA Rio Pacuare Turrialba-Siquirres founders include:
- Finca Tres Equis Farm & Forest
- Pacuare Outdoor Center lodges
- Pacuare River Lodge
- Coast to Coast Adventures / El Nido del Tigre
- Pacuare Lodge Costa Rica
- Rios Lodge
The 10-kilometer section of the river being protected by the OCA includes the communities of Tres Equis, Linda Vista, and Bajo Tigre, extending from the riverfront of Finca Tres Equis Farm & Forest to the downriver border of Rios Lodge’s property at Terciopelo Creek.
Further upriver, the OCA Rio Pacuare Mollejones, Turrialba, was created at the end of April this year. Later this month, we will join our neighboring OCA at their Festival of Mud Balls (Festival de las Esferas de Barro) to reverse river pollution using mud spheres treated with effective microorganisms.
We look forward to participating in the activities and programs offered by the National Network of OCAs, which will include:
- Applying for the Blue Flag: Micro Watersheds of Costa Rica’s Blue Flag Ecological Program (Bandera Azul Ecológica)
- Engaging in river cleanups
- Reforestations
- Water quality monitoring.
And be sure to keep an eye out for the announcement on RAFA’s social media channels for the launch of the OCA Rio Pacuare Turrialba-Siquirres Facebook page!