In the environmental realm, Costa Rica has long been a pioneer. In the 1990s, the country passed a series of “green culture” laws including the tax-funded National Forests law that protects forests, waters, biodiversity and natural beauty as both tourist attractions and scientific resources. It also developed a financing system, supported by both the government and by international organizations, such as the World Bank, to pay for environmental protection programs. Under President Luis Guillermo Solís, Costa Rica’s national health policy also now includes the explicit goal of achieving “environmentally sustainable socio-economic development”, based on the theory that such growth will better position the small country to face big international challenges, such as health crises, increasing violence and climate change.
Ariana López Peña, 'Is Costa Rica the World's Happiest, Greenest Country?', teleSUR