The National Parks and Wildlife Refuges of Costa Rica are managed by MINAE, the Ministerio de Ambiental y Energia. Responding to the new policies of the MINAE, eleven Conservation Areas were established by this department in 1998 to oversee and manage the public lands of Costa Rica. These conservation areas are known as the Sistema Nacional de Areas de Conservacion, or SINAC.
Amount
Category
Area (ha)
% National Territory (5.099.873 ha)
25
National Parks
623.771
12,23%
8
Biological Reserves
21.674
0,42%
32
Protected Zones
155.817
3,06%
11
Forest Reserves
227.834
4,47%
58
Wildlife Refuges
180.035
3,53%
15
Wetlands/Mangroves
77.869
1,53%
12
Other Categories
17.306
0,34%
161
TOTALS
1.304.306
25,58%
NP: National Park WR: Wildlife Reserve BR: Biological Reserve FR: Forest Reserve NM: National Monument
A beach in the Northern Pacific region of Guanacaste, Costa Rica
