2. Land Use Cover  Seconday forests constitute the main soil cover within the basin (27,82%), followed by pastures (21,09%). A total of 18 protected areas are located within the Térraba River basin, making up 37,37% of the catchment´s territory.

3. General Information  The Térraba River Basin is located in the southern part of Costa Rica and is the country’s most extensive river basin, covering over 10% of the nation’s landmass

4. Terraba-Sierpe Wetland  The 22,000-hectare wetland is a vast network of mangrove swamps fed by the waters of the Ríos Terraba (to the north) and Sierpe (to the south). This reserve is an important habitat of many species of birds, fish, mammals and reptiles.The mangroves play an important direct and indirect role in maintaining the fish stock. Some species depend on these sites for their life cycle or for an important part of this cycle (reproduction, growth or feeding).

5. Socioeconomic activities  The Grande de Térraba River catchment area has been historically used for agriculture, especially extensive farming, which, over the years, has altered the natural landscape of the zone. The main productive activities in the area of study include primary sector crops like bananas. However, from 1984 on there has been some diversification of agriculture, including coffee production in Coto Brus, oil palms in Osa, as well as pineapple and sugar cane in Buenos Aires.  Tourism is an important economic activity. Thus, over the last years took place to the Real Estate development, specially in the lower basin of Terraba River basin: The municipality of Osa has been greatly impacted by real estate development along the Costeña Ridge, another key factor in the socioeconomic dynamics of the area of study. From January 2007 to September 2008 the amount of construction permits granted has grown 202%, from around 100 per year to over 735 construction projects in a span of approximately 20 months. This real estate “boom” is indicative of a lack of control and regulation on the part of Osa’s municipal government

6. Socioeconomic activities  Infraestructure development is another important issue, specially because of the building of the The Diquís Hydroelectric Plant, that will be the largest dam in Central America, with a reservoir measuring about 6,815 hectares, of which 800 hectares are currently classified as indigenous territories, meaning that approximately 1,100 people must be relocated to higher ground within the basin

7. Cultural  The Terraba Rver Basin is the place of 5 indigenous groups, making it a place of high cultural wealth. The main group is the Boruca people. The area of this indigenous territory is 138.02 km2 and its populations is around 3000 people.  The main economic activities in the area are agriculture or livestock. However, in the past decades the local economy has begun to transform itself due to the introduction of tourism and the subsequent demand of products and services for foreign visitors.

8. Térraba-Sierpe Wetlands Settlements  The Térraba-Sierpe Wetlands are located in the lower portion of the catchment area, and it is here that hotel and tourism projects have concentrated their development. The principal economic activities in this area are artisanal, and oriented toward the local market. Activities include the extraction of products like fish and edible bivalve mollusks, (Anadara tuberculosa, known locally as piangua), processing mangrove wood for charcoal, and small-scale agricultural and livestock production, in essence, subsistence activities which are also considered illegal within the wetlands area. The flooded mangroves also provide a means of transport for local populations as well as tourists visiting the zone.

9. Key questions  What kind of policy do we need in order to reconcile real estate development and large agriculture plantations with environmental protection and sustainability?  How indegenuos communities can get integrated into the market economy without lossing their cultural heritage?  What kind of instiutions for wetland management we need in ordet to improve livelihood of thepeople living inside the wetlands?