Environmental Problems

The conventional production of bananas in Costa Rica has been synonymous with the destruction of the environment. Much of the approximately 52,000 hectares of banana fields in the country produce at a great cost to extensive areas of forest.

Because of the desire to offer fruit that aesthetically meets the preferences of the market, production practices involve the use of a significant amount of agrotoxins. The bananas produced in this country have the highest levels of agrotoxin use in the world. The use of these products, of which the smallest percentage is actually "well spent" on the banana plants, greatly contaminates the ground water, surface water, and seas, affecting wild fauna as well as human populations.

More texts on this subject

Wastes >>
25% of the banana harvest is wasted. But the thousands of tons of plastic, rope, bottles, and bags filled with agrotoxins have an even greater impact.

Pesticides >>
Only 5% of the pesticides used completely eliminate the insects. 35% of the price of each box of bananas is derived from the use of agrotoxins, several of which are internationally prohibited. It is irrational and dangerous to use them.

Deforestation >>
The banana plantation is not a forest. Rather, it is a monocrop that has resulted in the cutting down of native forests.

Water Contamination >>
The pesticides remain in the ground and in the surface and ground waters, endangering the neighboring populations and harming the rich biodiversity of the neighboring National Parks, including the life of the Caribbean Ocean.