Project Protect Cocos Island - World Heritage Site, an idea developed to promote the preservation of the New 7 Natural Wonders contender, Cocos Island, has been selected as one of the top 25 finalists being considered to receive a grant by The American Express Members Project. The results will be tallied through an online voting poll available to the public at www.membersproject.com, where visitors can review each of the project finalists and vote for their favorite by Sept. 30. The top five vote getters will receive a grant from American Express to implement their idea with grants totaling up to $2.5 million. Cocos Island, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary of being named an official UNESCO World Heritage Site, is also currently listed amongst 77 other contenders in the New 7 Wonders of Nature Campaign. Voting for Cocos Island to become a finalist can be done by visiting www.new7wonders.com. The finalists will move to compete for a chance to become one of the New 7 Natural Wonders of the World. The island, which boasts an impressive hammerhead shark population, is one of the most pristine aquatic locations on the planet and is home to approximately 3.5 percent of the Earth's marine biodiversity.
Project Protect Cocos Island - World Heritage Site is the only environmental/eco-friendly project amongst the finalists, which consists of creating a permanent exhibit in San Jose, Costa Rica, as well as a traveling international display, that will enable visitors to experience and tour Cocos Island's uninhabited soils remotely which would avoid any harm to the island or its frail ecosystem. The project will make use of new digital technology to visually educate and promote the preservation of the Island's diverse ecosystem, home to more than 1,000 species, from both a local and international platform. Cocos Island is considered as a national treasure in Costa Rica and recognition from organizations such as the American Express Members Project and the New Natural Seven Wonders will draw attention to Cocos Island and simultaneously promote the importance of its preservation.
Cocos Island can only be accessed through a 36-hour boat ride, isolation that was once the islands main protector against the harm caused by development and commercial fishing. Today this isolation is the main cause for the lack of law enforcement within the Island. Also, the depletion of the seas has attracted local fishermen, making Cocos Island a victim of illegal fishing and fining, endangering 50 percent of the local shark species. Project Protect Cocos Island - World Heritage Site was inspired by a study on Cocos Island conducted in 1992, which revealed the illegal destruction of sharks and fining taking place in the Island's surroundings. The findings sparked the launch of a national education campaign that later on resulted in an anti-poaching legislation.
Costa Rica is located in Central America between Nicaragua and Panama, bordered on the east by the Caribbean Sea and the west by the Pacific Ocean. This small country represents only 0.01 percent of the planet's surface and it shelters almost 4 percent of the existing world's biodiversity. It has given priority to the conservation of its natural resources, protecting 26 percent of its national territory through the creation of National Parks and other natural areas. For general travel or tourism information about Costa Rica, contact the Costa Rica Tourist Board at 866-267-8274 or visit www.visitcostarica.com.
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