As Nosara gradually develops, Guiones and Pelada especially, water demand increases faster. This means more exotic plant gardens which are being watered once or twice per day (some even at noon), more pools, showers, toilets, etc.
Coastal develpoment in other areas in Guanacaste is known to have caused controversy and problems between communities, ASADAS, groups and companies with particular interests. Water is a finite resource. The growing demand for it is not being controlled, much less sustainably planned, in coastal towns.
Also, we have the effects of global warming, which is said to generate a pattern of droughts and longer dry seasons, especially in El Niño years (like this year).
I’m a resident of Guiones, and I am a witness of the water shortages in our neighborhoods. Clearly we have less water during the dry season to meet the already high and incresing demand. I understand the reason behind the shortages, and I believe this situation should warn us about how much water we’re currently using at our homes and businesses. It’s time for us to be in solidarity with our community and begin to change our current comsumption habits and be more considerate about it.
However, water here is being wasted in the most absurd ways, such as watering the street to keep the dust down… two hours later the dry street leaves no traces of moisture under the brown cloud of dust…
I do not comprehend how residents of our beaches are using excessive amounts of water for their pools, while the biggest pool is right in front of them: the ocean.
I do not understand why people still buy overpriced exotic plants from commercial nurseries, investing in severe and constant maintenance by pruning and watering. This is just like swimming upstream, when wildlife here is diverse and plentiful, and proliferates itself. Why not choose to grow beautiful plants that already exist in our lush tropical forests as a garden?
And finally, I can not comprehend why people in our community are against using a little water during the dry season to keep something alive that in the near future will be producing a lot more water than what it requires now. I’m talking about our BarriGuiones Restoration Project, which will recover about twenty hectares of coastal forest along the north end of Guiones Beach.
Currently, BarriGuiones has planted more than 1400 trees that are growing little by little to kickstart the pioneer phase of restoration in a portion of the Ostional National Wildlife Refuge.
Forests are the ecosystems that produce the most water: as it falls, water is absorbed by the vegetation and then condenses to form clouds. It’s as simple as it gets: we need forests to meet the growing water demand.
The trees that are being watered today will be creating a forest tomorrow that will actually be producing water for us! It can be seen as an investment, on which the initial amount will eventually be multiplied.
By directing BarriGuiones, I took on a responsability to the community. Maybe some people still don’t envision the blessings and opportunities this project will bring to their lives.
Water is a resource that we should manage together, each of us contributing in the way we can. We take care of our portion and we do it for everyone’s sake. Therefore, we hope for everyone’s support and contribution.
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