'We used to give hope to the world': is Costa Rica's green halo fading?

The Central American country that inspired nature defenders for decades now faces a 'loss of direction', experts fearFrom his home, José Sanchez looks out at the mountain Cerro Pasquí, in Cartago province, Costa Rica, across ever-expanding fields of cabbage and potato. It wasn't always like this. Sanchez, 68, recalls a time when the hills were covered in forest, not just farmland for cattle and vegetable crops.With the rise in crops has come an increase in the use of agrochemicals. Laboratory tests have confirmed that residues of chlorothalonil, a fungicide banned in Europe - and in Costa Rica in recent times - have seeped into the springs of Santa Rosa de Oreamuno, a small agricultural district in the north-eastern hills of Central Valley, and the neighbouring town, Cipreces, affecting a population of nearly 9,000 people. Continue reading...