Protected Wilderness Areas of Costa Rica

The Protected Wild Areas are a “defined geographical space, officially declared, and designated with a management category due to its natural, cultural, and/or socio-economic importance, to fulfill specific conservation and management objectives” (DE-34433, Biodiversity Law Regulation, Art.3, Inc.a). In Costa Rica, the institution responsible for designing, updating, and evaluating the Protected Areas in their different categories is the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC).

According to the Biodiversity Law, the Protected Areas are divided into the following categories:

1. Forest Reserves
2. Protective Zones
3. National Parks
4. Biological Reserves
5. National Wildlife Refuges
6. State-owned National Wildlife Refuges
7. Privately-owned National Wildlife Refuges
8. Mixed-ownership National Wildlife Refuges
9. Wetlands
10. Natural Monuments
11. Marine Reserves
12. Marine Management Areas

Bibliographic reference

National System of Protected Areas. (2025). Protected Wilderness Areas. https://www.sinac.go.cr/es/asp/paginas/default.aspx