Source: http://www.journalcr.com
Posted by Roger Vlasos
Broker/Owner
Century21 At the Beach
Playas del Coco, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Website: http://www.century21incostarica.com
Email: roger@century21incostarica.com
(Infocom) — The subject of maritime tales, legends of treasures buried by pirates and even the inspiration for Hollywood films such as Jurassic Park, Costa Rica’s Isla del Coco (Cocos Island) is inching closer to becoming part of modern history as one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.
Thirty years after it was declared a national park (a ceremony was held this past June 23), this Pacific Island natural treasure is competing against 300 other ecological marvels from all over the world in an online contest organized by the New 7 Wonders Foundation. As of June 26, Cocos Island was 11 on the list, according to the website www.new7wonders.com, where anybody with a valid e-mail address can go to cast his or her vote (those with more than one e-mail address can vote more than once).
Polling will continue until 2009, when the New 7 Wonders Foundation — which recently held a similar Internet competition to select the new seven man-made wonders of the world, including places such as Mexico’s Chichen Itza and Peru’s Machu Picchu — will tally up the votes and pick the 21 sites receiving the most support.
Cocos Island — which famous oceanographer and conservationist Jacques Cousteau called “the world’s most beautiful island” — has proven to be a strong contender. The island’s beauties and its fabled and mysterious history have made it a favorite among nature lovers. Additionally, there’s a committee in the country led by the Friends of Cocos Island Foundation, whose goal is to promote the attributes of this isolated ocean paradise locally and internationally to obtain as much support as possible for its candidacy.
The final New 7 Wonders of Nature list will be announced in 2010.
“The Friends of Cocos Island Foundation leads support efforts in this initiative, and we fighting to end up among the first 21 positions worldwide,” said Jessica Chavarria, marketing and public relations coordinator for Friends of Cocos Island Foundation. “For this campaign, we are sending e-mails to friends of the island, we participate in fairs and other events, and during Week of the Sea, in addition to giving talks, we encourage companies to vote. This is a word of mouth campaign.”
According to information supplied by the Friends of Cocos Island Foundation, because of its size, isolation, and conservation status, Cocos Island is one of the most privileged natural sites worldwide. With a unique biological diversity and important endemic species, the island is considered an ideal natural laboratory to carry out research about evolution of species and long-term environmental monitoring.
Results of this type of research could yield important data about the dynamics of the planet’s ecosystems and their relation with global changes in land and seas. That’s part of the great importance of this island to humanity.
Historical and biological value
Convinced of the exceptional caliber of the island’s natural characteristics, in 1978 the government of Costa Rica created the Cocos Island National Park, which was later declared as the core of the marine conservation area that bears the island’s name. Also because of its uniqueness, the United Nations Education, Science and Culture Organization (UNESCO) in 1997 named the island a World Heritage Site. One year later, it was chosen as a RAMSAR wetland site of international importance.
Moreover, on Oct. 11, 2002, the government of Costa Rica named Cocos Island a Historical Architectural Heritage Site.
According to the Friends of Cocos Island Foundation, such designation is due to the great historical and cultural value of the island for Costa Rica and the world, as Cocos has been the subject, since the XVIII century, of visits and some human settlements by groups arriving there from different latitudes and with different purposes.
Inscriptions on the rocks of Chatham and Wafer bays, in addition to other cultural vestiges found on the island, remain as testimonials of this insular territory’s history, giving it exceptional value that deserves to be preserved for the enjoyment of present and future generations.
The 2002 declaration prohibits the demolition of building and alteration of elements bearing historical and cultural value, and it also bans their partial or total remodeling without previous authorization from the Cultural Heritage Research and Conservation Center, an office of the Ministry of Culture and Youth.
Privileged location
Cocos Island was first put on the world map, literally, in 1542, as Ysle de Coques. It was discovered in 1526 by Spanish sailor Johan Cabeças. It is located in the central area of the Eastern Pacific, in the ocean that Spaniards called Mar del Sur (South Sea) during the time of discovery and conquest, in front of the Gulf of Panama. Its extreme borders are: to the north, Agujas Point, at 5º 33'26" N; to the south, Dampier Cape, at 5º 30'06" N; to the west, Lionel Cape, at 87º 05'46" W; and to the east, Atrevido Cape, at 87º 01'47" W.
On the North American continent, the nearest point to Cocos Island is Cabo Blanco, on Costa Rica’s Nicoya Peninsula, located 532 km away. In South America, the nearest points to the island are Isla Pinta (Abingdon), in the Galapagos, 682 km away; and Malpelo Island (Colombia), 630 km away.
Cocos Island’s land area is 23.85 km2, and the area of protected marine ecosystems encompasses 1,997 km2. The island is 7.6 km long and 4.4 km wide.
Take a minute to visit the www.new7wonders.com site and vote for this gem of nature so it can continue climbing positions in the ranking. Even though it’s already a natural wonder to Costa Ricans, your vote could make it a wonder of the entire world.
