Goal: Support the legal expansion of the Cocos Marine Conservation Area and measurably improve the management of an area spanning 161,129.56 km²

The Blue Nature Alliance is partnering with Conservation International Costa Rica and the Friends of Cocos Island (FAICO), an organization that worked to mobilize resources for the effective management of the Cocos Marine Conservation Area since 1994.

The Cocos Island National Park and its surrounding Bicentennial Marine Management Area collectively form Costa Rica’s largest marine protected area (MPA). Renowned for its biological significance, the MPA safeguards a diverse marine ecosystem characterized by high endemism, critical pelagic species habitat, and some of the Eastern Tropical Pacific’s most diverse coral reefs. Serving as a crucial feeding and breeding ground, the park supports endangered species like the scalloped hammerhead shark and near-threatened species like the silky and Galapagos sharks.

The park’s global acclaim includes designations such as a UNESCO World Heritage Site (1997), a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance (1998), an Architectural Historical Heritage of Costa Rica (2002), and a “Blue Park” for Global Ocean Refuge by the Marine Conservation Institute (2019).

In December 2021, Costa Rica’s former President, Carlos Alvarado Quesada, successfully expanded marine protections around the Cocos Island National Park and its surrounding seamounts (now the Bicentennial Marine Management Area), bringing the country’s total ocean conservation area to 161,129.56 km².

With this action, Costa Rica joined the small but growing number of countries to meet the global target of protecting at least 30% of its waters, reaffirmed the existing momentum for ocean conservation in the Eastern Tropical Pacific, and contributed to enhance biological connectivity throughout the region.

Together, the Alliance and FAICO are working to develop a General Management Plan for the recently expanded Cocos Island National Park and Bicentennial Marine Management Area, as well as a complimentary Fisheries Plan for the latter.

To enhance the longevity of Costa Rica’s MPAs, the Alliance is fostering connections between the areas’ management teams and with global networks such as Big Ocean. The Alliance is also supporting the adoption of a new revenue stream mechanism to reduce financing gaps for effective MPA implementation.

The first phase of the Blue Nature Alliance’s involvement concluded in 2022 and contributed to the expansion of the protected areas from 11,683 km² to 161,129.56 km².