Costa Rica goes green

The World Happiness Report 2026 was released around March 19–20, 2026 by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford in partnership with Gallup and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network; this edition spotlights social media’s measurable effects on youth wellbeing. (worldhappiness.report) Costa Rica’s piped water network covers about 94% of residents, yet independent assessments put proper wastewater treatment at roughly 14% of generated flows, a gap that shapes local adaptation choices. (repo.uni-hannover.de) The national utility AyA secured a US$565 million loan in February 2025 to fund a multi-year sanitation programme — the package includes new treatment plants, pumping stations and tens of thousands of household connections. (waterdiplomat.org) Academic and applied engineering work has tested retrofitted nature‑based systems (constructed wetlands and on‑site greywater solutions) as technically feasible options, while also flagging governance, financing and scaling barriers in Costa Rica’s urban areas. (repo.uni-hannover.de) Field monitoring by biologist Vincent Losasso and Guanacaste Wildlife Monitoring shows stock‑watering ponds on ranches draw white‑tailed deer, fishing bats, freshwater turtles, crocodiles and diverse water birds, with camera‑trap footage documenting nocturnal and mixed‑species use. (explorecostarica.org) Authorities are pairing tourism growth data (more than 602,000 visitors reported in early 2026) with climate finance measures — including a public fund and International Finance Corporation engagement to design a green taxonomy — to attract private climate investments for resilience projects. (thecostaricanews.com)