That Costa Rica should put the economy before environmental protection

Definitions

1. Economy shall be defined as raising GDP and wages while trying to lower poverty and unemployment.

2. Environmental protection shall be defined as regulations with the attempt at protecting natural life, atmospheric quality, or oceanic quality.

My Case

1. Costa Rica should do all it can to lower poverty in it's nation.The poverty rate of Costa Rica is 20% according to their nation.¹ This compares to 11.8% for the United States.² All of these numbers are pre-Covid. Now, that we know what each nation reports as its poverty rate, let us also compare what "poverty" is in each nation. In Costa Rica, it's those earning under $155 a month ($5.17 a day). Compare this to the United States $1,020 a month ($34 a day).³ Very simply, the poverty rate in Costa Rica is much larger than the United States if we had comparable statistics. The point is that Costa Rica is an impoverished country. Very simply, Costa Rica should do anything in their power to create a safer economic situation for its citizens. Environmental regulations that would stand in the way of lifting people out of poverty, if it be Costa Rica's or the United State's definition of poverty.

2. These ideas aren't inherently different. The resolution creates a false dichotomy between conservation and economic growth. The growing industry of ecotourism in Costa Rica puts these ideas together. Ecotourism can lower poverty by 16% in areas surrounding national parks and other wildlife reserves.⁴ Very simply, we can put the economy before environmental protection, while still getting the benefit of environmental protection. What this means is that there is literally no harm to prioritizing the economy since there is an economic motive to environmental protection. Ecotourism is 5% of Costa Rica's GDP. There is no harm to economic prioritization because it allows for environmental protection.

3. Environmentalism is colonial power struggles. The developed world (Europe, the United States, China, etc.) has environmentally ravaged their nations to the point that they are impossibly reversed from being green nations. Now, that the colonizers have realized the threat environmental degradation has caused, they demand that less developed nations force themselves to forgo economic development and industrialization to ensure that they can fix the mistakes of their hubris. Look at Brazil, they burn parts of the Amazon to ensure they have room to grow, creating more farms and industry, which directly correlates to jobs and economic growth. Upon public outrage from the developed world (including threats to end trade agreements), President Bolsonaro had no option but to put resources into ending the fire, and Germany has already sworn to help with reforestation efforts, undoing the economic progress. ⁵ Costa Rica shouldn't be put in a similar situation. They should be allowed to flourish economically without forcing them to bow to colonial overlords. If they prioritize economic growth over environmentalism, they will ensure that they can show they will take the actions that are best for their nation, and no other.

Conclusion

Costa Rica is an impoverished nation, and should focus on ending this poverty. It shouldn't stay in poverty just so the industrialized North can try to correct their environmental degradation. Lastly, there is no environmental trade off because of the economic motive for ecotourism. I have successfully affirmed the resolution. Vote Pro!

Sources

1.https://www.entercostarica.com/information/is-there-a-lot-of-poverty-in-costa-rica

2.https://www.census.gov/content/census/en/library/publications/2019/demo/p60-266.html

3.http://federalsafetynet.com/poverty-definition.html

4.https://thecostaricanews.com/ecotourism-benefits-the-costa-rican-economy-by-16/

5.https://www.france24.com/en/20190826-brazil-bolsonaro-amazon-fires-global-outrage-rainforest