By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

This is the second accreditation for Cocos Island National Park in less than one month. On Monday the island received international recognition in the Gold Global Ocean Refuge category from the Marine Conservation Institute.

The Marine Conservation Institute is a nonprofit ocean environmental organization in Seattle in the United States that identifies and protects vulnerable ocean ecosystems worldwide, it said.

According to the Tourism Institute, this distinction recognizes the country's effort to enforce regulations in this marine protected area to become a global ocean refuge.

"The evaluation was carried out by an international scientific committee and encourages marine protected areas that meet certain standards of effectiveness and management," said the institute in its statement.

The nomination of the island at the Marine Conservation Institute was made by the government, the Friends of the Coco Foundation among other public institutions.

Oct. 24, Cocos Island won the Blue Park award for the conservation of natural resources, becoming one of the 16 marine areas in the world to receive the award.

At that time, Marine Conservation Institute gave platinum recognition.

Several experts from an international scientific committee made an evaluation report of the island in which they conclude that it effectively guards natural wealth and manages an area of high importance for the world's marine biodiversity.

"Blue parks such as Cocos Island National Park are the antidotes against threats to the life of our oceans," said Sarah Hameed, a Marine Conservation Institute scientist.

According to the Friends of Cocos Island Foundation, this national park is a refuge for more than 300 species of fish, 600 species of mollusks, 800 species of insects, 130 species of birds and 500 species of plants, among others.

According to Ministry of Tourism, the entirety Cocos Island has been designated a Costa Rican National Park since 1978, and has no permanent inhabitants other than Costa Rican park rangers.

Cocos Island was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1997. In 2002, the World Heritage Site designation was extended to include an expanded marine zone of 1,997 km2 (771 sq mi). In addition, it is included in the list of Wetlands of International Importance.








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