George Monbiot asks why Costa Rica has been able to restore its once despoiled natural environment while the much wealthier UK has failed to do so (Opinion, 21 April). One reason is its decision to abolish its army in 1949. Its government had decided that it would rather spend money on health, education and the environment than on the military. You can see how this came about in the 2016 film A Bold Peace.
In contrast, the UK is not only spending more than £205bn on the replacement of the Trident nuclear-armed submarine fleet, but in the this year’s spring budget announced an additional £5bn on defence over the next two years and a further £2bn in subsequent years to 2027-28. The situation is even more dire when one considers what an increase in emissions there will be from even more manufacturing of tanks, bombs, planes and military hardware.
Rae Street
Littleborough, Greater Manchester
• There are two obvious answers to George Monbiot’s question. One is population density: Costs Rica has 100 people per sq km while the UK has around 280, and England 434. The second is that wealthier people have a greater impact per head. More conservation here won’t help if more resources are consumed elsewhere to produce food, cash crops, minerals and building materials to support well-off lifestyles.
Ecotourism is also a mixed blessing. Civil aviation emissions are only a small proportion of the human total, but the sector admits that over three-quarters of the world’s population have never flown. Emissions at high levels are also far harder to remove, so may become cumulative. Perhaps a week in Weymouth or Whitby coupled with funding conservation schemes at home or abroad might be better.
Iain Climie
Whitchurch, Hampshire
• George Monbiot answers his own question when he says Costa Rica has invested heavily in ecotourism. Despite David Attenborough’s brave attempt to promote British wildlife, visitors are far more likely to come to Britain for its museums, cathedrals and stately homes than for its fields of sheep and cows. Monbiot is right to blame the government for its dire disregard for nature, but in this particular context he is not comparing like with like.
Elizabeth Adams
London
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