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. State of the Oceans (SOS) was first produced in Florida by Richard Stewart, founder of State of Oceans and the Ocean Realm Society, with the purpose of providing a platform for the environmental community to showcase everything from tough environmental issues to success stories that warrant public attention. One of the primary goals was the creation of a dialog between environmental organizations and government agencies as a way of rejuvenating critical communications relative to current environmental issues.

Costa Rica's first EcoSummit featured a number of high profile leaders from international organizations having interests in Costa Rica issues from shark finning to ocean plastic debris. Keynote speakers from the U.S.A. included Jupp Baron Kerckerinck zur Borg, President of the New Jersey based Shark Research Institute who presented a riveting report to the current dilemma facing the survival of sharks in Costa Rican waters and oceans worldwide.

Kerckerinck pointed out the shark population has declined by 90%, with over 100 million sharks being slaughtered each year. Kerkerinck stressed, “our Oceans are our life support system, because everything we have comes from the ocean, every drop of water we drink, every breath we take, and basically without sharks our oceans die and we loose 50-70% of the oxygen we breath”.

Dustin Macdonald, Los Angeles Chair of the Surfrider Foundation, who has for the past 30 years traveled the world studying the need to eliminate ocean plastics, and co-produced films such as Synthetic Sea Story (2010) which documents the latest Pacific Gyre voyage, presented a compelling video demonstrating the alarming problem of plastic debris invading Costa Rica's pristine beaches and what solutions are being implemented including a new invention which converts plastics to oil.

From Costa Rica there were presentations from the Who's Who in the environmental and ecotourism industry. Featured presentations at the Sustainability Forum included Terri Peterson who spoke of the importance of not just recycling, but creating green cities and stressing the importance of education. Eric Ross Salazar of Marviva spoke on Fisheries Management in Modern Times.

Alex Khajavi, founder of Nature Airline, the first carbon neutral airline in the world was scheduled to speak on the development of bio fuels; however, Khajavi started his presentation by telling the audience he was going to deviate from the topic of biofuels and talk about what he believes are issues that are much larger than new fuels and mixtures. Alex stressed “there has to be a new way of designing cities, a move back to the land” Khajavi said “I think sustainable agriculture has to come back, I believe everyone of us should have a 40 sqft garden anywhere to feed ourselves.” Khajavi believes “We have lost our democracy: there is no democracy really in this world anymore. In the greatest economic force in the world, which is the United States, when ½ a percent of people decide which way the countries going to go, democracy has already failed.” Khajavi. believes we have failed as a generation, and believes there must be a complete change in our economic growth, distribution of food, and distribution of wealth."

Other speakers for the State of the Oceans Summit included Randall Arrauz, President of PRETOMA who presented an overview of the state of Costa Rica’s marine environment. Ronald Sanabria, VP Sustainable Tourism, Rainforest Alliance, presented a report on sustainable ecotourism. Enrique Ramirez Director, Federacion Costarricense de Pesca Turistica (FECOPT) and Javier Caton, Director of the National Union of Commercial Fishermen of the Pacific Coast presented a unprecedented presentation with the Tourist and Commercial Fishing Sectors joining together to Fight the Deterioration of Marine Resources by Foreign Fleets.

Without a doubt, one of the highlights of the EcoWeek weekend EcoSummit was the 15 minute presentation by 12 year old Environmental Youth Ambassador, María José Suárez Escalante, who gave an emotional appeal to the country and the world to take responsibility of environmental challenges so the burden of our future well-being is not solely on the shoulders of the youth of the world.

Costa Rica is without a doubt the world's foremost leader in environmental preservation. But that does not mean new challenges must be addressed in order to continue to remain a green leader and play their part as responsible eco-citizens.

After the event, Todd Staley, President of FECOPT, provided a statement revealing the success of State of the Oceans when he wrote, “What the State of the Oceans did was bring unity to different groups with like interests. It resulted in a meeting with the Minister of the Environment within a week of the Summit and brought to light many of the issues that directly effect both the marine resources and the plan of action of different sectors.”

The producers wish to thank the following EcoSummit sponsors:

FECOPT, Dos Pinos, Shark Researh Institute, Nature Air, TACA Air, Sansa Air, the Rainforest Alliance, the Ocean Realm Society, EcoGuide Costa Rica, Rainforest Radio, Ramada Harradura, the PC Doctor, X-Ray Magazine, National Geographic Snorkeler and the Dive Industry Association.

Next year the State of the Oceans will once again be part of the EcoWeek/EcoSummit program in San Jose, April 2012. For more information contact Richard@EcoWeekCostaRica.com.

For sponsorship opportunities contact SponsorInfo@EcoWeekCostaRica.com. Visit www.EcoWeekCostaRica.com or www.StateOfTheOceans.com.