The Oaks Tamarindo is leading the way. Here's how.
First, you start with land that is not environmentally
sensitive to begin with. You also buy enough land,
in this case 31 acres, so that you can design
a complete community for people, plants and animals,
not just a lot on which to put buildings. You
do not build in an estuary; you do not build on
a beach for endangered turtles; and you do not
cut down mangroves.
Second, you study the land so that, as you
build, you do not create soil erosion; you do
not clear the land in order to build your buildings.
Instead you build around native trees, saving
over 70% of them in the construction area, not
just in a separate "nature preserve".
Third, you study pathways of native animals,
such as howler monkeys, and create biological
corridors so that roads do not break up natural
paths for feeding.
Fourth, you install utilities underground,
including electric lines and fibre optic cables.
The number one cause of death for howler monkeys
is electrocution by overhead lines.
Fifth, you treat wastewater up to 98% purity
and use it for irrigation, so that you do not waste
precious well water.
Sixth, you conserve water by designing rain
water capture systems to conserve water from the
rainy season into the dry season, offering low
flush ecological toilets (high pressure) and front
loading washers that are more expensive but save
both water and wear and tear on clothes.
Seventh, you install fluorescent bulbs in common
areas, reducing electricity usage and costs, and
reducing maintenance fees.
Eighth, you keep thinking. Something new will
come up.
Thoughts On An Environmental Community
By Robert Irvin
The Land
To have a chance
at creating an environmental community in an area
that generally lacks strong zoning laws, you need
to begin by considering the land.
Ideally, you want
land that is not environmentally sensitive, meaning
not on a nesting turtle beach, not part of an
estuary or mangrove system, not located in a primary
or secondary forest that you are cutting down,
and not on a ridge where your construction will
cause erosion.
Land that is healthful,
“high and dry”, but still with good
access to water. Also, enough land so that you can
create your own land use plan, preserving biological
corridors for animal life and avoiding the all too
common problem of one small building site located
next to another small building site.
The Natural
Setting
Before you begin
building, not only do you want a survey of the
trees on the land, which is required by law, you
also want to situate your buildings so that you
build around the trees, preserving them.
You also want to build
around existing biological corridors. The monkeys
were here first, after all.
You also want to design
your construction so that you do not adversely alter
natural water flows, causing erosion.
Do No Harm
You want to leave
natural areas natural, not dotted with houses.
This means planning where you allow construction,
and population density, so that you minimize the
harm caused by all construction.
You want to design and
build a waste water treatment plant that treats
black water up to at least 95% purity, so that it
can be reused for irrigation, and not dumped into
the ecosystem, eventually to pollute the bay.
You want all electric
power lines and fiber optic lines underground.
Electrocution is now said to be the number one
cause of death of howler monkeys.
You want to conserve
water and energy in your building designs (double-paned
windows, low flush toilets and top-loading washers).
You want your pools
cleaned by natural systems, not by chlorine or salt.
As A Buyer
You want to think
about these issues, because if you don’t,
neither will most developers. You are coming to
Paradise to enjoy it, not to destroy it.
The
Oaks Solution >
|
