Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper is Part of a Global Movement Started in 1966

The Nicoya Peninsula Waterkeeper not-for-profit organization was launched only in 2013, but is part of the global Waterkeeper Alliance that has been growing since the 1960s. 

This huge grass roots community can be found in 240 places around the world. It is made up of people in towns and villages on several continents, all of whom believe in fighting for their right to drinkable, swimmable, fishable and surfable waters.

The Waterkeeper Alliance was started in 1966 on the Hudson river in the US by local fishermen who united to save their river and formed the Hudson River Fishermen’s Association. These fishermen recognized that outspoken, citizen-led advocacy was the only way to ensure that laws were enforced and their river, livelihood and the health of
their families were protected. They took on many of the nation’s biggest industrial polluters and won.

Keep Our Waters Clean - Photo by Carlos Palacios

In 1983, they hired the first full-time Hudson Riverkeeper to patrol the river, to restore its abundant fisheries and to lead citizen-based enforcement of environmental laws. Since those early days, Hudson Riverkeeper has brought hundreds of polluters to justice and forced them to spend hundreds of millions of dollars restoring the Hudson to health. Their success spurred an explosive growth of similar grassroots programs across the globe, and in 1999 Waterkeeper Alliance was founded to support these programs.

Today, Waterkeeper Alliance is the world’s fastest growing environmental movement, with over 240 Waterkeeper Organizations protecting rivers, lakes and coastal waterways on six continents. The Alliance's proudest accomplishment is the depth and breadth of its member organizations and the unity of their vision for clean water and strong communities.

The Support team has helped many prospective Waterkeeper organizations through the proposal process and has networked with a number of grassroots water advocacy groups both domestically and internationally.

Your grassroots, community-based waterkeeper organisation is found in Plaza Kahuna, Santa Teresa. Please stop by for a chat and to learn more about what we do and how we can help your home or business.