Happy Earth Day!
Festivities begin in San José at 10 a.m. in Plaza de la Cultura, and National University, in Heredia, is holding activities throughout the day. 

Cuban film at UNA
“Lista de Espera,” 5 p.m., Centro para las Artes, UNA, Heredia.

Piano concert
Franklin Aguilar, 8 p.m., National Theater.

Meteorology experts from across Central America are in Managua this week for a climate forum that coincides with today's worldwide celebration of Earth Day.

The Central America Climate Forum is meant to help modernize the region's meteorology, harmonize its forecasts and update recommendations for disaster prevention, according to the Web site of Nicaraguan Institute of Territorial Studies (INETER), a co-organizer of the event.

The forum, which began yesterday and runs through tomorrow, is also organized by the Regional Committee on Hydraulic Resources (CRRH), in addition to event co-sponsor the European Union, according to INETER.

No doubt, great challenges lie ahead for the region's weather analysts. Nicaragua last year weathered a Category 5 storm, Hurricane Felix, that many communities are still reeling from. Meteorologists say this year could get even nastier.

“If another hurricane hits, it's going to be very serious,” Mauricio Rosales, head INETER meteorologist, said in an interview in this week's Nica Times.

Over the border in Costa Rica, weather analysts also predict a wetter-than-normal rainy season, which is also hitting most of the country sooner than usual. Precipitation in 2008 may match levels of last year's punishing storms, according to Evelyn Quirós, weatherwoman of the National Meteorological Institute (IMN).

Costa Ricans are celebrating Earth Day – which this time falls within the U.N.-named International Year of Planet Earth – in several locales, including fairs and activities in San José's Plaza de la Cultura (starting at 10 a.m.) and at National University (UNA), just north of the capital in Heredia (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.).

Costa Rica rocks: A reveler gives a warm, hard-rock salute at Festival Imperial in La Guácima, north of San José, which drew more than 45,000 people in two days, according to its organizers. Yesterday saw Porpartes, Zoé, Enrique Iglesias, Seal and Duran Duran.

Ronald Reyes | Tico Times

Following the success of its opening Saturday, Costa Rica's Festival Imperial closed late Sunday after another series of concerts from top international acts, including Seal and Duran Duran.

The day opened with a show by Mexican alternative band Zoé, who put on a popular show that perhaps deserved to be higher on the bill. This was followed by a set from Costa Rican group Porpartes, cheered loudly by the enthusiastic crowd.

Just like on Saturday, a Costa Rican ensemble played a selection of the country's classic pop songs before the night's major acts swung into gear.

First up was British singer-songwriter Seal, who produced what was arguably the performance of the festival. Dressed all in white, the star's huge stage presence, and willingness to interact, including some basic Spanish and a walk about down from the stage, really galvanized the crowd.

“We are very happy to be here and are so pleased that you invited us,” he said. “There is only one rule this evening: fun.”

The thousands of fans packed into La Guácima obeyed the rule, singing along to hits such as “Kiss from a Rose,” “Killer” and “Crazy.”

Next up was Spanish-U.S. pop star Enrique Iglesias, who later confirmed to reporters that he was planning further shows in Central America.

U.K. pop icons Duran Duran, the festival's headliners, closed the show with 1980s hits such as “Planet Earth” and “Hungry like the Wolf,” as well as newer tracks from their latest album “Red Carpet Massacre.”

“I was here yesterday but I think today has been even better,” said Joanna Vinberg, 21, a Swedish exchange student. “Today there have been more groups whose songs people know. People have been going a bit crazy,” she added.

Despite the madness, the festival finished without major incident. According to organizers, few people required attention from the Red Cross, and those who did were suffering from minor complaints such as dehydration, sunstroke or minor cuts and bruises.

Organizers had initially predicted 46,000 fans would attend over the two days, but Carlos Cañas, brand manager of Imperial, said more people showed up.

“I believe we surpassed that figure [46,000],” he said. “I think that over the course of the two days around 48,000 or 49,000 people came.”

“The whole organizing team is extremely happy and thrilled with how the event turned out,” he added.

He also confirmed that this year's festival would not be a flash in the pan, music to the ears to fans around the country.

“We don't have a final decision or a date,” he said, “but one thing I can guarantee you is that there will be another Festival Imperial.”

The Environment and Energy Ministry (MINAE) began taking stock yesterday of the damage left by a forest fire that tore through 900 hectares (about 2,200 acres) of Costa Rica's Santa Rosa National Park in the northwest Guanacaste province.

After burning for several days inside the park, which covers 38,674 hectares (95,500 acres), the fire was extinguished late Friday, said Luis Diego Román, coordinator of MINAE's National Fire Management Program.

Officials with MINAE were patrolling the burned areas and watching for hotspots over the weekend, and yesterday began measuring the damage using GPS points, Román said.

The fire, which began at several different points, is believed to have been started intentionally by a poacher whom park guards surprised in January and seized his weapons and the animals he had killed, Román said.

“We have our suspicions,” Román said, adding that horse tracks were found near where some of the fires began. Horses are not allowed in the park.

The Santa Rosa blaze is the 29th wildfire this year, Román said. Of those, 23 have been inside protected areas, such as national parks or wildlife refuges.

“The majority of the causes are produced by humans, whether it's vandalism, vengeance or agricultural burning,” Román said.

In total, forest fires this year have charred 4,400 hectares (10,900 acres), of which 3,800 hectares (9,400 acres) were protected land, the fire protection coordinator said. This is a drop from last year's unusually damaging season, when 90 forest fires scorched a total of 32,000 hectares. Of those, 54 fires razed trees inside protected areas.

This year's largest fire occurred within Palo Verde National Park, also in Guanacaste, when 1,500 hectares burned. Last year's largest fire covered 2,000 hectares inside Guanacaste National Park.

According to Román, both fires were also believed to have been caused intentionally.