The forests provide direct income to local residents through ecotourism and other mechanisms Education and sociology Watershed and hydrology Perhaps less obvious than protection of species within their borders are the critical ways in which cloud forests affect people and the environment outside their borders. The origin of the Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve is a great example. Monteverde was settled in 1951 by a group of 41 Quakers who purchased 1400 hectares of land. The pure waters that are captured by the forest from the clouds continue to supply the community with some of the best drinking water in Costa Rica. Moreover, these cloud forests serve as headwaters for rivers that flow throughout the countries of Central America.
Water often flows below ground for some distance and emerges as pure springs.
The cloud forest serves as a large reservoir and filter for water, allowing the streams to continue to flow in the dry season when rainfall decreases. When certain forests are cleared for timber or ranching, these dry season springs cease to flow, not as much water is captured to begin with, and remaining rainwater sometimes races across the land, eroding valuable topsoil and causing rivers to alternate between flood and drought both nearby and hundreds of miles away. The impact can be severe on human communities, agriculture, industry, and the environment, as has been seen in many parts of the world that have been subject to deforestation. Economic impact and ecotourism A direct, positive economic impact of the forests comes through ecotourism. In Monteverde, for example, the local community and the entire country of Costa Rica benefit from millions of US dollars annually spent by tourists who come to visit and study the cloud forest.