Water as part of the culture of rural communities: an analysis for the San Carlos River basin

This article presents part of the results of a research carried out in three rural communities in the Northern Zone of Costa Rica, a total of 262 residents of these communities were selected and interviewed in order to provide information on the knowledge, attitudes, values, abilities, skills and behavior of the residents of these communities related to water resource. It was identified that the people from these communities have a low level of knowledge on the conservation of water resources; a positive attitude to make changes in everyday actions involving the use of water and also have a positive disposition. However, the skills that are applied for conservation tend to be insufficient and lack of impact positive action, they show inadequate competence to carry out such action. The results provide the basis to support an environmental education proposal for water conservation in homes in this region