A storm approaching over the Gulf of Nicoya. Isla Chira is a small forested island in the Gulf home to Costa Rican fishermen and clammers. The island is a model for sustainable practices; the fisher's association and women's clamming association have worked for years to ensure that the resources they depend on will still be there for their children and their grandchildren to rely on too. The island is also a sanctuary for shorebirds; cormorants, anhingas, roseate spoonbills, herons, kingfishers, and frigatebirds all make their homes along the banks of the warm tropical waters. The places where the water laps the shore are painted with mangroves, the cradles of civilization to most of the island's wildlife. Young fish take refuge in the twisted submerged roots; parental birds make their nests among the branches; the eyes of crocodiles glint among the leaves at night; and the mangroves themselves desalinize the sea water, turning the streams and estuaries brackish. From the shore of the island, you can look across the gulf and see the silhouettes of mountains back on mainland Costa Rica. You can see the storms approach across the water, pull your nets, and turn your boat to shore.