The Texas-based oil company Harken Energy has pulled out of indigenous territory in the Caribbean Zone, opting to give up its contractual rights to conduct oil exploration in the area rather than proceed with the required consultation of the indigenous inhabitants.

Harken informed the Environment Ministry March 8 that it will not pursue its exploration plans in two land blocks in the Talamanca region that include parts of several indigenous reserves. The company will press forward with the exploration of four marine blocks off the coast of the Atlantic port city Limón.

Prompting the decision to pull out of the land blocks was a September 2000 Supreme Court ruling challenging Harken’s contract in response to a sizeable opposition movement (TT, Sept.14, 2000). Opponents — comprising some 50 different groups that have crystallized into the National Anti-Petroleum Movement — argued that the government had never fulfilled its legal obligation under Costa Rica’s Indigenous Law to consult with the indigenous communities.

The court agreed, suspending Harken’s contract until the Environment Ministry carried out a formal consultation process. A few months later, the court decided that the company could proceed in the maritime area, holding only the land exploration subject to the consultation (TT, Nov.24, 2000).

Harken representatives told The Tico Times this week that eliminating the indigenous lands from the plan "represents no monetary loss" for the company, in that the bulk of the work has been done offshore.

"There is the question of the potential loss of resources. But if that’s where the oil is, it can remain there. The company has renounced the right to that land," said Jorge Cornick, a public relations consultant hired by Harken.

Company officials also describe the move as "an act of respect towards the indigenous communities."

But those who object to Harken’s presence here — while relieved that the indigenous lands will be left alone — remain skeptical about the company’s motives.

"This is not exactly good will. This wouldn’t have happened if it weren’t for [the court]," charged Emily Yozell, a lawyer fighting to keep the country petroleum-free who resides on the Caribbean coast.

For some, the company’s decision points to a slow, painstaking "legitimization" of indigenous rights in this country.

"We have fought for many years for our land. We see this as a victory, because even the consultation is just a mechanism to carry out the project," said Mainor Blanco, president of the indigenous organization Fundación Iriria Tsochok, based in Talamanca, and member of the BriBri Development Association.

Blanco said members of the indigenous communities in the area are still concerned about what will happen in the offshore areas.

"Everything has consequences," he said. Whatever they do in the ocean will affect us all."

IN addition to the more than 8,000 BriBri and Cabecar indigenous people who inhabit Talamanca, many in conditions of poverty, environmental groups and the local tourism sector are worried about the potential threat to the region’s ecology.

Furthermore, the local fishing sector has its own economic concerns. According to industry sources, the region’s principal catch, lobster, has nearly vanished from the area over the past two seasons. Fishermen blame the drop on the underwater exploration — known as seismic reflection — that Harken conducted in an 107-square-kilometer area just off the coast from Moin bay, near Limón, in November 1999. Both environmental critics and fishermen claim the process seriously damaged marine life, possibly destroying much of the underwater food chain.

"In the 1998-99 season, the catch was acceptable. Then, the following year, suddenly it goes down a lot. That is not a coincidence," said Rolando "Ming" Coward, owner of El Delfín fish distribution center, located just outside of Limón.

Harken officials maintain that the technology used is the most environmentally sound on the market. According to Ed Kettenbrink, president of Harken’s Costa Rican subsidiary, the procedure causes minimal damage in that it doesn’t use explosives or put a powerful wave into the environment.

Furthermore, Kettenbrink has said that evaluations of the process, conducted by a Harken inspector authorized by the Environment Ministry, revealed no major changes in the fish take before and after the seismic survey.

"There is no evidence that we hurt any organisms," Kettenbrink told The Tico Times in September.

Coward also claims that Harken has not lived up to its promise to subsidize the losses suffered by hundreds of fishermen who were not allowed to fish during the underwater exploration phase.

Members of the fishing sector met March 17 in the town of Portete to discuss their options for recovering their losses. Coward said another meeting is planned for March 24, during which participants hope to draft a letter to send to Harken, denouncing the company for not producing the promised subsidies.

Harken officials were not available to comment on this issue by press time. The director of the Costa Rican Fishing Institute’s Limón branch, Juan Luis Córdoba, said this week that his office has not been involved in the negotiations between the fishermen and the company, and has no immediate plans to intervene.