The Tico Times Online Daily Page

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, April 1, 2004

SWIMMING together: Representatives from four countries in the region began work yesterday to create a biological corridor for migrating marine life that would extend between the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador to Costa Rica’s Cocos Island.
Photo courtesy Alvaro Ugalde

Survey: Costa Ricans
Divided Over CAFTA
Despite a government-funded ad campaign detailing the expected benefits of the Central American Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States and countless news reports on the matter, only half of Costa Ricans say they know more about the treaty now than they did a year ago, according to a recent poll by the Universidad Nacional.
(Click for more)

Food Safety Evaluation
To Suggest Improvements
Animal health specialists from Central America, Mexico and Panama, in Costa Rica since Monday, today will conclude their evaluation of animal health services and food safety in the region.
(Click for more)

Pacheco Promotes Tourism
On Visit to Italy
In a continuing effort to bring more tourists to Costa Rica, President Abel Pacheco met yesterday with Italian officials to explore the possibility of a permanent direct flight from Italy to San José.
(Click for more)

April 1

Seeking a Job in Tourism?
Human resources experts will collect resumes at the country’s first Tourism Job Fair, 11 a.m.-7 p.m. today and 9 a.m.-5 p.m. tomorrow at the Best Western Irazú Hotel in La Uruca, northwestern district of San José. Info: 280-5375.

Ceramics Exhibit
Exhibit features 35 pieces of ceramic art created by Spaniard Antonio de Oteiza, a monk who came to Costa Rica 28 years ago and settled at the Capuchin Convent in Cartago. The collection was displayed for the first time in 1976 at the School of Fine Arts of the University of Costa Rica. Art lovers can see it at the Costa Rican Art Museum, on the east side of La Sabana Park, until mid June. The museum is open Tues.-Sat., 10 a.m.-4 p.m., free Sun., 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Info: 222-7155.

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Survey: Costa Ricans
Divided Over CAFTA
By Fabián Borges
fborges@ticotimes.net

Despite a government-funded ad campaign detailing the expected benefits of the Central American Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with the United States and countless news reports on the matter, only half of Costa Ricans say they know more about the treaty now than they did a year ago, according to a recent poll by the Universidad Nacional.

Between March 11 and 17, the University’s Population Social Studies Institute (IDESPO) conducted telephone interviews with 600 Costa Ricans (ages 18 and up) throughout the country. The survey claims a margin of error of plus or minus 4%. It is a follow-up to a similar survey conducted by IDESPO in August 2003 (TT, Sept. 26, 2003).

When asked if they know more about CAFTA than one year ago, 46% said yes. Approximately two in five (39%) said they know the same and 15% said they know less than they did a year ago.

These results, along with those of the previous survey, which suggested 89% of Costa Ricans knew little or nothing about CAFTA, raises important concerns over the effectiveness of the information on the matter issued by the government and the media, the survey’s foreword stated.

The perception that CAFTA would create more jobs and reduce unemployment was the most frequently mentioned answer when people were asked to name the main advantage of the treaty.

Slightly more than a quarter of Costa Ricans (27.2%) cited increased employment opportunities as CAFTA’s main benefit. Increased exports (13.1%), more variety in the marketplace (11.9%), opening of markets (11.4%) and more foreign currency entering the country (10.9%) were also mentioned as benefits of the agreement, which has yet to be approved.

The number of Costa Ricans who believe CAFTA will bring no advantages to the country grew from 6.2% in August 2003 to 8.7% last month.

The main disadvantage of CAFTA, according to those surveyed, is the economic impact it will have and the possibility that it could drive small and medium companies out of business. In March, more than a third (35.9%) said they worried about the treaty’s impact on small businesses, up from 23.1% last year.

Other concerns cited include the possibility that CAFTA would cause poverty, unemployment and increase the cost of living (13.7%), would primarily benefit the United States (10.8%) and would result in the privatization of government institutions (5.4%).

When asked whether “the only way for Costa Rica to develop is through CAFTA”, 55% said they yes, and 45% said no. When asked whether “with the approval of CAFTA Costa Rica would lose part of its national sovereignty,” 52% said they agreed and 48% said they disagreed.

Costa Ricans were evenly split down the middle when asked whether “the Legislative Assembly was obligated to approve CAFTA”.

According to the survey, the percentage of Costa Ricans who said they believe the CAFTA negotiations were transparent increased between August 2003 and March from 10% to 20.1%.

The percentage of those surveyed who believed the negotiations were not very transparent dropped from 71% last year to 53.9% this year. However, the percentage who said the negotiations were not at all transparent increased from 19% to 26% during that same period.

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Countries Meet to Discuss
Marine Biological Corridor

Representatives of Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador and Panama yesterday met to discuss the creation of a biological corridor that, if completed, will extend between the Galápagos Islands and Cocos Island, allowing migrating birds and marine life a safe passage, Costa Rica’s Environment and Energy Ministry (MINAE) announced.

“Although many people are talking and developing initiatives for biological corridors, they pertain to the terrestrial aspect,” said Costa Rican Environment Minister Carlos Manuel Rodríguez, who attended the inaugural meeting yesterday. “But what our four countries are initiating is a process to conceptualize and develop concrete actions in relation to a marine corridor and oceanic islands. It puts us in a historic position of responsibility on an international level.”

The meeting, which will end Friday, includes representatives from the environment ministries and foreign relations offices of each country.

Members of various non-government organizations are also attending the meeting, including Conservation International, the Charles Darwin Foundation, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the Foundation of the Friends of Islas del Coco, MARVIVA, and others, according to a statement from MINAE.

Work on the corridor project officially began in December 2001, when Ecuadorian President Gustavo Noboa Bejarano visited Costa Rica and with then-President Miguel Ángel Rodríguez signed a “joint presidential declaration” calling for creation of the corridor.

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Food Safety Evaluation
To Suggest Improvements
By Robert Goodier
rgoodier@ticotimes.net

Animal health specialists from Central America, Mexico and Panama, in Costa Rica since Monday, today will conclude their evaluation of animal health services and food safety in the region.

Before presenting their results, the specialists will visit the quarantine facilities and laboratories that handle the testing of meat imports for disease control in the Juan Santamaría International Airport, west of San José.

On Monday, Costa Rica’s Director of Animal Health, José Oreamuno, said there probably would be a review of the law and a re-organization and reinforcement of the animal health services in the country. Experts say Panama can serve as the regional and even hemisphere-wide model of an efficient quarantine system.

“Panama has a better structure – there are certain connections between organizations there that do not exist elsewhere, and there is better regional control,” explained Pilar Jiménez, a representative of the Ministry of Agriculture.

She said she believes one of the results of this evaluation will be greater coordination of efforts between the ministries of Health and Agriculture to ensure food safety.

Juan Gutiérrez, consultant from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, said what is lacking in most countries are clear food safety policies, adequate legal framework, and increased community and consumer participation.

Colombia has better consumer participation in health issues than many other countries, Gutiérrez said. One of the ways it involves citizens is through the publication of food-safety issues in one of the country’s largest newspapers. There, people can read about the use of agricultural chemicals, for example, and consumers and others can voice concerns and complaints.

Gutiérrez injected a sarcastic note in his report, saying that in Latin America there are two ways to do things: one way that seems like it works and the other way that really works. It is important to choose the second option, he said, otherwise it will be impossible to compete with other countries in the global market.

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Pacheco Promotes Tourism
On Visit to Italy

In a continuing effort to bring more tourists to Costa Rica, President Abel Pacheco met yesterday with Italian officials to explore the possibility of a permanent direct flight from Italy to San José.

Accompanied by his former Minister of Tourism, Rubén Pacheco, the President proposed the flight to the Deputy Mayor of Rome, María Pía Garavaglia, with the hope of increasing tourism between the two countries, according to an official statement.

Tourism in Costa Rica grew 10% in 2003 and 6% in 2002, according to the President’s office.

At the beginning of the year, the Italian airline Lauda ran a weekly direct flight from Milán to San José for nearly nine weeks. More than 200 seats were sold on every flight, officials said. The airline plans to run an additional six-month trial at the end of the year, with flights into Daniel Oduber International Airport in Liberia, in the northwestern province of Guanacaste.

After the President met with Garavaglia and Gianfranco Fini, Vice-President of the Council of Italian Ministers, Italian airline Alitalia announced it would consider flights to Costa Rica.

A meeting has been scheduled between the airline and Costa Rican ambassador in Rome, Manuel Hernández.

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Wednesday October 26, 2005