Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, April 11, 2005
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Environmentalists Turn to Court to
to Stop Construction in National Park
With claims that the Environment Ministry has failed in its duty, national and international environmental groups have turned to the judicial branch to halt construction in Las Baulas National Park – created in July 1995 to protect the nesting beaches used by its namesake, the leatherback turtle ( baula ).
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Country Celebrates
Heroic Act
Costa Ricans around the country are celebrating today the man and the battle that kept their country out of North American hands 149 years ago.
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Fire Rages in San José
No one was reported hurt Friday night following a fire in La Uruca , northwest of San José. The fire severely damaged a 10,000 square meter building that housed several offices, according to the Costa Rican Red Cross.
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April 11
Juan Santamaría Day
Celebrations and parades in Alajuela, main streets, 10 a.m.
Baile de la Polilla
Dance in the street with traditional music, April 11, 7 p.m., Parque Juan Santamaría, Alajuela.
Wine Tasting Course
Directed by Enric Gil, of the Asociación Catalana de Enólogos, April 11-15, Part I (Mon. or Tues.) 7-10 p.m., Part II (Wed. or Thurs.) 7-10 p.m., Fri. dinner, 8:30 p.m., El Torreón Restaurant, San Rafael, Escazú, Los Laureles Shopping Center. Info: 288-6800.
Edited By Rebecca Kimitch
Tico Times Staff
rkimitch@ticotimes.net
Environmentalists Turn to Court to
to Stop Construction in National Park
By Rebecca Kimitch
Tico Times Staff
rkimitch@ticotimes.net
With claims that the Environment Ministry has failed in its duty, national and international environmental groups have turned to the judicial branch to halt construction in Las Baulas National Park – created in July 1995 to protect the nesting beaches used by its namesake, the leatherback turtle ( baula ).
Luxury homes and hotels already line parts of the beach, and more are on the way, according to the Environmental and Natural Resources Law Center (CEDARENA), the Interamerican Association for Environmental Defense (AIDA) and Justice for Nature (JPN).
These groups have filed an injunction against the Technical Secretariat of the Environment Ministry (SETENA), the Municipality of Santa Cruz and the Environment and Finance ministries.
In addition to seeking a halt to construction within the park, the groups claim the Environment and Finance ministries have been negligent in completing expropriation of the private properties within the park, which is a requirement under the law that created Las Baulas.
SETENA lawyer Dionisio Fernandez said that because the expropriated land has not been paid for, and still lies in private hands – a problem which plagues national parks throughout the country – SETENA must respect an owner's right to build.
Park administrator Rodney Piedra told The Tico Times Saturday the injunction is “extremely important” in their fight to protect the endangered leatherback, one of the largest and oldest reptiles in the world.
“I know that that means an economic impact for the country, but this is an urgent situation,” Piedra said.
Playa Grande is the most important leatherback nesting beach in Costa Rica and one the five most important in the world, Piedra said. According to a 1989 study, 80% of leatherbacks that nest on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica , nest in the park.
This number has decreased drastically in recent years. During the 1988-1989 nesting season, 1,367 female leatherbacks entered the park. In the 2004-2005 nesting season, only 48 female leatherbacks entered the park.
Worldwide, the leatherback population has dropped 90% in the last 20 years, according to the Marine Turtle Restoration Program (PRETOMA) (TT, Jan. 28).
Development will bring lights, sand compaction and erosion to Playa Grande, all of which will have negative impacts on nesting sites, Piedra explained.
He points to nearby beaches such as Flamingo and Tamarindo – which recently lost its Blue Flag for environmental friendliness – where leatherback nesting once occurred but has been eliminated by development.
Nesting has also been nearly eliminated in the northern and southern ends of the park, home to most of the park's development, he added.
The injunction names five projects slated for the center of the park, two of which have already received SETENA approval, according to CEDARENA lawyer Rolando Castro.
All five lie on the outer 75 meters of the 125-meter wide park – an area that is currently private property because, ten years after the park's creation and the law requiring expropriation, the property has not been paid for.
“None of the private properties ends at the 75 meter line, they are large pieces of property and they can build the homes outside of the park,” Castro said.
Much of the property is being sold by foreigners, to foreigners, through foreign real estate agents, Castro added. He has doubts that it is made clear during these transactions that the properties are within a national park.
Fernandez could not confirm that any of the projects mentioned in the injunction lie within the 75 meter zone, and say they may be slated for outside the park.
SETENA cannot make an outright prohibition of construction if it is private property, he said, and can only decide whether a project is environmentally viable.
“Environmental viability indicates a project has maintained an equilibrium between development and the environment,” he said, adding that this means if it is determined that a project will have some negative affect on the turtles, the developers will be asked to mitigate it.
(For the full story, read the Tico Times print edition or on-line PDF version Friday.)
Costa Ricans around the country are celebrating today the man and the battle that kept their country out of North American hands 149 years ago.
While government workers, as well as many private employees, have the day off, students will participate in activities and parades to commemorate the anniversary of the Battle of Rivas and the defeat of
North American filibuster William Walker.
The center of the celebration will be northwest of San José in Alajuela, the hometown of the day's, and national airport's, namesake – Juan Santamaría.
Every year, students are taught that April 11, 1856, a young Santamaría helped keep the country out of foreign hands by torching a building filled with men who, under Walker , had their sights set on conquering Costa Rica .
According to historians, in 1855 Walker arrived in Nicaragua and, with the goal of taking over Central America , declared himself President there.
Costa Ricans learned of his plan, assembled an army, and defeated Walker 's advancing men at the Battle of Santa Rosa on March 20, 1856, in Guanacaste. Costa Rica 's army advanced to Nicaragua , where the Battle of Rivas took place April 11.
As the story is told, it was during that day's fighting that Santamaría set fire to the building where Walker 's men were hiding. The young man was then gunned down but Walker 's army ultimately retreated.
Some historians doubt if this is really what happened, if Santamaría acted alone, acted voluntarily, or existed at all.
No one was reported hurt Friday night following a fire in La Uruca , northwest of San José. The fire severely damaged a 10,000 square meter building that housed several offices, according to the Costa Rican Red Cross.
“We treated several people affected by the smoke but did not register any injuries,” a spokesman for the Red Cross told ACAN-EFE on Saturday.
The building was empty when the fire began as all the offices had closed. This aided the work of firefighters and rescue workers. The cause of the fire remains unknown.
The seven firefighting units dispatched to the scene were quickly able to control the fire. However, the building's structure was damaged in its entirety.
The building housed the offices of a real estate firm, a firm dedicated to the sale of hydraulic equipment, several other offices and a warehouse.
- ACAN-EFE
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