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03 Nov 2005

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, November 03, 2005

DAY of the Dead: On the Day of the Dead, celebrated yesterday, many Costa Ricans flocked to cemeteries to pay tribute to their deceased loved ones with flowers and to clean their graves. At the Cementerio General de San José, a friend of the Wong Sanchun family helped to clean family members' tombs.
Tico Times/Mónica Quesada

Fourth International Scientific
Conference Concludes Today
The fourth Henry A. Wallace Inter-American Scientific Conference ends today at the Tropical Agronomy Research Center (CATIE) in Turrialba, a town on the Caribbean slope, according to CATIE spokeswoman Cris Soto.
(Click for more)

Costa Rica Rates Well in
U.N. Development Index
Costa Rica placed among the top 35 countries in the 2005 Trade and Development Index, released yesterday by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, according to a statement from the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE).
(Click for more)

‘Buyers' Mission ' Continues
Today in San José
The “VII Buyers Mission,” an event featuring 282 local businesses and 223 foreign buyers, was inaugurated yesterday in Costa Rica with the goal of generating more than $5 million for businesses.
(Click for more)

November 03

The Cause for Paws
First annual silent live auction for the animal shelter, 6-8 p.m., at the Costa Rica Country Club, Escazú. Info: 267-7118, 352-3927.

Mal País in Concert
The band will play its trova music tonight and tomorrow at 10 p.m. at Jazz Café, San Pedro. Info: 253-8933.

Yvonne
Play written by Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz, includes dance, songs, dolls, black lights, actors and more, Nov. 3-5, 10-12, 8 p.m., Nov. 6 and 13, 5 p.m., Teatro de Bellas Artes, University of Costa Rica, entrance by the Law School. Info: 241-1519.

Edited By María Gabriela Díaz
Tico Times Staff
mgdiaz@ticotimes.net

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Fourth International Scientific
Conference Concludes Today
By María Gabriela Díaz
Tico Times Staff
mgdiaz@ticotimes.net

The fourth Henry A. Wallace Inter-American Scientific Conference ends today at the Tropical Agronomy Research Center (CATIE) in Turrialba, a town on the Caribbean slope, according to CATIE spokeswoman Cris Soto.

Environment Minister Carlos Manuel Rodríguez inaugurated the yearly conference Tuesday with a speech on the importance of payment for environmental services.

“Costa Rica used to present the most extensive deforestation in the region, but today we have managed to revert the situation. One of our greatest tools to achieve success was the payment for environmental services, the theme that unites us here at CATIE today,” Rodríguez said.

The minister highlighted the fact that payment for environmental services is a new concept in many Latin American and Caribbean countries, but today, a large number of governments and organizations analyze the option as a tool for development – not just for the benefit of rural families, but also as a mechanism to generate funds for the conservation of natural resources, according to a statement from CATIE.

“The payment of environmental services must be seen as a strategy to eliminate rural poverty and preserve the environment. We must learn to charge and pay for services such as water, for example,” he said, adding that in 2002, funds raised by national parks and biological reserves came to more than $834 million.

Speakers at the conference included CATIE general director Pedro Ferreira, who delivered an inaugural address, and Jeffrey Sayer, from the international World Wildlife Foundation (WWF). Guests also included Rudolf de Groot, from Wageningen University in the Netherlands, and Robert Contanza, from the University of Vermont in the United States, the statement said.

According to Soto, the conferences take place annually at the research center and were named after CATIE founder and former U.S. Vice-President Henry A. Wallace.

Yesterday, guests at the conference participated in a field tour through Tapantí National Park near Orosi, in the province of Cartago, east of San José, she said.

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Costa Rica Rates Well in
U.N. Development Index

Costa Rica placed among the top 35 countries in the 2005 Trade and Development Index, released yesterday by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, according to a statement from the Costa Rican Investment Promotion Agency (CINDE).

The index measures how well 110 nations manage balancing the various factors that affect both trade and human development. Researchers present the report as a tool for policy makers to make their trade policies more efficient and beneficial for human development, in particular aiding the poor.

Costa Rica ranked 35th in the index, the second highest-ranked Latin American country behind Uruguay. Panama follows Costa Rica at 37th. Costa Rica ranked sixth out of the developed countries listed.

Denmark was ranked first in the index, followed by the United States and the United Kingdom. Singapore is the only developing country within the top 20.

The index examined three general areas of each country: structural and institutional factors (including such components as human capital, physical infrastructure and the quality of public administration), trade policies and processes (including openness to trade and effective access to foreign markets) and the level of development (including economic development, social development, and gender development).

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‘Buyers' Mission ' Continues
Today in San José

The “VII Buyers Mission,” an event featuring 282 local businesses and 223 foreign buyers, was inaugurated yesterday in Costa Rica with the goal of generating more than $5 million for businesses.

The event, which is slated to last three days, is organized annually by the Foreign Trade Promotion Office (PROCOMER) and caters to business owners in countries throughout the Americas and the Caribbean who are looking to become familiar with Costa Rican export opportunities and to create business connections.

“It is an opportunity for national businessmen and women to have a face-to-face with buyers from 14 countries in one place, which means a substantial savings in marketing costs,” the director of PROCOMER, Martin Zúñiga, said in a statement.

The conference, held in San José, showcases product exhibition stands and negotiation tables alongside pre-scheduled conferences among business owners.

Although the event generated $5 million in revenues for business last year, the event is predicted to surpass this figure this year due to the greater number of participants, according to Jorge Zamora, marketing director for PROCOMER.

Another objective of the event is to ensure that the alliances that international business executives establish with Costa Ricans will enable them to make the best of the benefits derived from the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA) and other signed commercial agreements with these countries.

According to PROCOMER, the activity is part of its work toward a goal to include more small business owners in the export sector. Among the Costa Rican businesses participating in the event, 70% are considered small or medium businesses.

Costa Rican trade authorities expect that 2005 export totals of the countries will increase about eight percent when compared with the $6.3 billion registered in 2004.

-EFE

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