FANCY Footwork: New Zealand's Daniel Hay played defense against Costa Rica's Alvaro Saborio Saturday night during a friendly game between the two countries at Ricardo Saprissa stadium in Tibás, north of San José. Costa Rica beat New Zealand 4-0.

Global climate change is threatening the habitats of the world's 30,000 species of orchids, according to Jorge Wagner, director of Lankester Botanical Gardens and organizer of the International Congress for the Conservation of Orchids held in Costa Rica last week.

VII National Art Festival
Running through Saturday, San Carlos, north-central Costa Rica, detailed information available at www.festivaldelasartescostarica.com.

Lecture
Talk on the making of musical instruments, 7 p.m., Spanish Cultural Center, San José, Avenida 13, Calle 31. Info: 257-2919, ext. 118.

In the largest destruction of marijuana plants in the past five years, police Thursday concluded an operation to uproot and destroy 1,213,982 of these plants in the Talamanca region of the southern Caribbean, according to a statement from the Public Security Ministry.

Through the operation, which began March 2, police discovered marijuana plants in 40 plantations covering an area of 28,995 square meters, the statement said.

A few dozen police flew in a small helicopter over the land to locate the plants and landed to face challenges such as inclement weather and poisonous snakes.

Previous arrests of alleged drug dealers in the mountains of Talamanca have led police to believe most of the marijuana grown there is distributed within Costa Rica in the Caribbean province of Limón and in the Central Valley, the statement said.

-Tico Times

By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff | aroberson@ticotimes.net

Crowds stood behind yellow tape blocking off a crime scene yesterday in downtown San José, as two bodies covered by sheets of plastic laid as the morbid remains of a shooting that occurred there earlier.

A young man shot and killed a young woman police believe to be his partner and then shot himself in front of the central post office at about 3 p.m., according to Jeury Vindas, a police officer at the scene.

Like any sunny afternoon, pedestrians yesterday were congregated around benches in front of the post office when the shooting occurred. No one else was injured in the incident, Vindas said.

A couple of hours later, the bodies remained on the ground as police investigated the scene and pedestrians were shocked to find out why they were forced to make a detour.

The Tico Times was unable to obtain more information about the shooting at press time.

Global climate change is threatening the habitats of the world's 30,000 species of orchids, according to Jorge Wagner, director of Lankester Botanical Gardens and organizer of the International Congress for the Conservation of Orchids held in Costa Rica last week.

Hundreds of experts are studying orchids around the world, and although there is no precise data about how many species are in danger of extinction, these scientists agree global warming is affecting them, Wagner said.

“There are many people who work in science but who don't generate statistics that can be used by decision makers. We have to determine the magnitude of the problem, its causes and actions that should be taken,” he said.

With the goal of combating the extinction of these plants, every three years the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) holds the International Congress for the Conservation of Orchids; this year Costa Rica was selected for its international reputation for preserving nature and because it contains 5% of the world's orchid species.

At the congress, experts analyzed goals set by the IUCN, including protecting 90% of the world's orchid species in botanical gardens by the year 2010.

“The threat against orchids, which produce the largest flowers in the world, is the same threat that now faces all human beings: global warming and human activities that destroy their habitat,” Wagner said.

In Costa Rica, 1,400 species of orchids have been discovered, 350 of which are unique in the world and at least 20 of which are at risk of extinction.

This week's orchid congress was attended by 150 experts from 27 countries who discussed topics including conservation technology, preservation of plants in botanical gardens, natural ecosystems and scientific studies.