A Yes or No Question: The National Printer yesterday began the process of printing the nearly three million ballots that will be used in the Oct. 7 referendum on the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA). The ballots, designed by the Supreme Elections Tribunal (TSE), ask “Do you approve CAFTA...?” and provide boxes to check yes or no.

Costa Rica has become the 103 rd country to support the U.N. Convention on Migratory Species – a global treaty that promotes the conservation, sustainability and research of migratory species, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.

Rugby Exhibition Game
San José West, from Costa Rica, vs. Queen City Rugby Team, from the United States, 2 p.m., Jacó, field next to Ramada building site, free entrance.

Videoteca del Sur
Featuring a free screening of “Who's Juliette?,” the story of a Cuban girl who is abandoned by her father and becomes a prostitute, 7 p.m., Sala Calle 15, San José, Ave. 2, Calle 13/15.

Date of Julieta Venegas Concert Rescheduled
Mexican singer Julieta Venegas' Costa Rican concert has been changed to Aug. 25 from Aug. 8, as previously announced, according to a statement released yesterday by the concert's organizers. For more information, call 207-2025 or visit www.mundoticket.com.

Panamanian President Martín Torrijos arrived in Costa Rica yesterday to sign a free-trade agreement between his country and Costa Rica and attend celebrations of the 20 th anniversary of the Esquipulas peace accords signed between Central American countries in 1987.

The free-trade agreement, signed by Torrijos and his Costa Rican counterpart Oscar Arias last night in San José, was agreed upon in June after nine rounds of negotiations (TT, June 29).

The agreement will allow 90% of Costa Rican products to enter its southern neighbor tariff-free, while the other 10% will be exempted from taxes for five to 17 years.

During 2006, Costa Rica exported $268 million worth of goods to Panama and imported $162.7 million worth of goods from that country.

Torrijos traveled here with his First Vice-President and Foreign Minister Samuel Lewis, Trade and Industry Minister Alejandro Ferrer, Agricultural Development Minister Guillermo Salazar and a group of Panamanian business leaders.

Today, the Panamanian President plans to attend a summit to celebrate the anniversary of a peace accord orchestrated by Arias, who later won a Nobel Peace Prize for this effort, which ended years of military conflict in Central America. The Presidents of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are also scheduled to attend (TT, Aug.3).

Notably absent will be Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, one of the signers of the Esquipulas agreement 20 years ago. He said he could not attend because he had plans to meet with Brazilian President Inácio Lula Da Silva.

The summit was organized by the Arias Foundation for Peace and Progress and will touch on challenges facing the region today including crime, drug trafficking, education and trade.

-ACAN-EFE and Tico Times

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

A group of 640 students from the Pan-American School in the western suburb of Santa Ana are putting aside their paper and pencils for a couple of hours a day this week to plant 500 trees in the Santa Ana Conservation Center, a reserve of plant species native to dry climates of the Central Valley.

This project is being carried out in conjunction with the school's Mapache Program, an initiative that encompasses several environmental projects, according to a statement from the Pan-American School.

From 8 a.m. to 10 a.m., students from several grades are planting trees from 24 native species, some endangered, on a 1,500 square meter plot the school adopted within the 53-hectare conservation area, said Fernando Cabezas, botanical director and educational assistant of the Pro Zoology Foundation (FUNDAZOO), which manages the conservation area as well as the Simón Bolivar Zoo in downtown San José.

In past years, trees in the conservation area have been charred by fires caused by drivers throwing trash out the window. During the dry season, it's easy for this trash to go up in flames, Cabezas explained.

“Now we have a system to control the fires. The last fire was two years ago,” he said.

The school purchased the trees from the foundation and provided all labor for the reforestation project.

Cabezas said other schools interested in adopting part of the conservation area can call FUNDAZOO at 203-6897

Costa Rica has become the 103 rd country to support the U.N. Convention on Migratory Species – a global treaty that promotes the conservation, sustainability and research of migratory species, according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.

The intergovernmental treaty, known also as the Bonn Convention, is the only one of its kind that allows countries to work across borders to protect migratory species. It was signed in 1970 in Bonn, Germany, and entered into effect in 1983, including countries from Central and South America, Asia, Africa and Europe.

Costa Rica's membership reinforces its commitment to wildlife species that pass through the region, but also strengthens its legal and technical capacity to protect species and the land they utilize, according to the statement.

The convention applies to terrestrial, marine and avian migratory species, according to the United Nations. Costa Rica ranks among the world's most bio-diverse countries, housing migratory species like whales, ducks, hawks and sea turtles.