Due to the recent appeals by residents in the communities of El Cairo, Luisiana, La Francia and Milano, the court ordered three government agencies to join together to eliminate the pollution.
The health minister, María Luisa Ávila Agüero, now has the power to shut down the Del Monte pineapple packing plant and plantation if a solution was not reached. The health minister could order the pineapple producer to cease using chemicals (mostly insecticides and herbicides.)
Del Monte purchased the property less than a year ago and is currently building a water retention system to keep the agricultural chemicals from the ground water, but the communities are seeking for a faster solution and don’t want to wait any longer.
Scientists from the University of Costa Rica’s Science and Limnology Center (CIMAR) discovered not one, but two new species of lion fish present off Punta Uva (Caribbean coast). Read more »
Frontier has launched a new project “Costa Rica: Big Cats, Turtles and Climate Change”, the first and only one of its kind in the country.
Costa Rica covers just 0.03 per cent of the world’s landmass and yet it has the highest density of species of any country in the world.
Frontier will be leading research in Costa Rica, working together with climate scientists and conservationists from around the world. Project’s goal is to make detailed surveys of species distributions and behavior.
Frontier volunteers will perform initial surveys to find out effects of climate change on both endangered species and threatened habitats.
The program aims to clarify the ways in which to fight the effects of climate change in one of the most fragile regions on the planet and to help safeguard species and habitats for future generations.
Four more Costa Rica’s beaches (Hermosa de Jaco, Samara Sur, Curú and Quesera) were awarded the coveted Ecological Blue Flag for the first time this week.
At the same time, four other beaches (Coco Norte, Hermosa de Carrillo, Punta Uvita and Piñuela) lost their Blue Flags failing to meet the standards set by the Water and Sewage Institute (AyA).
The beaches of Manuel Antonio National Park, Arenilla, Manzanillo, Ocotal and Pelada regained a place on the list after being defrocked by AyA due to unacceptable level of water pollution.
One of most popular hotspot in the Guanacaste province, Tamarindo beach, remains off the list despite its residents’ efforts (including public recycling campaigns and anti-dengue sweeps) to clean up.
The Costa Rica Blue Flag program was initiated in 1996, and is not related to the internationally recognized Blue Flag eco-label.
About 150 people gathered Wednesday at the Hotel Ramada Plaza Herradura in Escazú, west of San José, for the first in a region conference on sustainable tourism and businesses. The Central American Congress of Sustainable Tourism and Corporate Social Responsibility was organized by the National Tourism Chamber and leading conservation organizations such as Rainforest Alliance.
The National Chamber of Tourism (CANATUR) estimates 11 percent decline in tourism in the first quarter comparing the same period in 2008. Faced with economic crisis many businesses are tightening their belts and thinking about layoffs.
Long-term money-saving mechanisms will be the key for survival of businesses facing tough times, says Ronald Sanabria, vice president of sustainable tourism with Rainforest Alliance. “This is not the time to (throw in) the towel, but actually the time to take advantage of the investments you’ve already made in your company to make it more sustainable in line with trends in the marketplace,” Sanabria says.
As some might know, recycling is not what Costa Rica is famous for. Fortunately that might change in the near future.
Several cities in Costa Rica started deployment of yellow recycling containers with the goal to capture plastic bottles, newspapers and aluminum cans. Up to date Costa Rica has 10 municipal recycling programs being implemented country wide. Collection of domestic recyclable material jumped from 169 tons in 2002 to over 725 tons in 2008.
Costa Rica’s waste management plans are expected to improve dramatically over the next year, providing new opportunities for waste management businesses and the environment. This is attracting new business ventures to more closely examine the waste management industry in Costa Rica. Waste management has proven to be big business in other parts of Latin America, and Costa Rica will also be reaping the rewards of this emerging industry as well.
The environmental watchdog, The Tribunal Ambiental Administrativo, ordered Del Monte to close its pineapple production facilities in Siquirres Monday, May 18th, because of high levels of chemicals in the local water sources.
The tribunal said that laboratory tests confirm a high presence of bromacil and other agrochemicals (such as the fungicides triadimephon, clorotalonil and difenoconazol) in waste water that flowed into the Río Destierro. The level of bromacil exceeds eight times the amount permitted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Read more »
The Programa Restauración de Tortugas Marinas, is opposing the project believes that the raising of yellow fin tuna in cages in the gulf will create pollution. They are also concerned with the impact of the waste, antibiotics and cages on sea turtles.
Opponents of the infamous tuna farm in the Golfo Dulce believe that the time has come to go to court. They tried many things to stop that project. Unfortunately, the Costa Rica minister of environment had approved the plan of Granjas Atuneras de Golfito S.A. That means that the administrative battle is over and the environment group lost.
The decision came in spite of the fact that the overwhelming majority of residents are very fearful of the tuna farm’s potential adverse impacts on the Golfo Dulce. It’s possible that the levels of organic contamination will increase , that in turn will damage the area’s two largest sources of employment: ecological tourism and sustainable sports fishing.
The organization and residents are now looking into other ways to stop the tuna farm.
One of the hardest things that expats have to get used to here is throwing away all of their garbage without sorting it into recyclables and plain garbage. It just doesn’t feel right knowing that at least half of the garbage that could have been recycled ends up in numerous landfills, spoiling the beauty of Costa Rica. The worst part is that many of those plastic products will not disintegrate for decades.
This year Costa Rican cities are starting to see yellow recycling containers! The lucky inhabitants of the covered areas can recycle plastic bottles, newspapers, aluminium cans and paper cartons. So far there are only 10 municipal recycling plans being implemented in all of the country.
Waste management has proven to be a viable business in other parts of Latin America, and Costa Rica should also be reaping the rewards of this emerging industry. Recycling will attract new business to venture into the waste management industry in Costa Rica.
Costa Rica’s waste management plans are expected to improve dramatically over the next several years.
Biofuels investments in Central America are on the rise. With OPEC pushing for oil prices to rise to $70 a barrel this year, there is more and more interest in Biofuel investing.
Jatropha plant is the number one choice in the world for Biofuel crops. Jatropha is not a food crop. The best part is that it grows on marginal lands, it is hardy and robust and has an incredible oil content of 35 – 42%. So, it is easy to grow and is local to Central America.
United Biofuels of America (UBA) announced over 200,000 hectares to be planted here in Costa Rica. If successful, it will make Costa Rica the Central American leader in Jatropha plantations.
If you’ve never heard about the Jatropha miracle plant, you can read about it in Wikipedia.
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June 19, 2009 7:27 am
Eco-news
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