Nature Air

On July 6, 2007, Costa Rica’s Peace With Nature program was introduced. It is a bold policy statement, committing the country to introduce and enforce programs to protect the environment through a variety of initiatives in all areas of government and industry. Concurrently, Costa Rica issued a plan to be carbon neutral  by 2021.

Now that these strategies are in place, the great challenge of creating and implementing these policies on a local level lies ahead. This will require coordination, policy transparency and the inclusion of individual local interests, both public and private.

There is a quiet story unfolding on one of the Osa Peninsula’s pristine beaches, Playa Plataneras. On September 4^th, the Municipality of Golfito, under the auspices of the Controlaria, appeared on the beach with earth moving equipment to begin the construction of a 14-meter wide highway, cutting an ugly swath right through the beach. As of this posting, it is unclear whether any approval has been sought and no one is taking responsibility for authorizing this wanton destruction.

The municipality began digging a trench, 50 meters long and about 2.5 meters deep, right in the Public Zone, which is defined as the area that is within 50 meters of the mid-tide line. They made it clear they were going to clear the zone of grassland and other low-lying vegetation, which was the purpose of the trench. This environment supports the habitats of birds, reptiles and other animals and bulldozing it would create havoc. In the midst of this chaos, approximately 60 baby turtles were hatched. Playa Platanares and neighboring beaches are home to Hawksbill, Olive Ridley, and Green Turtles.

The week following this initial devastation, all is quiet in Golfito. Several resorts in the area began publicizing the destruction and that is most likely the reason for the rapid shutdown. We will follow this story and report back as it continues to unfold.

It is unclear if this is an isolated instance, or whether it is indicative of a larger problem in terms of the ability to implement government policy on a local level. One wonders when this kind of activity takes place in the Osa Peninsula, touted by the government as a showcase for its policies to protect the natural environment. The special qualities of the peninsula are the primary reason that Natureair selected this area for its reforestation efforts, enabling it to be carbon neutral. There are other disconnects between government policy and local environmental circumstances. Recently, there have been reports regarding the level of pollution at beaches in Puntarenas, Guanacoste and Limon. Efforts are underway to clean up these beaches and only time will tell if local environmental problems can be brought in line with stated government policies and regulations.

Rapid growth and the challenges it poses to the government are also being felt in the pineapple industry, Costa Rica’s largest agricultural export. The headline from an August 28^th story in the Miami Herald states the challenge very succinctly: “Costa Rica’s pineapple boom raises environmental questions. Many environmentalists and residents say the explosive growth in pineapple production in Costa Rica has outpaced the government’s ability to regulate it.” Many of the large commercial growers are negatively impacting on local water quality because of chemical runoff and in some areas deforestation is making way for more pineapple fields. Once again, there are policies and regulations in place, but the rapid growth of this industry has challenged the government to keep up.

Peace With Nature is laudatory concept, just as the intention behind achieving carbon neutrality by 2021. These platitudes need to be incorporated into the fabric of daily life throughout Costa Rica. New ideas require new approaches, or their implementation will simply stagnate on the pages of political rhetoric.