FECON Holds Third National Energy Forum

THE Costa Rican Federation for theConservation of the Environment(FECON) on Saturday hosted the ThirdNational Forum on Energy Expansion,which this year focused on the potentialimpacts of the Central American Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with theUnited States.The event took place in the town ofTucurrique, just south of the Caribbean slopetown of Turrialba.Residents of ten different communitiesaffected by hydroelectric dams attendedthe event – about 100 people in total,according to FECON representatives.Hilda Ramírez, working to fight theconstruction of the Pocosol HydroelectricDam in the Northern Zone, said the forumwas “beautiful.”“I learned that it is necessary to learnhow to work together to stop a (hydroelectric)project, and that there are manypossibilities to stop a project,” Ramírezsaid.FECON members say CAFTA willsolidify controversial laws that allowincreased private generation of electricityand future oil exploration.“This means more energy chaos at anational level, in addition to environmentalimpacts and socio-environmental conflicts,”FECON said in a statement.