No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsEnvironment and WildlifeCosta Rica’s INBioparque to remain open

Costa Rica’s INBioparque to remain open

Three government ministries will take over the administration and the almost ₡100 million ($188,000) monthly expenses to keep the INBioparque open, the Costa Rican government said this week. The National Biodiversity Institute (INBio) a non-profit organization, opened the park in 2000 in Santo Domingo, in the province of Heredia. The park was designed to show visitors representations of all different types of Costa Rican forests and their species.

But INBio has been unable to keep up with operating costs and accumulated debts from the park. The organization had planned to close it while searching for a new administrator. Now the  government says it will step in to keep it open.

On March 31 INBio will hand over its facilities to the Education and Culture ministries, and the National Committee for Environmental Education, which is part of the Environment Ministry’s National System of Conservation Areas, SINAC. All three entities will be responsible for providing staff for the park.

The General Comptrollers’ Office authorized the acquisition of the property for ₡4.9 billion (some $9.2 million) to house the new offices of SINAC, which will also provide staff to keep the park operating during the transition period, SINAC Executive Director Julio Jurado Fernández explained. In the coming months, staff from the other two ministries will also be appointed to posts in the park, he added.

“The government’s decision means there is no need to temporarily close the park, and now we will be able to keep its educational work going,” Jurado said.

Environmental officials currently are making all necessary arrangement to keep the INBioparque brand name, as “it is already well positioned among Ticos,” Jurado said.

Last Tuesday the government issued a decree ordering the National Museum in San José to take over responsibility for the more than 3.5 million specimens collected during INBio’s 25-year history. The collection includes plants, fungi, lichens, bryophytes, insects, arachnids and other specimens.

The government has yet to detail specifics on the future of INBioparque’s operations after March, but environmental officials said they would not relocate wild animals to other facilities or national parks, and would not drain the park’s artificial lake.

Park administrator Randall García said on Friday that he had not received any official communication from the ministries, and that he was unaware of the specific procedures for transferring the park’s administration.

Trending Now

Venezuelan Migrants Describe Hellish Stay in El Salvador Jail

Mervin Yamarte left Venezuela with his younger brother, hoping for a better life. But after a perilous jungle march, US detention, and long months in...

Costa Rica’s PPSO Backs Laura Fernández to Continue Rodrigo Chaves’s Agenda

Former Minister of Economy Francisco Gamboa and attorney Douglas Soto will join Laura Fernández for the 2026 elections, representing the Sovereign People’s Party (PPSO),...

A Costa Rica Expat and the Devil on His Shoulder

Everyone has a dark side—that little devil in your conscience that says, go ahead and do it! even though you know it’s wrong. It...

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly Vacation in Costa Rica with Baby

Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly touched down in Costa Rica for a family getaway with their three-month-old daughter, Saga Blade Fox-Baker. Photographers caught...

Empty Stadiums and Inequality Mar Women’s Copa América

Nearly empty stadiums, players' criticism of the organization, and demands for equality in South American football have marked the 2025 Women's Copa América in...

Chiquita Executives Convicted in Colombia for Financing Death Squads

Colombian justice on Wednesday sentenced seven former executives of the multinational banana company Chiquita Brands to more than 11 years in prison and a...
L. Arias
L. Arias
Reporter | The Tico Times |
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica