Preserve Planet has raised its voice against Costa Rica’s government plans to build an international airport in the Southern Region of Costa Rica.
The Association is a non-governmental organization founded in 1995. It was established to fight for the conservation and protection of nature. Several of its local and international projects, programs, and campaigns are coordinated and developed in Costa Rica.
The new airport and its impact
Recently, the Costa Rican government announced it intended to build a new airport in the Southern Zone, hoping to boost tourism and job creation.
According to the government, this is a great opportunity for the tourism sector, which hopes to turn the Brunca Region into a “hot spot” in Costa Rica to attract visitors.
Nonetheless, the environmental organization considers that this construction’s negative impact on the ecosystem outweighs any possible economic benefit. They even believe it could affect tourism in the long run.
“Costa Rica is a country characterized by attracting a very special type of tourist, which seeks to experience nature and biodiversity. We do not want mass tourism because, as we have seen in other places, it has negative consequences,” explained Luis Diego Marín, Preserve Planet’s regional coordinator.
He also expressed that building this airport is malicious since what is being sought is to promote the construction of mega-hotels, which do not benefit local communities.
“These mega construction projects generate seasonal employment. Many people, part of the year, must look for another job because the hotel won’t hire them,” he added.
Marín pointed out that the organization intends to launch an emergency campaign to warn the country of this project’s risks. Additionally, he said they’re ready to defend one of the most important pristine ecosystems on planet earth: Corcovado National Park.
“It is a true jewel that faces a serious threat,” he noted.
The country must learn the lesson
The Osa Peninsula has faced many environmental threats for a long time. In the 1990s, a fight began against a corporation that intended to change the existing land use and focus on monoculture.
Private investors also intended to build a shipyard in Golfo Dulce, a vulnerable area.
