Several environmental organizations have called on the government to make the environmental agenda a priority. The collectives pointed out that there are “recent events that have affected Costa Rica’s environmental conditions” and that there are “inconsistencies and weaknesses in state policies.”
They denounced the evident relegation of environmental matters in the State’s agenda, highlighted by the omission of the President of the Republic’s report on May 2 in the Legislative Assembly.
In addition, they accused the Permanent Special Environmental Commission of the Legislative Assembly of passivity, failing to address the negative environmental impacts and the ambiguities of the current administration on environmental issues.
The environmentalists mentioned that the government has weakened the technical institutions dedicated to biodiversity management and reduced the budgetary capacities to critical levels with both regular and extraordinary budgets.
They emphasized that projects harmful to environmental integrity have been promoted, “evidencing interests incompatible with the constitutional mandate of a healthy and ecologically balanced environment.”
“These projects are aimed at trawling, hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation, open-pit mining, and the construction of marinas and docks along the country’s coasts,” they mentioned in a letter.
They also noted that protected areas have been neglected, along with repeated and deliberate omission and rejection of the technical and scientific criteria of renowned researchers and institutions that support decisions on protected area management.
The groups also requested an increase in financial resources through reasonable budgetary allocations proportional to the needs of the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) to ensure compliance with its objectives and functions.
