Once again, Costa Rica’s natural heritage is under threat. Neighbors of Samara and environmental groups have denounced that a real estate megaproject called Vistas de Samara obtained approval for environmental viability from the National Technical Secretariat (SETENA) in just 12 days.
For environmental organizations, the most worrying aspect is that the real estate project is said to affect wetland areas. Local residents, concerned about the destruction of the Lagarto wetland, filed a complaint with the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC). However, the institution ignored the allegations, prompting them to take the issue to the Constitutional Court.
The Constitutional Chamber gave SINAC up to 12 months to intervene in the works carried out in the wetlands of Samara. The judges deemed the appeal filed against the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) and the Municipality of Nicoya to be admissible.
“The destruction has been somewhat irreparable. We don’t want this kind of development. We are talking about dozens of towers and hundreds of houses,” said a neighbor. The project, which involves the construction of 37 towers and f houses, was submitted to SETENA on February 12 and by February 28 had received the green light.
Environmental lawyer Álvaro Sagot questioned the speed with which SETENA approved the request without even inspecting the site. He also pointed out that the destruction of the wetland is taking place in the maritime-terrestrial zone. Sagot explained that, according to the principle of irreducibility of forests and mangroves, the State is obligated to ensure ecosystemic restoration if there is damage to these protected areas.
Neighbors and organizations argued that by approving these projects, they “are eliminating such marine ecosystems in ecologically sensitive areas and State Natural Heritage.”
This is not the only case being investigated for the destruction of natural heritage. MINAE and SINAC have been under public scrutiny following a high-profile case involving the issuance of logging permits in a protected area in the Gandoca-Manzanillo Refuge.
This case is just one example of the growing concerns over environmental mismanagement in Costa Rica.
