The Association for the Integral Development of the Indigenous Territory of Kéköldi (ADITIK), the Cahuita United Movement, COVIRENAS South Caribbean, the Talamanca Ecotourism and Conservation Association (ATEC), and Talamanca Always Green: Community Collective in Defense of the South Caribbean raised their voices against the illegal logging taking place in the Gandoca Manzanillo Refuge.
The environmental organizations came together given “the imminent collapse of biodiversity, the loss of public spaces for the healthy development of society, and the socio-environmental challenges” faced by the country in light of the climate emergency.
“We unite under this statement for the recovery of the Gandoca Manzanillo National Wildlife Refuge and the protection of the coastal forests and wetlands of the Costa Rican coast,” they said.
They also declared the intention to sustain an active struggle for the respect of the right to a healthy and ecologically balanced environment.
They, as well as other neighbors in the area, had denounced the activities taking place in Manzanillo. They blamed the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) for disregarding an order from the Constitutional Court that obligated them to identify the area as part of a protected zone.
In their joint statement, they demanded that “the areas of the Gandoca-Manzanillo Refuge that have been usurped and violated with Law 9223 and the proposal of the Talamanca Coastal Regulatory Plan be restored,” and that “188 hectares of State Natural Heritage be delimited and reincorporated in compliance with what was ordered by the Constitutional Court.”
They urged the government to intervene in the Natural Heritage territories recovered along the Southern Caribbean to regenerate the destroyed wetlands, forests, and other ecosystems.
According to the groups, it’s imperative to establish a moratorium on the granting of logging, extraction, exploitation, and construction permits, or authorizing any type of destruction or change in land use of wetlands, forests, and other ecosystems.
They also requested investigations into those who granted the permits, particularly the “La Amistad Caribe Conservation Area of SINAC for crimes of corruption and against the National Treasury.”
“We invite everyone to be part of this statement for the Recovery of the Gandoca-Manzanillo Refuge and to commit to a real change in order to ensure a healthy environment and a dignified life for all species that cohabit this territory,” they mentioned.
The petition can be accessed at this link and will be submitted before several institutions, including Congress and the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
