THE Costa Rican Federation for theConservation of the Environment(FECON) on Saturday hosted the ThirdNational Forum on Energy Expansion,which this year focused on the potentialimpacts of the Central American Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) with theUnited States.The event took place in the town ofTucurrique, just south of the Caribbean slopetown of Turrialba.Residents of ten different communitiesaffected by hydroelectric dams attendedthe event – about 100 people in total,according to FECON representatives.Hilda Ramírez, working to fight theconstruction of the Pocosol HydroelectricDam in the Northern Zone, said the forumwas “beautiful.”“I learned that it is necessary to learnhow to work together to stop a (hydroelectric)project, and that there are manypossibilities to stop a project,” Ramírezsaid.FECON members say CAFTA willsolidify controversial laws that allowincreased private generation of electricityand future oil exploration.“This means more energy chaos at anational level, in addition to environmentalimpacts and socio-environmental conflicts,”FECON said in a statement.

THE Bambuzal campesinos are goinghome. Or at least to what they claim istheir home.After more than two months campingin the Metropolitan Cathedral in downtownSan José, calling themselvesrefugees of a Northern Zone land dispute(TT, June 25), a court order prohibitingthem from nearing the disputed ElBambuzzal farm, near Río Frío deSarapiquí in the northern province ofHeredia, has been lifted by an appealscourt.The more than 100 campesinos planto leave the cathedral tomorrow morningand will travel north in a caravan joinedby students and social organizations whohave supported them during their fight.The campesinos arrived in the capitalApril 25 seeking help from the church intheir squatter-rights claim for the ElBambuzal Farm, owned by bananaexporter Standard Fruit Company, a subsidiaryof Dole (TT, April 30).The campesinos have occupied theland since 2001. Now that the court orderhas been lifted, the campesinos hope topermanently resolve the land dispute in anagrarian trial in a Guápiles court. No datehas been set for the trial.

EARTHQUAKE experts are stillexpecting “the big one” in Costa Rica, butthey hope the newly revamped seismiccode will help minimize the effects offuture tremors on buildings here.Beginning last weekend, all new constructionmust follow the new code, updatedfrom a 1986 version. The revised versionis based on recent experiences inCosta Rica as well as global advances intechnology, according to Irene Campos,president of the Federated Association ofEngineers and Architects (CFIA).The changes make Costa Rica’s seismicregulations some of the most advancedin the world, according to CFIA engineers.“We are able to introduce changesquickly. Other countries are just starting todo what we have done,” said JorgeGutiérrez, president of the permanentCommission on the Study and Analysis ofthe Seismic Code. “In the United States,for example, it’s a lot more difficult. Thelarger a country, the harder it is to introducechange. There is more resistance.”SPECIALISTS have learned a greatdeal from the earthquakes that rocked thecountry in 1990 and 1991, according toCarlos Montero, director of theVolcanological and SeismologicalObservatory of Costa Rica (OVSICORI),at Universidad Nacional (UNA). OVSICORIseismologists helped update thecode, along with university engineers andbusiness representatives.The new code also incorporates techniques,materials and designs used in othercountries.“(The new code) is not a drasticchange, but rather it is an evolution,”Gutiérrez said.One of the main differences is that thenew code acknowledges variations in thefunctions of different buildings. Therequirements are not the same for a hospitalas for an apartment building, forexample.“A hospital must remain completelyintact, you don’t want even the windows tobreak,” said CFIA spokeswoman AnaCristina Rojas.The code also includes a table of dataon seismic demand, which shows theexpected effects of an earthquake on a certaintype of structure, in a certain zone, ona certain type of soil.The new rules will not cause a hugeincrease in cost, Gutiérrez said. Researchby students at the University of CostaRica’s school of engineering estimates therise in construction cost will be 1.3-3.8%,depending on the type of building.Montero said the cost is not too highfor the security the regulations will bringto residents. Because of the country’sseismic code, Montero maintains CostaRica would not have suffered the samedestruction El Salvador did in January2001 from a magnitude 7.6 earthquake(TT, Jan. 19, 2001). Nearly 150,000homes were destroyed and 185,000 damaged,according to the U.S. Agency forInternational Development.HOWEVER, he added, regardless ofconstruction, high concentration of buildingscan have devastating effects if anearthquake hits. Despite advanced technologyin the field, high density resulted in thenear leveling of Kobe, Japan, in a 1995earthquake, he said.“Building regulations can reduce theeffects of what happens, but it is neverenough to stop it,” he said.Costa Rica’s code was actually updatedin 2002. It was published in the officialgovernment newspaper La Gaceta on Dec.26, 2003, providing a six-month noticebefore going into effect.In anticipation of the changes, somebusinesses have already adapted their plansin accordance with the code.“For us it is really not a big change.Our latest designs already come with thenew code,” said engineer Christian Mapa,project manager for Fomento Urbano,which develops houses and condominiums.

THE Free-Trade Agreement betweenCosta Rica and the 14-memberCaribbean Community (CARICOM) hasbeen sent to the Legislative Assemblyfor approval, the Ministry of thePresidency announced last week.The agreement will allow Costa Ricato export services and agricultural andindustrial products to a practically virginmarket, Presidency Minister RicardoToledo said in a statement.CARICOM represents a market of 15million people, in which the agro-industrialsector of Costa Rica will have a largecompetitive advantage, added the Ministerof Foreign Commerce, Alberto Trejos.Eight years ago Costa Rica exported$14 million in products to the Caribbean.In 2003, that figure was $70 million.Costa Rica products that will benefitfrom the agreement include ornamentalplants, boneless chicken meat, cheese, plastics,textiles, animal feed and electronics.The Caribbean will provide a sourceof minerals not produced in Costa Rica.The negotiations for the agreementbegan in 2002, and were finalized inMarch 2004, when the treaty was signedby President Abel Pacheco and JamaicanPrime Minister Percival Patterson, representingCARICOM (TT, March 12).

WITH ¢150 million ($345,622)already raised, the Office of the FirstLady is promoting the second phase of“Una Dulce Ayuda” (A Sweet Help),which hopes to raise another ¢100 million($230,400) for the Children’s Neuro-psychiatricSchool, for children with neurologicaldifficulties.The lollipops are on sale at Más xMenos, Palí and HíperMas supermarketsfor ¢100 (23 cents) to raise funds for theschool, the only institution of its kind inLatin America.The school hopes to create programsfor the mothers of its students and involvethem in the learning process, as well ascontinue expanding the buildings.The lollipops will be on sale untilJuly 18.

THE rate of devaluation of the CostaRican colón against the U.S. dollar decreasedduring the first five months of this year.During 2003, the colón fell at a rate of11%. But as of May, it was only droppingat a rate of 9.9%, La Nación reported. Inother words, devaluation had been ¢0.16per day against the dollar, but it’s currentlyonly at ¢0.10.One element that contributes to this tendency,analysts said, is that the U.S. dollarhas recently decreased in value against theEuro and the Japanese Yen, the paperreported.If the country’s current economic conditionsremain stable, analysts say, thedevaluation of the colón could stop at9.13%, which would make one U.S. dollarequivalent to ¢457.30 in December.

ACCORDING to a recent survey bythe Costa Rican Dentists’ Association,68% of dentists do not have a regularmonthly income or have a monthlyincome of less than ¢200,000 ($460).Almost 25% did not have an incomeor work in the past year and 37.9% ofthose polled said they need economic helpfrom their parents because they are notearning enough money.However, 28.5% say they own theirown dental clinic.The survey included 340 of the 439association members.According to the Dentists’ Association,expectations on enrolling in a university tostudy dentistry starkly contrast with thereality that new graduates are confrontedwith upon beginning their career.The association says students nowentering dentist school should know thatby the time they graduate, an estimated1,200 new dentists will have studied dentistryin Costa Rica’s universities.

THE country’s main ports were certifiedthis week, demonstrating that theyhave met anti-terrorist measures establishedby the International Ship and PortFacility Security Code (ISPS).Shipping ports in Costa Rica and othercountries that comprise the UnitedNations International Maritime Organization(IMO) were required to comply withthe ISPS code by July 1 (TT, June 25).Although the main ports inPuntarenas, on the Pacific, and Limón, onthe Atlantic, have been certified, othershave not yet met the requirements.The certification of the Pacific port ofGolfito, in the Southern Zone, is expected inthe coming months.

THE construction sector grew 10% inthe first five months of this year comparedto the same period in 2003, according tothe Federated Association of Engineersand Architects (CFIA).However, construction of new housingfell 30% in the same period.“At the beginning of the year there washope we would see an increase. At themost optimistic, hopes were for 5-6%, sothese numbers are very positive,” saidCFIA executive director Olman Vargas.“The greatest concern of the associationwas the increase in the price of constructionmaterials in the beginningmonths of the year, but the statistics showthat despite the increase in price, it has notaffected the sector, yet,” he continued.CONSTRUCTION of the 1.5-milewide,600-foot-high Three Gorges Dam inChina contributed to a steel shortage inCosta Rica at the beginning of the year(TT, Feb. 27). The shortage caused a 40%increase in the price of steel and caused asignificant drop in construction in January,according to the Costa Rican ConstructionChamber.Steel rods are required in constructionof homes and buildings, under the country’sseismic code.Despite the price of steel, constructionin sectors other than housing – industry,commerce, tourism and state works –increased 60% from January to May, comparedto the same period last year, accordingto CFIA statistics. This growth was primarilyin the metropolitan area.THE provinces that experienced themost growth in non-housing constructionwere Heredia and Alajuela with 170% and104% increases, respectively. Non-housingconstruction in Limón and Puntarenasdecreased, by 31% and 3.7% respectively.San José was the only province toexperience a rise in housing construction,growing 6%, compared to the first fivemonths of last year.Vargas attributes the overall 30%decrease of housing construction to financingissues.“IT is easier to rent housing, of a higherquality, with monthly rent, than to getcredit for an amount to build a house,” hesaid. “But there recently has been anaggressive policy on the parts of the banksto generate new methods of financing. Sowe are hoping to see a recuperation in thesecond semester.”