Edgardo Araya, a legislator for the Broad Front Party from Alajuela, and a number of community representatives from pineapple-producing zones, on Monday urged the executive branch to pass a decree that would place a moratorium on pineapple production for five years. They argued that pineapple producers have not been held accountable for the environmental impact of their activities.
Pineapple is one of Costa Rica's fastest-growing and most lucrative agricultural exports. And with China's market on the horizon, export numbers could soon double. Is the country ready for that?
In a ruling Thursday lauded by Costa Rica's anti-GMO activists, the country's Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court, or Sala IV, struck down the government's regulatory framework on genetically modified organisms, declaring the process of approval for GMO projects unconstitutional.
GUANGZHOU, China – A sprawling market floor in Guangzhou was once a prime location for shark fin, one of China's most expensive delicacies. But now it lies deserted, thanks to a ban from official banquet tables and a celebrity-driven ad campaign.
Costa Rican President Luis Guillermo Solís attended the signing ceremony, saying the planned geothermal projects “will not interfere with territory in national parks.” Instead, he said they involve “new technologies that permit the exploration and utilization of wells without damaging conservation areas.”
Biologists consider the protected area a perfect location between the northern and southern hemispheres for the birth of new generations of marine mammals and other species.
With the discovery of the new plant there are now 52 known species of passion flowers native to Costa Rica. It is the first new species of passion flower discovered in the last 11 years.
Awaiting a decision on legal reforms from the courts, anti-GMO activists in Costa Rica have taken the fight over transgenic crops to a grassroots level. The latest symbolic victory for those opposed to genetically modified organisms happened on July 25, when President Luis Guillermo Solís signed a decree naming native corn as cultural heritage, a designation managed by the Culture Ministry.
Nicaraguan officials on Monday appeared before the International Court of Justice in The Hague to file a last response in the case against Costa Rica for alleged environmental damage caused by the construction of a road parallel to the San Juan River, a natural border between the two countries.
