The Case of  Granjas Atuneras de Golfito S.A.

 

On May 9, 2007, Costa Rica’s Constitutional Court “suspended the execution” of Granjas Atuneras de Golfito S. A’s. tuna farm project in Punta Banco, Golfito.  The Court ruled that the risk of pollution to the Golfo Dulce from metabolic wastes produced by the tuna was not properly addressed in the Environmental Impact Assessment or by the project’s director Eduardo Velarde.  Furthermore, the court ruled to uphold the “suspension of execution”, until studies were carried out that guaranteed that the metabolic wastes posed no environmental threats.

 

Unfortunately, the Environment’s Technical Secretariat (Setena), is now attempting to circumvent the ruling.  In its Resolution 3170-2008 issued last November 6, 2008, Setena reapproved the project, concluding that the Constitutional Court’s judges simply misinterpreted the Environmental Impact Assessment.  At Setena’s request, the University of Costa Rica’s Center for Marine Research (Cimar) submitted a study on the possible effects that metabolic wastes would have on the environment. However, since Cimar’s report called for the implementation of long term studies to thoroughly determine these impacts, Setena promptly dismissed it as being useless.

 

Pretoma and Biota Consultores filed appeals in reaction to the ruling.  On February 16, Setena rejected both appeals (Resolution 377-2009).  The Environmental Secretariat, charged with overseeing the environmental feasibility of development projects in Costa Rica, has been a staunch supporter of Granjas Atuneras de Golifto S.A. This denotes how Setena is more of a political secretariat than an environmental one.

 

Now, the final decision lies with the Minister of Environment, to whom annulment requests of Setena’s decision were immediately filed.  As of this date, the Minister has not referred to the case, and can take as long as he wants to decide.

 

What’s at Stake

 

Granjas Atuneras Golfito’s tuna farm project offers little if any economic feedback for the rural communities that surround the Golfo Dulce.  What’s more, the project threatens to disrupt the gulf’s delicate ecosystem, a natural resource that supports local fisheries and sustainable tourism opportunities.  Survey results of the local population show an overwhelming anti-tuna farm sentiment; however, with few expendable resources to allocate to derailing the project, more powerful political and economical intentions are driving the proposal closer to implementation.

 

What can we do?

 

A coalition of NGOs and local business owners are designing a campaign that will foment support against the tuna farms, unite public opinion, and ultimately protect the Golfo Dulce both in the near and distant future.

 

The ultimate goal is to stop the tuna farm threat once and for all.

 

Our short term goal is to convince the current Minister of Environment, whose term will end in less than a year, that Setena’s ruling is contrary to the Constitutional Court’s mandate, and that any decision to approve the project would immediately result in a constitutional lawsuit against him, in conjunction with a wave of public discontent.  To do this, we need to make the Minister aware of the Costa Rican people’s, and more specifically local citizens and businesses from Golfito and surrounding communities, overwhelming support for the well being of the Golfo Dulce.

Our longer term goal will be to work with the future Minister of Environment and convince him/her to wait for a public referendum before ruling on the project.  The referendum, or public vote, will be held in August, 2010.  A popular vote places the decision making process in the hands of those most affected by the project and not with an international corporation with political ties to Costa Rica.

 

What we need to do

 

For our shorter term goal, it will be necessary to do several activities:

 

a)      Place several full page advertisements in La Nación, Costa Rica’s largest and most prestigious newspaper, as well as in other influential newspapers (La Extra, Al Día), calling for the public to show their support by signing and faxing the advertisement to Costa Rica’s president, Oscar Arias

b)      Produce a 50 second TV Public Service Announcement to be broadcast on Costa Rica’s main TV channels

c)      Produce flyers, brochures and t-shirts

d)      Update a website for electronic “sign-ons”

e)      Organize a formal coalition against the tuna farms

 

For our longer term goal, it will be necessary to:

 

a)      Lobby the new government’s political Ministers and Deputies

b)      Hold events against the tuna farms (debates in colleges, schools, newspapers and other media)

c)      Hold a referendum in August, 2010

 

 

Budget

 

Tuna Farm National Campaign Budget (June 2009-May 2010):

 

Part time campaigner                       $6000

Full page adds (2)                            $5000

50 sec TV PSA                               $2000

50 sec Radio PSA                           $1000

Printed Materials                             $5000

Web site one year                            $1000

Coalition Meetings                           $2000

TOTAL                                         $22,000.00

 

 

Tuna Farm Golfo Dulce Campaign Budget (June –August – 2010)

 

Full page adds                                 $5000

50 sec TV PSA                               $2000

50 sec Radio PSA                           $1000

Printed materials                              $2000

Referendum (Biota Consultores)       $12000

TOTAL                                         $22,000.00

 

 

How can I donate?

 

A bank account in dollars at Costa Rica’s Banco Nacional has been opened solely for those wishing to donate to the tuna farm campaign: Account number 100-02-148-600286-2 under the name, Asoc. Programa Restauración de Tortugas Marinas

 

Pretoma is a Costa Rican NGO with tax exempt status for national corporations.  We also have tax exempt status in the United States.

 

Please, contact us at inaranjo@pretoma.org or info@pretoma.org for information if you are interested in doing an international bank wire, or are planning on filing this as a tax exempt donation in the United States.

 

You can also write a check made out to “Pretoma”, and mail it to:

 

Pretoma

1203-1100

Tibás, San José

Costa Rica

 

PS: Don’t forget to include a note “earmarking” the donation for the Tuna Farm Campaign

 

Pretoma is a Costa Rican Civil Association declared of Public Interest, and is an active member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA).

 

 

 

 

     Granjas Atuneras de Golfito S.A. established itself very quietly in Costa Rica in 2002.  Since then, they have worked diligently to obtain the permits and licenses to creat an installation of ten huge cylindrical mesh nets to cultivate Yellow Fin Tuna at the mouth of the Golfo Dulce.  These nets would be located approximately one kilometer south, and two kilometers into the Pacific from the coast at Punta Banco, almost directly in front of the Guaymi Indigenous Reserve.  The strange thing is, that until recent months, after many approvals from government and independent agencies were already in place, did it become public knowledge to the people it would most affect, those who live near and their livelihoods from the relatively pristine Golfo Dulce. 
     The plan is to create an experimental operation of “growing” yellow fin tunas in an industrial setting.  The operation would consist of the use of a network of boats to capture live young tunas in their natural habitat in the open waters between fifty and two hundred and fifty miles off coast, and transport them to the nets off the coast of Punta Banco.  Here, using sardines, frozen and exported from Chile and Peru, to fatten the tuna for a period of three months.  Once sufficiently fattened, these fish would be exported directly to the Asian market.  Sounds like a great idea?  One would think so until you consider the impact on the environment and the local businesses, fishermen, tourism, and those who enjoy the wildlife and waters of the Golfo Dulce. Presently, the momentum has been slowed down by local and internation environmental awareness warriors who are protesting the project and asking for investigation in to the many considerations which have not been addressed by the very institutions who should be fighting to protect the risks to the environment and local economy which they are responsible to protect. Below are a few considerations to be aware of:

  Here are some of the impacts of the installation of the proposed Tuna Farm in the Golfo Dulce:

Economic Impact: 
No one in Golfo Dulce region benefits, other than the few who may be hired by the company initially to set the nets in the water, there is no real employment benefit.  As well, it will affect the local businesses which rely on subsistence fishing, catch and release sport fishing, dolphin and whale watch tours and other eco-tourism activities.The economic benefits from the sale of the fish will be garnered in Spain, not in Costa Rica, yet it will affect the economy of a place that is dependent on the quality and well-being of the waters and marine life of the area. 
 

Ethical Impact:Costa Rica is a country known for its defense and protection of the environment.  The installation of the fishery is contrary to the philosophy, not only of the Osa Peninsula but the philosophy by which this country is known.   

Health and Sanitation Impacts:
The feeding of the young Yellow Fin Tuna is sold in Peru and Chile, and has caused illnesses in the marine life in Australia and the Mediterranean Sea in similar projects. Impact of the WastesNo program or plan to deal with the waste of the Yellow Fin Tuna, concentrated in the growing pens which the plant will install, has been presented, and represents a huge contamination situation in local waters. Ecological Impact:The proposed location for the growing pens is off of Punta Banco, south of Pavones, which is a nesting ground for the marine turtles.  This presents enormous risks for the migration of the species in this zone.  The Golfo Dulce is also the nursery for the humpback whales, who come to have their babies in the warm calm waters of the Golfo Dulce. 

THIS IS THE LAST PLACE IN THE WORLD WHERE THIS SHOULD HAPPEN!

What can you do to help?
Be aware of what is happening by reading up on it, and staying advised of the progress of this battle.  Donations can be sent to aid in the legal costs and the dissemination of information for public awareness.  

November 11, 2008 - San José, Costa Rica)

Last November 5, the Technical Secretariat of the Environment of Costa Rica (Setena) issued a resolution calling for the operation of Tuna Farms of Golfito to continue with its execution. The project, which consists of the installation of 10 cages that will fatten up to 120 tons of tuna per cycle, was suspended by order of the Constitutional Court on May 9 of 2007, due to the serious inconsistencies found regarding the threat of polluting the delicate ecosystem of the Golfo Dulce, and the impact on sea turtles. Setena had declared that the project was environmentally viable since August 19, 2005.

In order to elucidate the inconsistencies that the Constitutional Court pointed out, Setena requested the technical criteria of the Center for Marine and Limnological Research of the University of Costa Rica (Cimar). In the report, submitted last September 30, Cimar underlines that to predict the possible destiny of wastes and served waters with more certainty, a much more comprehensive study regarding ocean currents is needed than the one that was submitted in the Environmental Impact Study. Furthermore, it points out the need for a Plan of Action to deal with the sea turtles and whales that use these waters.

According to the Costa Rican NGO Pretoma, which filed the Constitutional Law Suit to stop the installation of Tuna Farms together with the Association of Neighbors of Punta Banco, Setena granted the environmental viability without having elucidated the inconsistency described by the Constitutional Court regarding the ecological impact that the Tuna Farms may have on the Golfo Dulce. To make matters worst, Setena doesn't even acknowledge that sea turtles nest in the area, in spite of the fact that for the last 11 years Pretoma has been doing sea turtle conservation projects in the community of Punta Banco, an olive ridley sea turtle nesting site located directly in front the area that the proposed Tuna Farms will occupy.

"The Constitutional Court had already expressed that Setena was in the obligation of ordering the performance of studies to previously guarantee, and with an acceptable degree of certainty, that the metabolic wastes produced would not affect the environment nor the delicate ecosystem of the Golfo Dulce", informed Randall Arauz, President of Pretoma, "The requested studies still haven't been performed, nor have the contaminant issue been elucidated, because of which the recommendation to continue with the execution of the Tuna Farms is contrary to the order of the Constitutional Court", explained Arauz.

According to Miguel Gómez, Pretoma's Campaigns Coordinator, sea turtles are under serious threat, as the structures with the cages would attract the sea turtles that visit the beaches of Punta Banco, Estrechura, and Río Coco to nest, and would interrupt the hatchlings on their way to the open sea. "We still don't see a serious plan to mitigate the impact of the Tuna Farms on sea turtles, but if Setena won't even acknowledge that sea turtles nest on these beaches, what can we expect?," said a disappointed Gómez.

On November 11 of 2008, Pretoma filed suit to revoke Setena's resolution, as well as an appeal to the Ministry of Environment.

For more information:

PRETOMA

Tel (506) 2241 5227

Fax (506) 2236 6017

Email: \n \n info@pretoma.org This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Website: www.pretoma.org

PRETOMA is a Costa Rican Civil Association of Public Interest (Decreto Ejecutivo 34150-J), and is an active member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature IUCN and the World Society for the Protection of Animals WSPA.

 

 

 

ENVIRONMENTAL DESTRUCTION OF THE JEWEL OF COSTA RICA, THE OSA PENINSULA

 

submitted by Lauren Cleaver, Iguana Lodge

The Environmental Jewel of Costa Rica, the Osa Peninsula, is not shimmering brightly any more.

The Municipality of Golfito , under the direct orders of Alcalde Jimmy Cubillo and the auspices of the Controlaria of Costa Rica, is presently destroying several of the most pristine and beautiful beaches in Costa Rica, Playa Platanares and Playa Preciosa.

This morning around 10:00 AM heavy equipment along with armed police and a plethora of government officials arrived on the beaches, smashing trees and ripping out the critically important beach grasses and flora that sustain the beach and its wide variety of wildlife including sea turtles, scarlet macaws, anteaters, and a multitude of shore birds.

The beach neighborhood was shocked by the appearance of this force. When asked, at least one official from the municipality admitted that he was instructed directly by the Alcalde, Jimmy Cubillo, not to notify the neighbors of the beach destruction.

The Municipality claims that they are establishing a road and “cleaning” the beach for the public as part of the development of a plan regulator. However none of these actions have been submitted to public comment, environmental assessment and, reflect the one- sided approach of the Municipality and the Controlaria.

MINAE, while observing the destruction, refuses to take any action to protect the beach and its environment. They claim that because in their view none of the trees nor 6 foot high grasses are indigenous species, they can do nothing. Apparently their concern does not include the colonies of Macaws that feed off those trees nor the hundreds of turtles that lay their eggs near the grasses.

The President, Oscar Arias, has described the Osa Peninsula as the environmental jewel of Costa Rica. The actions of the Municipality and the Controlloria are tarnishing the Osa by destroying the environment.. This is only the beginning of the plans of the Municipality as they stated today that Pavones and Matapalo are next. If actions like this are allowed, Costa Rica will ultimately forfeit its world class eco-image. Tourism will fade away, and every Costa Rican will be hurt by the loss of something they worked so hard to make.

 UPDATE:

As of last Saturday afternoon, everything stopped and everyone disappeared. There is no road. Just a huge swath of land in some places 30 meters wide and in most places 20 meters, stripped of everything except a few forlorn trees, ugly piles of beach grasses, and dead crabs. Hidden now are the huge trenches dug within the 50 meter zone on the beach. These trenches, located next to the turtle hatchery presently holding 4000 eggs, are as long as 40 meters and filled with even more ripped out beach grass, bushes, and trees.

Why and who are the big questions. Suffice to say that a variety of phone calls have been made, meetings held, and there is more to come.

The news is still developing, but if it is true, it is shocking. According to the Gerardo Marin of the Controlaria in San Jose, the Controleria did not authorize or know anything about this event. Mr. Marin says that their two agents, who witnesses report were on the beach directing the operation, did not have any authority from the Controlaria to be doing anything at all on this beach and were acting completely outside their authority. I f true that these two men were on the beach pretending to be working on behalf of the Controlaria has come as a complete surprise to the Controlaria, and to everyone here as well. Many questions still remain. Many surmise that these actions were taken at the behest of the Municipalidad of Golfito, but everyone at this point is still trying to discover the truth.

What is true is that on this beach for three days, numerous Golfito municipality officials, two agents from the Controlaria, and various other individuals tore this beach apart, while MINAE and police with machine guns and flak jackets stood by. When asked, the Municipality and agents of the Controleria refused to produce any permits authorizing this destruction (shouting that no one even had the right to ask for such a thing as paperwork), at the same time demanding that every one taking photos of the destruction cease doing so, claiming it illegal to take photographs of government machinery, particularly on a government beach.

So, what to do now? You can of course contact directly the Controlaria (2501-8000) to confirm what we understand here. If you are concerned about these actions and the possible abuse of power by government employees you can also send a fax 2501-8100 and email (bertha.calvo@cgr.go.cr) to Walter Ramirez, head of the Controleria in San Jose, asking the following:

What were Manuel Calderón y Mariano Cárdenas doing on Playa Platanares and Playa Preciosa on the Peninsula de Osa on Thursday 04, September 2008? Who authorized their actions? For whom were these men working at the time? And what is going to be the follow-up?

By you doing this, you can help insure that truth of the matter is determined and in the long run help Costa Rican protect its precious and valuable resource from the caprice of a few. By sending questions such as these the Controlaria, they will know that these are not just concerns of a a few people, but the interest of many people in Costa Rica. There is no reason to think that the Controlaria will do any thing but the right thing. By writing them you are only demonstrating your support for their efforts.