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.