Tribunal Is On Coastal
Crusade in Costa Rica
By Dave Sherwood,
Special to The Miami
Herald
UVITA DE OSA, Costa Rica
- When judges from Costa
Rica's Environmental
Tribunal emerged from
the rain forest
recently, they were
horrified.
In places along Costa
Rica's still wild
Pacific frontier, rogue
developers had slit the
roots of ancient trees
to hasten their death,
clearing the way for
''ocean views.''
Primeval rain forest
sanctuaries, home to
scarlet macaws, jaguars
and blue morpho
butterflies, had been
flattened for luxury
home sites. And backhoes
had turned rivers
chocolate, threatening
local water supplies and
offshore coral reefs,
sea turtles and dolphins
-- the foundation of the
country's tourism-driven
economy.
The Tribunal, the
country's highest
environmental court,
took immediate action --
confiscating heavy
equipment and demanding
investigations of more
than 1,000 home sites.
It was a dramatic end to
a four-month crackdown
on illegal development,
in which judges ordered
the investigation of
thousands of building
lots, hotel rooms,
oceanfront homes and
condominiums.
The total projected
value of these
developments is
estimated at more than
$1 billion.
''Much has been lost,
but much is left to
save,'' said Tribunal
President José Lino
Chaves, who spearheaded
the administrative
court's recent rebirth.
The raids, considered
unprecedented in Latin
America -- a region
known for its lax laws
and enforcement -- have
drawn cheers from
environmentalists.
But others, including
the prominent National
Tourism Chamber (CANATUR),
have accused judges of
''sensationalism'' and
worry about Costa Rica's
image.
DEATH THREATS
Tribunal judges also
have received anonymous
death threats and
pressure from a gamut of
real estate and
construction interests
to ease the crackdown.
Still, the judges insist
their work is necessary
to guarantee all Costa
Ricans their
constitutional right to
a ``healthy and
ecologically balanced
environment.''
Lawyers from some
developments stung by
the Tribunal's raids
told The Miami Herald
their clients agreed
with the actions of the
Tribunal and would do
what they could to
protect the environment.
Chaves, the Tribunal
president, said they are
not
''anti-development,''
adding that this
developing nation
depends on attracting
tourism investment to
keep afloat. ''This is a
poor country, and we
need all the investment
we can get. We simply
demand that our
environmental laws be
obeyed,'' he said.
In the past, he said, it
was often those looking
to make a quick return
on investment that came
to booming Costa Rica,
to take advantage of
what some have called a
Wild West-style market
-- with little
regulation and less
enforcement.
Many environmentalists
hope the Tribunal's
crackdown will send new
signals at home and
abroad, as development
pressures and illegal
construction eat away at
the country's long-held
''green'' image.
Scientific studies have
uncovered the alarming
negative effects of the
recent development boom,
which according to the
Costa Rican Hotel
Association has led to
as much as a 500 percent
increase in the
construction of
condominiums and
apartments in some
areas.
Monkey populations,
according to a report
from the University of
Costa Rica, plummeted 50
percent in the past
decade, their habitat
destroyed to make room
for housing
developments. Turtles
now shy away from
beaches lined with
second homes and hotels.
And sewage from large,
often all-inclusive
hotels is pumped raw
into ocean waves once
coveted by surfers.
Such findings prompted
the cleanup, Chaves
said.
''Last year, we would go
to the coast to
investigate a case, then
come back with five
more. We realized we
needed a new, more
comprehensive
approach,'' he said.
The raids have rocked
this small nation,
sparking headlines and
debate about the future
of eco-tourism and the
country's laws and
infrastructure.
`A MIRACLE'
Many environmentalists
have been shocked by the
grand scale of the
Tribunal raids: ''Almost
a miracle,'' said Hector
González, director of
the Costa Rican
Federation for
Environmental
Conservation (FECON), a
coalition of more than
30 of the country's most
active green groups.
''The Tribunal has done
valiant work,'' he said.
``But like so many
institutions, it suffers
from an extreme lack of
funding. What they've
revealed is only the tip
of the iceberg.''
The court, housed in a
ramshackle, single-story
building in the downtown
district of the capital
city of San José, has
only 12 employees and
three judges to handle
thousands of cases each
year across the country.
Studies by the country's
Federated School of
Engineers and Architects
(CFIA) revealed nearly
one in four developments
along the Pacific
coastline lacked proper
permits -- a daunting
task for a small
administrative court.
''It's David vs.
Goliath,'' said González,
whose group is calling
for more funding of
environmental permitting
and enforcement
institutions.
``Enforcing the law
after it's been broken
is one thing. But the
question is, how do we
make developers obey it
from the start?''
Still, the raids have
left their mark.
Judges have received
multiple anonymous death
threats, been pursued by
unmarked vehicles, and
even Chaves' wife was
threatened after
high-profile raids of
mega development
projects along the North
Pacific coast.
It was evidence, he
admits, of the high
stakes involved in Costa
Rica's big-money
construction market --
which last year
attracted $800 million
in tourism investment,
according to the
country's Tourism
Institute (ICT).
Though the perpetrators
have yet to be found,
the Tribunal insists the
strict enforcement will
continue.
''The time has come for
Costa Rica to own up to
its environmental
commitment,'' the three
judges wrote in a letter
of solidarity shortly
after the death threats.
``Do we force compliance
with our environmental
legislation, sending the
country on a clear
course towards
sustainable development,
or do we give in to this
pressure?''
Many developers, even
those punished by the
Tribunal, have come to
agree.
Andrea Ovares, a lawyer
for Costa Montaña, a
Pacific coast
development recently
charged with more than
$1 million in
environmental damages,
says her company and
others have learned the
hard way.
''Many people come here
with money to invest,
but without the
expertise or
understanding of the
laws,'' she said. ``The
Tribunal is forcing that
to change, and we
support it.''
REMEDIATION
The development has
since hired new
environmental
consultants and proposed
a $500,000 remediation
plan. Tribunal judges
have allowed Costa
Montaña to continue
building on part of its
property, though the
case remains under
review.
Mauricio Castro,
president of the Costa
Rica Real Estate
Broker's Board, says the
effect on developers,
real estate agents and
even those looking to
buy property will be
monumental.
The country, he says,
was caught unprepared by
an onslaught of
development -- often
illegal -- and now must
make up for lost time.
''If we don't start to
respect our laws, the
Costa Rica we have all
come to love will cease
to exist,'' he said.
``If the water is
polluted and the forest
lost, our homes and
properties will be worth
nothing.''
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