Support Sought For Loan For
Tourism Program In Protected Areas
(InfoWebPress) – Treasury Minister Guillermo Zuñiga has expressed
his support for Bill No. 17.128, which contains a us19 million loan
from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to finance a tourism
program in the country’s protected areas.
The Minister underscored the importance of this loan because, in his
opinions, its conditions are ideal for the country and offers many
conveniences.
Zuñiga explained that the bill has a total cost of us$25 million, of
which us$19 million are financed through the IDB loan, while the
remaining us$6 million will come from matching funds from the Costa
Rican government — us$1.045 million co-financing from municipalities
and $4.955 million from national budget resources and from the
National Parks Fund.
The loan is to be repaid in 20 years and offers five more years of
grace period. “At the Ministry we consider this credit to offer many
advantages for the country, including the repayment period and the
interest rate. Additionally, it’s a loan with economic and social
benefits, which is tied to development activities conducted by
municipalities and will help fund this tourism initiative,” Zuñiga
explained.
The reasoning behind the bill is that there are few development
capabilities within the country’s Wildlife Protected Areas (ASPs)
and little coordination between the main players overseeing and/or
involved in the management of these areas: the National Tourism
Institute (ICT), the National Conservation Areas System (SINAC), the
private sector, communities and local governments. This had led to
little integration of tourism development activities outside and
inside these areas, losing the many opportunities tourism could
bring for conservation and development. Additionally, the state is
looking for better sustainability in the financing of ASPs, which
currently depend mostly on the national budget.
To face these challenges, the government decided to request this
loan from the IDB. The protected areas tourism program would come to
strengthen SINAC by further taking advantage of the tourism
opportunities inside protected areas, involving in the effort
municipalities, communities and the private sector — both in
planning the specific tourism activities to be developed and making
investments in infrastructure necessary inside and outside the ASPs.
This program, the government hopes, will be a tool for empowering
the sustainable management and protection of ASPs, directly
contributing to local socioeconomic development in communities
throughout the country and the preservation of natural resources.
Also expected as a result of the program are more income financial
sustainability for SINAC, and particular for the ASPs, through
investments for the sustainable development of tourism in these
protected areas and their surroundings — in addition to
socioeconomic and environmental benefits for the municipalities and
communities neighboring ASPs.ic officials, working for the last
three years to reduce expenditures where it can. |
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