Clock Ticking
On Manuel Antonio
Tic Toc goes the clock on the wall for the national park Manuel
Antonio, which has until tomorrow, February 26., to correct health
issues or face closure.
The ministerio de Salud (Health ministry) last week gave the
Ministerio de Ambiente, Energia y Telecommunicaiones (MINAET) -
environment ministry - 10 days to correct sanitary problems at the
park, which include sewage draining from the bathrooms into the
local water, garbage problems and poor health conditions at the
ranger housing complex.
Manuel Antonio is a popular tourist attraction south of the town of
Quepos and the park is one of the most visited national parks in the
country, by both foreigners and nationals.
Efforts to clean up the park were reported underway over the
weekend, that included the removal of an old rusted vehicle in the
park's dump. Reports indicate that the vehicle was hauled off on
Monday.
However, Benefort Cubillo, the administrator of the park, said that
10 days is not enough to clean up all the problems, adding that the
problem is not new, it has been around for some time and nothing had
been done about it.
Cubillo said that while clean up efforts were underway negotiations
between the MINAET and Salud officials were underway to find a short
term solution to meet the Health ministry's demands and keep the
park open.
The park receives some 2.000 visitors a day generating almost us$2
million dollars in revenue. The money is then pooled and used to
finance operations at other national parks.
The final decision on whether the park will remain open while clean
up efforts continue is up to the ministra de Salud, María Luisa
Avila and regional health officials, who has said publicly that it
will be very difficult to keep the park open while there is still a
health risk.
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