International experts call on Costa Rica's President to save the most important leatherback nesting site in the Eastern Tropical Pacific
Las Baulas National Marine Park Under Threat of Unsustainable Infrastructure Development

(March 13, 2007 - San José, Costa Rica).

Over 200 sea turtle scientists and conservationists are adding their voices to the international call urging the President of Costa Rica, Oscar Arias Sánchez, to save critical leatherback sea turtle nesting habitat from destruction.  A letter from the concerned scientists and conservationists, who attended the 27th International Sea Turtle Symposium in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA (22-28 February, 2007), was delivered today at the President's office.  The scientists and conservationists are calling on the Costa Rican President to begin acquiring lands within the boundaries of Las Baulas National Marine Park.

Costa Rican sea turtle scientists and conservationists celebrated the international support.  According to Wagner Quirós, Co-Chair of the Costa Rican Sea Turtle Conservation Network, "Uncontrolled development of infrastructure on sea turtle nesting beaches is an urgent issue to address, given the already known negative impact that these actions have on these animals and their nesting habitat".  Quirós expressed concern that development pressure in Las Baulas National Marine Park was like a time bomb "that could explode any moment, altering critical leatherback nesting habitat forever".

Leatherback sea turtles are critically endangered; their populations have declined over 90% during the last 20 years, and could be extinct in the Pacific within the next 15 years.  Costa Rica has long recognized the need to protect the ecological integrity of sea turtle nesting beaches to enhance hatchling production.  Las Baulas National Marine Park, in Guanacaste, was created by Executive Decree in 1991 and later by Law in 1995, with the purpose of protecting one of the last populations of leatherback sea turtles in the Eastern Pacific, a species classified as critically endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN).

"Costa Rica has a great responsibility, as it hosts Las Baulas National Marine Park, the most important leatherback nesting beach in the Eastern Pacific", said Didiher Chacón, of Association ANAI and WIDECAST.  "Members of coastal communities have learned to make a living through ecotourism and non consumptive use of turtles, and all this could be lost only to satisfy the interests of foreign investors".

Las Baulas National Marine Park includes a 125 meter linear strip of land above the high tide line which is to be protected from any sort of development.  Given that 75 meters of this strip is in private hands, the law stipulates that the Ministry of the Environment and Energy must proceed to acquire these lands (Law of Creation Las Baulas National Park #7524 of July 10, 1995).  A legal process was initiated for this purpose in December of 2004, yet due to bureaucratic processes and wrongful interpretations of the law, the government has yet to acquire these lands.  As a result, development pressures, mainly by foreign investors with real estate dreams, have grown exponentially, in particular with the recent proposal to develop this strip under a self proclaimed "sustainable" zoning plan.  Nonetheless, experts from the Costa Rican Sea Turtle Conservation Network have expressed their concern in the sense that developing this highly sensitive beach will severely impact its quality as prime leatherback nesting habitat.

"Current development of tourism infrastructure in the breathtaking northwestern Pacific coast of Costa Rica is out of control, and the municipal authorities have proven to lack the resources and political will to adequately enforce development regulations", warned Randall Arauz, President of PRETOMA and Central American Director of Turtle Island Restoration Network.  "We must strictly adopt the precautionary approach and guarantee that the ecological integrity of the nesting beach is not altered, and this can only be attained by immediate expropriation", added Arauz.

Just slightly over a year ago, the Attorney General confirmed that these lands belonged to the National Park (C444-2005, Received MINAE January 12 of 2006), and thus the Ministry of the Environment and Energy must proceed to abide by the Law and acquire the properties within its boundaries.  The international community has provided about five million dollars for the process.  Any further delays to proceed will further threaten the strict protection of Las Baulas National Marine Park, as well as the last remaining population of leatherbacks in the Eastern Tropical Pacific.

According to Belinda Dick, Technical Advisor of the Inter-American Convention for the Conservation and Protection of Sea Turtles, Costa Rica has signed and ratified many international treaties and conventions to protect sea turtles, and sponsored a resolution at the Inter-American Sea Turtle Convention calling for the strict protection of the remaining leatherback nesting beaches in the Eastern Pacific.  She added, "We expect Costa Rica to stand up to its international standard, and continue championing initiatives to protect the critically endangered leatherback sea turtle."

The international sea turtle conservation community has expressed this concern to the President of Costa Rica, and is calling for the government to abide by the Attorney General’s ruling and save Las Baulas National Marine Park from imminent destruction.

Wagner Quirós.  Co-chair, Costa Rican Sea Turtle Conservation Network.  Phone (506) 837-8782; email wagner@isvonline.com

 

Randall Arauz. PRETOMA.  Phone (506) 241 5227; FAX (506) 236 6017; email rarauz@racsa.co.cr

 

Didiher Chacón. ANAI-WIDECAST, Phone (506) 224-3570; FAX (506) 253-7524; email tortugas@racsa.co.cr

 

Belinda Dick. Technical Advisor of the Inter-American Convention for the Conservation and Protection of Sea Turtles.  Tel (506) 835 7331; email leatherbacks@aol.com

Thousands support Las Baulas National Marine Park.

Environmentalists demand lawful expropriations.

 

(August 29th, 2007. San José, Costa Rica). On Wednesday August 29th, members of the Costa Rican National Network for Sea Turtle Conservation delivered a letter to President Dr. Oscar Arias Sanchez, declaring their concern because authorities have not yet carried out with expropriations in Guanacaste’s Las Baulas National Marine Park. Since January of 2006, the General Attorney’s office (C 444-2005) gave the green light for the government to expropriate properties that legally belong to the National Park, but unfortunately, the public interest has not prevailed and the process has been stalled since May 29 of the present year. Up to date, only 0.22% of the land has been expropriated.

The environmentalist’s letter was accompanied by a petition signed by 7685 Costa Rican citizens, calling for the immediate recovery and protection of coastal lands, as a measure to ensure the ecological integrity of the most important leatherback nesting beach in the Pacific coast of the Americas, threatened by the unregulated and unsustainable urban development in Guanacaste.

“The government appears to be determined to defend the interest of investors, who expect expropriation values which are out of proportion with the current real estate market in Guanacaste” complained Randall Arauz, from the Sea Turtle Restoration Program. “Investors bought those properties fully aware that they were within the boundaries of a National Park, and besides, the Law establishes that the price to be paid must be fixed by the Internal Revenue Ministry, therefore, there is no justification for stalling the process,” Arauz informed.

The situation of Las Baulas National Marine Park is not new to President Dr. Oscar Arias. In 1990, during his first term as President, he received a letter signed by over 150 international sea turtle experts participating in the Tenth Annual Workshop on Sea Turtle Biology and Conservation (Jekyll Island, South Carolina), asking for his intervention to protect such an important nesting beach form the coastal development.

“It is a pity, because if 17 years ago President Arias had listened to the voice of these experts, we wouldn’t be in the current situation,” lamented Claudio Quesada from Asociación ANAI. “We hope president Arias and his Peace with Nature initiative will take this opportunity, possibly the last one, to demonstrate his commitment to the leatherback turtle and sustainable development of the Guanacaste coast”, Quesada said.

The properties to be expropriated consist of a 75 meter strip along three kilometers of beach adding up to a total of 46.6 hectares. These properties are in the hands of investors who wish to carry out urban development projects, which would alter the conditions of the ecosystem necessary for the leatherback turtle to nest. “There is scientific and legal criteria available as well as the international financial support necessary to proceed immediately with the protection of the Park and it is still a mystery to us why there is no progress on the subject,” explained Didiher Chacón from Asociación WIDECAST-Costa Rica.

“We do not know what is happening; we are not talking about expropriating a coastal community which has lived for generations on the site. On the contrary, the owners of these properties are mostly companies and partnerships which should not have a higher priority than the natural resources that belong to all Costa Ricans”, expressed Wagner Quirós, coordinator of the National Network for Sea Turtle Conservation.

What is even more contradictory is that the country is a member of several international agreements committed to protect these species, while the example it is setting is inconsistent. This is the case with the disregard shown for the recommendation established in Resolution 001 of the Inter-American Convention for the Conservation and Protection of Sea Turtles (IAC) which urges all countries with leatherback nesting beaches in the Eastern Pacific to take the necessary measures for their protection. Ironically, Costa Rica is the headquarters of the pro-tempore secretariat of the Convention and has formally requested to be the permanent secretariat.

Finally, it is only reasonable for the Costa Rican society to know that according to the World Conservation Union (IUCN), the Pacific leatherback turtle is critically in danger of extinction and Las Baulas National Marine Park has been identified as the most important nesting site left in the Eastern Pacific. “This is serious, extinction is forever and we have the responsibility of handing over a biologically diverse Costa Rica to our children and not beaches filled with concrete”, concluded Rolando Castro from CEDARENA (Environmental Law and Natural Resources Center).

Wagner Quirós.  Co-chair, Costa Rican Sea Turtle Conservation Network.
   Phone (506) 837-8782; email wagner@redtortugasmarinascr.org

Randall Arauz. PRETOMA-TIRN.  Phone (506) 241 5227; FAX (506) 236
6017; email: rarauz@racsa.co.cr

Didiher Chacón. ANAI-WIDECAST, Phone (506) 224-3570; FAX (506)
253-7524; email: tortugas@racsa.co.cr

Belinda Dick. Technical Advisor of the Inter-American Convention for
the Conservation and Protection of Sea Turtles.  Tel (506) 835 7331;
email leatherbacks@aol.com

Claudio Quesada. Asociación ANAI. Phone: (506) 818-2543; email:
claudioq@anaicr.org

Rolando Castro. CEDARENA. Environmental Law and Natural Resources
Center. Phone: 283-7080; email: rcastro@cedarena.org