|
|
|
Index
|
Index_lat_a
|
Index_lat_b
|
||
| Friends of Nature |
|
|
Control and proteccion What is MINAE? Minae is the Ministry of Energy and the Environment which governs and enforces the environmental laws in effect here in Costa Rica. Minae is entrusted with protecting ecosystems and species on behalf of all of us and can be called upon to file denuncias or legal charges in cases of environmental damage by Costa Ricans and foreigners alike. Indeed, in Costa Rica, Article 50 of the Constitution gives all HUMANS the right to enjoy a healthy and balanced natural environment and provides that the STATE or government will guarantee and preserve ths right for all. In Costa Rica, and hopefully all around the world, conservation is not a fad or trend, but rather a responsibility shared by all who pass here in collaboration with MINAE. All permits for cutting trees and general aspects of land use are delimited by MINAE in accordance with these environmental laws. Therefore, if your property contains primary or secondary jungle, rivers, streams or nacientes, your use is strictly limited and should be investigated with authorities in your area to avoid serious civil and criminal penalties. Moreover, if any of these trees are rivers or nacientes are situated on steep mountain slopes, your responsibility to seek adequate expert advice and MINAE assistance is heightened as damage caused from cutting in steep areas being more serious and deleterious to the natural resources. In governing development and construction projects, MINAE works in conjunction with local Municipalites as well as with SETENA, the Techincal Environmental Secretary charged with evaluating environmental impact incurred with all development projects. You need a Technical Study or Estudio Technico to move forward with any kind of development or construction activity. Many properties are part of a Municipal Zoning Plan or Plan Reguladora. IN this case, your local Municipal government can tell you if a plan exists for your area, OR IS IN THE WORKS, and give you any regulations set forth therein. Any activities carried out on your property must be permitted by the zoing plan. Moreover, if your property is in a coastal zone or Zona Maritima, you must request special permits from the Municipal government as well from the Tourism Institute (ICT) to caarry out any kind of construction or tourism activity. Notably, on the central to southern Pacific coast of Costa Rica, particularly at the Baru River near the surf village of Dominical, three districts join together. This fact requires the three districts of MINAE and Muncipality officials to work together and often times, unfortunately, accountability is hard to achieve. Much “passing of the buck” and “hiding the ball” hampers conservation efforts, making it difficult to provide predictable outcomes and processes for enforcement of environmental laws. Moreover, many people want to get their permits, but simply cannot seem to be able to communicate effectively with the MINAE or even get them to come to their property in the first place. The Districts intersecting include Aguirre north to Quepos, within region ACOPAC. District Osa which runs from Domincal south to Rio Balzar in Cortes. District Baru runs from Guabo River to San Isidro de Perez Zeldon. More and more, ASANA is working to bring these three districts together and serve as a point of renuion of information and strength in facing the sometimes overwhelming challenge of balancing the development happening in the area with the need to protect it. ASANA created networks of communication providing support for areas with heightenend activity assist greatly as resources are distributed. In addition, ASANA can give you advice as to which district you fall in and who to call to get permit help or report illegal activities. The urgency of hiring additional guards for MINAE cannot be stressed. Future fundraising efforts by ASANA are directed to meeting this need throughout the Path of the Tapir Biological Corridor. See articles on ESVP, English Speaking Volunteer Project. Many people complain that getting the permits often times is just “too hard” or “too time consuming”. But make no mistake! Expert advice is necessary here in construction and development projects. Be sure to affiliate yourself with experienced and reputable assistance and take the time to do your project right the first time. Often, by hiring some expert advice on the front end, you can save yourself alot of money and grief over the long run. Be a part of keeping Paradise beautiful and healthy for all of us to enjoy! If we take care of our natural resources now, we guarantee for ourselves abundant water in the future, more fertile land able to produce food and products, and we improve the beauty of our communities. Our efforts and sacrifices today will insure a better place to live for our children, and we will avoid suffering from hunger due to degraded soils and lack of drinking water like so many countries in the world. What is COVIRENAS? Covirena is one of the programs of MINAE created under Decree No. 26923 supported by the Center for Social-environmental Studies. Covirenas seeks the active participation of its community members in the voluntary protection of natural resources. Members of Covirena exercise vigilance and control in their area and help to report environmental crimes. At the same time, Covirena volunteers raise consciousness in their areas with environmentally sustainable activities and education about the importance of conservation and human development in harmony with nature. To be certified as a Covirena, you must be older than 15 years, a nature lover, and available to work for healthy social and environmental development. You must be honorable, ethical, respectful and solidary. You msut participate in a full day workshop about the environmental laws and one field day of instruction. You receive a badge with your photo on it and join the ranks of over 145 dedicated Covirena Natural Reource Guards on our coast working in unison to promote the education, protection and collaboration of all actors in support of our region’s environmental health. |
Deforestation
ASANA - Hacienda Barú PO Box 215-8000, San Isidro Pérez Zeledón, Costa Rica Phone : (506) 27 87 02 54 Email : rc.oc.ascar@anasa |
Desing and hosting
 PZproducciones.com |
 W3C HTML Validator W3G CSS validator |