The Buffer Zone Around Las Baulas Park is Marked in Green.

While the global economy and lack of available financing have caused a lull in construction in Jaco, including the termination of works already in progress, activists are also winning the fight to stop growth around an important marine park in Tamarindo. This latest effort recently lead to a Supreme Court decision to stop urban development bordering on the Las Baulas Marine Park indefinitely.

The area specifically in question is a 500 meter strip of land that serves as a buffer zone around the Las Baulas Marine Park in Santa Cruz, Guanacaste. A portion of Tamarindo and surrounding towns like Playa Grande are situated within the zone that is populated with homes, hotels and businesses. Those buildings affected cannot be renovated or enlarged for the next few months until a final solution is found.

The case was brought to court by a local resident with the argument that these homes and businesses affect the water quality in the park through runoff and lack of garbage collection, which could pose a threat to the endangered Leatherback turtle populations in the area.

The court’s ruling also prohibits the authorization of new construction permits and environmental viability studies until a full study on the impact to the conservation area is completed by the National Environmental Technical Secretary (SETENA), the Water and Sewer Institute (AyA) and local municipalities. These government entities have been granted six months to complete the necessary tests that will study the impact of the lights, noise, sewage and human presence on the turtle population.

One possible outcome from the testing could be that current constructions in the area will have to be destroyed. However, the court noted that that would be the most extreme outcome. A representative from the municipal council of Santa Cruz said that the building permit restriction will be devastating to the municipality’s income; leaving one to question where his priorities are and have been for this municipality that has seen some of the most dynamic growth in the country over the past few years.

Another region where local development is in danger is Playa Jaco, on the Central Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Here, the victim is the construction industry itself, which was described as nearly paralyzed by the Vice President of the Central Pacific Chamber of Commerce.

People are beginning to call the beach town the “Grey City” as concrete structures remain half completed with no signs of progress. The culprit here is the international economic crisis, which has left developers without financing, forcing them to suspend their building projects until further notice. In situations where the money is not an issue, the return on investment must be reanalyzed if the buyers themselves cannot get their hands on credit for a second home or condo.

The situation has not just left a concrete jungle that is less than pleasing on the eyes, it has also left many construction workers without a job in Costa Rica.

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Filed under: Business on January 19th, 2009