The Arenal Dam is Costa Rica’s biggest hydroelectric energy sources

Indigenous organizations have promised to fight the construction of a dam in the southern zone of Costa Rica, which would be part of a $1.8 million Hydroelectric Plant that the Costa Rican Electricity Institute (ICE) intends to begin building in 2009.

The project, known as El Diquis, would dam the General River near where it meets the Terraba River in the Buenos Aires canton of Puntarenas. El Diquis would create 630 megawatts of energy and was given the go-ahead by President Arias on Feb. 6th of this year, as part of the administration’s goal to use only renewable energy sources.

The damn would flood nearly 14,000 acres of land, part of which includes two indigenous settlements and more than 200 important archeological sites that have yet to be excavated, causing concern among archeologists. The sites include many petroglyphs, burial sites and ruins that would help archaeologists piece together clues of the past inhabitants.

The organizers of the Defense of the Terrabas Indigenous Rights Front said that they were never consulted by the government regarding the project. They claim that ICE instead tried to deceive them with propaganda. The group has promised to make a claim to the Inter American Human Rights Court if the legal system in the country fails to protect them and their lands

Beyond losing their land, the indigenous groups claim that the project will drastically alter the Terraba river and violate their cultural identity and beliefs by washing away artifacts of their ancestors. Representatives also deny that the project will bring development to their area as they claim ICE will sell the energy generated there to other countries in the region.

The United States is also expected to benefit from the new energy, and the U.S. Trade Development Agency has actually invested $500,000 in studies to measure the viability of the project and its environmental and social impact. ICE plans to contribute any excess energy that is not needed by Costa Rica to the Central American Electric Interconnection System, whose financing was part of the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

There are a total of 7 indigenous communities near the foreseen sight of the hydroelectric plant. The Terraba and Chinakicha would be directly affected by the flooding caused by the damn, and the Curre, Boruca, Bribi, Guaymi, Ujarras, Salitre and Cabagra would be affected indirectly by other effects of the project. These communities account for about 15,000 people.

Currently, the largest hydroelectric plant in Costa Rica is formed by the Lake Arenal dam. This project was completed by ICE in the 70s, which still generates energy for the region and has drastically improved the agricultural conditions in the area by channeling the water through canals to water crops. Several small towns were flooded to create the lake which is now the largest in the country with a diameter of up to 22 miles.

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Filed under: Costa Rica News on March 5th, 2008