The Pristine Shorelines of the Osa Peninsula are a Huge Attraction to Developers.

More and more construction in the Osa Peninsula, on the Southern Pacific coast, is destroying the native forests and fauna of the region. Construction permits have risen 200% over the last couple of years. This situation is now critical: the Fila Costena, the 45 km long chain of mountain and tropical forest that protect the whole area from erosion and houses some of the most precious flora and fauna of the planet, is going through a process of destruction that will eventually cause the disappearance of these renowned treasures, something that will ultimately be irreversible.

The University of Costa Rica (UCR) and the Conservation Tribunal have put the current situation on red alert, yet construction carries on in great enormity: in 2007, 209 construction permits were granted, 139 more than in 2006. A total of 43 authorizations were also granted for agrarian movements to allow terraces to be built. Of 15 projects investigated, the Tribunal has so far managed to put on hold just five. Is this enough? 30 hectares have been greatly affected, including the forests of Uvita and Ventanas. Additionally afflicted are Dominical, Ojochal, Dominicalito and Bahia Ballena, where most projects are situated.

Costa Rica Real Estate projects are extending further than permitted, with luxury homes eating up more and more precious land. With the houses come the roads and all that is necessary for the construction of a new community, creating this appalling and shocking nightmare. No permits at all should be granted there, however small they may be. A line has to be drawn and once permits are granted to one project, it is almost too late. Then come more offers of more money, which some are only too happy to accept. Never mind the jaguars, the tapirs, the ocelots; never mind the coral, the trees and the bushes. Indeed these agrarian movements bring sediments into the sea that in turn damage the coral reefs and marine life that depends on it.

The flora and fauna are not the only ones to suffer either. The local inhabitants, those who have been there forever and taken great care to live in harmony with nature, are victims of this greed as well. They now need to carry water from miles away as their normal source has been exhausted due to these new, high demands.

The UCR and the Tribunal have asked the municipality of Osa to reconsider before it is too late. Alberto Cole, the Mayor of Osa, is seemingly unperturbed as he insists that these constructions are a blessing, giving many locals additional offers of employment. Perhaps a more likely story is that the Mayor receives a comfortable sum to support these catastrophic constructions, with little concern for the future of Costa Rica. When their land is dead, what will they do? This has to come to an end, before it is really too late.

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Filed under: Costa Rican Wildlife on October 20th, 2008